essay

Revitalization and the genesis of cults in pragmatic religion: the Kita rite of passage among the Suku

Explorations in African systems of thoughtBloomingtonPublished In 1980 • Pages: 183-212

By: Kopytoff, Igor.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article describes a traditional Suku religious rite called Kita which was typically held following the rise of a new chief. The focus is on the meanings and structure of the ritual, meant to renovate the collective wellbeing of lineage members as they passed from the reign of one chief to the other. The discussion follows Arnold Van Gennep's classic formulation of rites of passage.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
General character of religion
Ritual
Organized ceremonial
Lineages
Shamans and psychotherapists
Magic
Religious experience
Purification and atonement
Theory of disease
Sacred objects and places
Congregations
Cult of the dead
Life and death
Transmission of beliefs
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Suku
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2016
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.
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
Teferi Abate Adem; 2014
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1957-1959
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1920-1940
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Kwango district, Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
NotesAdditional notes
by Igor Kopytoff
Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-212)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
80007492
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Suku (African people)