9783825861193

Alur Society became a classic for a number of reasons. Being much more than a descriptive account of an African society, it was the first intensive ethnography to adopt the ideas of Max Weber. It pioneered the idea that religion and ritual could be the basis of political action. It also showed how state systems could evolve not just on the basis of conquest but as a result of societies without kings inviting those with kings to govern them. Southall's theory of the segmentary state was adopted by many political anthropologists and political scientists, being applied not just to Africa but also to India and other parts of the world. The book was able to arrive at long-lasting and imaginative conclusions through the use of ethnographic material of a quality rarely surpassed. It is moreover arguably the best book in social anthropology of a Nilotic-speaking people. Southall's own command of their language and his overall scholarly knowledge of Nilotes is unsurpassed. Aidan W. Southall is professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the United States. David Parkin is head of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, and fellow of All Souls.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

v

PREFACE

vii

PART ONE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER

I. THE ALUR AND THE PROBLEM

3

(7)

The Alur and the Lwo Peoples

3

(2)

Alur Traditions of Migration

5

(1)

The Purpose of the Study

6

(1)

The Lay-out of the Book

7

(3)

II. ENVIRONMENT AND DEMOGRAPHY

10

(17)

Physical Environment

10

(1)

The Highlands

10

(2)

The Midlands

12

(1)

The Lowlands

13

(1)

Congo Alurland

13

(1)

The Ethnic Composition of Alurland

14

(4)

Ethnic Composition of the Dominant Groups

18

(5)

The Subject Groups

23

(4)

PART TWO POLITICAL ORGANISATION

III. KINSHIP AND POLITICAL ORGANISATION

27

(49)

Joint Principles

27

(1)

The Nature of Kinship Relations

27

(4)

Family and Kin

31

(5)

The Structure and Formation of Lineages

36

(2)

The Clan Section

38

(2)

Residential Pattern

40

(2)

Kinship and Lineage in Palei

42

(12)

Other Commoner Clans

54

(3)

The Structure and Development of Chiefly Lineages

57

(4)

The Localised Lineage as a Normative Type

61

(1)

The Field of Clanship

62

(3)

The Criteria of Clanship

65

(4)

The Political Significance of Clanship

69

(1)

The Familial Authority System

69

(7)

IV CHIEFSHIP

76

(22)

Traditional Chiefship

76

(1)

Social and Economic Basis-The Chief's Homestead

77

(5)

Chiefs' Marriage and Divorce

82

(3)

The Death of Chiefs and the Selection of Successors

85

(3)

The Political Significance of the Distribution of Ritual Band other Duties

88

(3)

The Chief as Mediator between the Natural and Supernatural Realms

91

(5)

The Chief and the Supernatural

96

(2)

V. ANCESTOR WORSHIP AS AN INDEX OF POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND PROCESS

98

(23)

The Practices and Concepts of Chiefly Ancestor Worship

98

(4)

The Segmentary Framework of Chiefly Ancestor Worship

102

(2)

The Principles of Eligibility

104

(2)

The Influence of Political Office

106

(5)

The Progressive Nature of Lineage Segmentation as revealed in Ancestor Worship

111

(4)

Regional Variations

115

(2)

The Diviner's Rôle

117

(4)

VI. THE POLITICAL INTEGRATION OF KINSHIP AND CHIEFSHIP

121

(31)

The Operative Levels of Authority

121

(4)

Delicts Settled by Initiative Within the Kinship Sphere

125

(1)

The Segmentary Aspect of Incest

126

(2)

The Segmentary Aspect of Abduction

128

(1)

The Segmentary Aspect of Divorce

129

(2)

The Segmentary Aspect of Adultery Leading to Pregnancy

131

(1)

The Segmentary Aspect of Simple Adultery

132

(2)

The Segmentary Aspect of Premarital Pregnancy

134

(1)

The Segmentary Aspect of Fornication

135

(1)

Delicts Settled Primarily by the Action of Chiefs or by Fighting

136

(1)

The Segmentary Aspect of Homicide

136

(6)

The Segmentary Aspect of Witchcraft

142

(2)

