essay
Zande Kings and Princes
Essays in social anthropology • London • Published In 1962 • Pages: 87-116
By: Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (Edward Evan).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article is rich in its descriptive detail and depth of characterization of several notable Azande kings and princes famous in 19th century pre-colonial Azande history. The data are derived mostly from primary historical accounts and from oral traditions which Evans-Pritchard collected in the course of his field work with the Azande. Rather extensive biographical sketches are presented of some of the more prominent kings, and briefer information on numerous less well known members of the royalty. The objective is to delineate the personality, character, conduct, and manners of Azande rulers. A fairly consistent picture emerges from the historical sources, which correlates well with the author's impression of the present-day ruling class. Most Azande kings and princes were characterized by a 'natural dignity of bearing, unostentatious pride, distinguished air, courteous manners, cordiality, self-assurance, composure, reserve, reflectiveness, and generosity, and … intelligence and calm, sound judgment, firmness, astuteness, and prudence' (p. 116). Nineteenth-century authors only rarely report a ruler as being cruel or brutal, arrogant, harsh or rude, and so forth.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Chief executive
- Life history materials
- Executive household
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Azande
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Social Anthropologist
- 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
- Gilbert Winer ; Robert O. Lagacé ; 1968-1969
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1926-1930
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- ca. 1865-ca.1905
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Sudan
- NotesAdditional notes
- E. E. Evans-Pritchard
- This article was originally published in the Anthropological Quarterly, 1957
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Zande (African people)