article
When is genealogy history?: Wolof genealogies in comparative perspective
American ethnologist • 5 (4) • Published In 1990 • Pages: 651-674
By: Irvine, Judith T..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Genealogies are constructed by the Wolof of Senegal that represent a closer approximation to a historical past than are those of such other ethnic populations as the Nuer, Luo, and Tiv. This paper examines the structure and use of the Wolof genealogies in an attempt to identify those social conditions that tend to preserve historical accuracy in an oral tradition.' Those conditions concern the relation of the genealogist to his subject matter, the nature of the political climate in which he operates, and the forms of discourse at his disposal. It is suggested that the essential property of Wolof social organization bringing these conditions about is not so much the existence of a centralized state as the caste framework in which the state is embedded' (p. 651).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Traditional history
- Conversation
- Music
- Status, role, and prestige
- Castes
- Lineages
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Wolof
- 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
- Western 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.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1970-1971, 1975
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1970-1971, 1975
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kayor region, Senegal
- NotesAdditional notes
- Judith T. Irvine
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 672-674)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74644326
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Wolof (African people)