The General Nature of Jural Processes

144

(1)

Organised Co-activity

145

(1)

The Spatial Zoning of Political Authority

146

(3)

The Jural Significance of Rank

149

(3)

VII. KINSHIP AND POLITICAL ORGANISATION AMONG THE SUBJECT PEOPLES

152

(29)

A. The Lendu

General Characteristics of Lendu Society

152

(3)

Lendu Family and Kinship

155

(3)

The Structure of Lineage and Clan

158

(2)

Political Order: The Treatment of Delicts

160

(6)

Political Order: The Organisation of Co-activity

166

(4)

B. The Okebo

General Characteristics of Okebo Society

170

(4)

Family and Kinship

174

(1)

Clan Structure

175

(4)

Organised Co-activity

179

(2)

VIII. THE PROCESS OF DOMINATION

181

(48)

The Extension of Domination

181

(1)

The Kidnapping of Chiefs' Sons

182

(5)

The Escape or Banishment of Chiefs' Sons

187

(1)

The Transference of Allegiance

188

(1)

Determinants of the Efficacy of Chiefly Power

189

(4)

Political Order under the System of Chieflets

193

(6)

Recent Ukuru Chieflets among the Lendu and Okebo

199

(6)

Ukuru Chieflets in Nebi

205

(5)

Dominant Commoner Clans in Ragem

210

(5)

The Ukuru and the Ragem Types of Political Organisation

215

(3)

The Comparative Structural Status of Alur Chiefs

218

(2)

The Process of Domination in Mambisa

220

(4)

The Degree of Standardisation of Political Relationships

224

(3)

Trends in the System of Domination

227

(2)

IX. THE ALUR SYSTEM AND POLITICAL THEORY

229

(38)

Recapitulation

229

(1)

The Acceptance of Domination

229

(5)

The Administrative System

234

(4)

Alur Political Theory and Principles

238

(3)

The Alur System in Relation to Political Theory

241

(8)

The Diversity of Structural Principle in Systems of Group B

243

(1)

Structural Complementarily and State Organisation

244

(2)

The Segmentary State

246

(3)

The Concept of Segmentary Structure

249

(3)

The Temporal and Spatial Range of the Segmentary State

252

(8)

The Transition from the Segmentary to the Unitary State

260

(7)

PART THREE THE ALUR TO-DAY

X. THE ALUR TO-DAY

267

(13)

Remoteness and Backwardness

267

(4)

Alur Daily Life

271

(4)

Education and Missions

275

(2)

Economic Development

277

(3)

XI. ADJUSTMENT TO ALIEN RULE

280

(68)

Events Leading up to European Intervention

280

(7)

The Development of Alur Administration in Uganda

287

(8)

The Powers of Chiefs

295

(2)

The Hereditary Principle and the Conflict of Traditional and Official Rôles

297

(5)

The Social and Economic Status of the New Hierarchy

302

(4)

The Changing R61e of Chiefs

306

(2)

The New Administrative Powers

308

(1)

Courts

309

(5)

The Development of the Local Government System

314

(3)

The Development of Alur Administration in the Belgian Congo

317

(10)

Administration in Aral JUpiyo

327

(7)

Belgian and British Administrative Policy Among the Alur

334

(6)

The Survival and Re-interpretation of Traditional Alur Political Values

340

(8)

APPENDICES:

I. THE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF ALURLAND

348

(4)

II. THE SEGMENTATION OF CHIEFLY LINEAGES

352

(6)

III. THE RITUALISATION OF CHIEFSHIP

358

(12)

IV. CHIEFS AND THE SHRINES OF ALURLAND

370

(6)

V. RAINMAKING METHODS

376

(4)

VI. OKEBO CLANS

380

(3)

BIBLIOGRAPHIES:

A. WORKS CITED IN THE TEXT

383

(2)

B. A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE ALUR.

R. Breugelmans

385

(4)

C. A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE LENDU OR BALE.

H. Van Geluwe

389

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

"Aidan Southall is Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison."--BOOK JACKET.

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Alur Society A Study in Processes and Types of Domination (1956)

3825861198

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