essay

Social stratification in traditional Buganda

king's men : leadership and status in buganda on the eve of independence • London • Published In 1964 • Pages: 64-116

By: Fallers, Lloyd A., Kamoga, F. K., Musoke, S. B. K..

Abstract

This study examines the social structure and values of traditional Baganda society. The major social division in Baganda society occurred between the'undistinguished' primary producers, and those connected by kinship, service, or appointment to the king. Another division was found between the centralized government centered on the king and the non-localized clans. Clan chiefs remained strong in the old core of the kingdom, whereas royal appointees held sway in newly conquered territories. Clan chiefs, appointed administrative and military chiefs, and officials all had their own estates. The authority and legitimacy of both the king and clan chiefs rested on oral histories and the dynastic genealogy, which had their material and spatial correlates in a network of royal and clan tombs and shrines. Each shrine had a group of religious specialists who carried out rituals and communicated with the shrine's particular ancestral spirit or god.

HRAF PubDate

1998

Region

Africa

Sub Region

Eastern Africa

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 1997

Field Date

unknown

Coverage Date

1800-1899

Coverage Place

Uganda

Notes

L. A. Fallers, assisted by F. K. Kamoga and S. B. K. Musoke

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

64002741

LCSH

Ganda (African people)