Book
Myth, ritual, and kingship in Buganda
Oxford University Press • New York • Published In 1991 • Pages:
By: Ray, Benjamin C..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is largely a historical study of Buganda kingship and critique of the theories of divine kingship and regicide. The author takes a position somewhere between purely political and symbolic analyses of kingship. According to Ray, the myths and rituals surrounding Buganda kingship have a basis in history: succession rituals replicate the historical events surrounding the founding of the kingdom, an act which legitimizes the new king's rule. Although it is true that many of the Buganda kings were killed, Ray sees this as a political rebellion by the clans against kingly abuse of power, the clan chiefs regarding themselves and the king as near equals. Furthermore, Ray argues that it was incumbent upon the king to arbitrarily kill even his own subjects in order to maintain both the social order and his pivotal position at the symbolic center of the realm. The study reveals how violence was an integral part of the king's charisma and power, although eventually leading to his demise.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Traditional history
- Religious and educational structures
- Clans
- Chief executive
- Burial practices and funerals
- Mythology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ganda
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- 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
- Book
- 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 ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1972
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1300s-1972
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Uganda
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Benjamin C. Ray
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-235) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 90007127
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ganda (African people)