Dialectics of divine 'kingship' in the Kafa highlands

Lange, Werner J.

Book

Dialectics of divine 'kingship' in the Kafa highlands

African Studies Center, University of California • (15) • Published In 1976 • Pages: 57 , [1] leaf of plates

By: Lange, Werner J..

Abstract
This document explains the nature and structure of Kaffa kingship. It argues that the divine nature of the Kaffa king should be explained not in the religious ideology that portrays him as the incarnation of the spirits of the sky-god. It should instead be discussed as an irrational expression of ordinary peoples’ rational need for rain, crops, health, and security.

Cultural identity and pride

Form and rules of government

Chief executive

Deliberative councils

Status, role, and prestige

Traditional history

Linguistic identification

Settlement patterns

Inter-ethnic relations

Slavery

Basis of marriage

Mythology