article

Of kings and contexts: ethnohistorical interpretations of Miskito political structure and function

American ethnologist • 13 (3) • Published In 1986 • Pages: 506-523

By: Helms, Mary W..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

Recent articles dealing with the Miskito 'kings' and Miskito 'kingdom' of eastern Nicaragua are reassessed and their conclusions reconsidered. Using the same data, the existence of a Miskito 'kingdom' is questioned and the nature of the 'kingship' and of the roles filled by Miskito kings and other regional leaders is reinterpreted. The influence both of the English and of traditional councils of elders is emphasized and the king' activities seen as those of traditional Big Men writ large (p. 506).

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Chief executive

External relations

Reviews and critiques

Status, role, and prestige

Acculturation and culture contact

Community councils

Labor supply and employment

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Miskito

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2010

RegionThe area the document pertains to

Middle America and the Caribbean

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Central America

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.

4: Excellent Secondary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

John Beierle; 2009

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

no date

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1655-1894

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Eastern Nicaragua

NotesAdditional notes

Mary W. Helms

Includes bibliographical references (p. 522-523)

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

74644326

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Miskito Indians