article
On disciples and magicians: the diversification of divinity among the Nuer during the colonial era
Journal of religion in Africa • 22 (1) • Published In 1992 • Pages: 2-22
By: Johnson, Douglas H. (Douglas Hamilton).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author recounts the spread of magic and magicians during the colonial era (1929-1955), to which he attributes to the destruction of the prophets, who had helped to regulate spirits and gods. The prophets despised magicians and kept them under check. By killing the prophets, the British provided a catalyst for chaos in the proliferation of spirits and fetishes. This religious fragmentation mirrored the political fragmentation of the Nuer, which the British encouraged as part of their effort to control them. Therefore, according to the author, prophets played a key role in Nuer religious and political life.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Territorial hierarchy
- External relations
- Magicians and diviners
- Spirits and gods
- Sacred objects and places
- Magic
- Prophets and ascetics
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Nuer
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1975-1991
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1906-1953
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Sobat Province, South Sudan; Jonglei Province, South Sudan
- NotesAdditional notes
- By Douglas H. Johnson
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sf 80000812
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Nuer (African people)