Synopses & Reviews
Despite the contemporary fascination with royalty, anthropologists have sorely neglected the subject in recent decades. This book combines a strong theoretical argument with a wealth of ethnography from kingships in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Quigley gives a timely and much-needed overview of the anthropology of kingship and a crucial reassessment of the contributions of Frazer and Hocart to debates about the nature and function of royal ritual. From diverse fieldwork sites a number of eminent anthropologists demonstrate how ritual and power intertwine to produce a series of variations around myth, tragedy and historical realities.
Synopsis
Why has monarchy been such a prevalent institution throughout history and in such a diverse range of societies? Kingship is at the heart of both ritual and politics and has major implications for the theory of social and cultural anthropology. Yet, despite the contemporary fascination with royalty, anthropologists have sorely neglected the subject in recent decades.This book combines a strong theoretical argument with a wealth of ethnography from kingships in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Quigley gives a timely and much-needed overview of the anthropology of kingship and a crucial reassessment of the contributions of Frazer and Hocart to debates about the nature and function of royal ritual. From diverse fieldwork sites, a number of eminent anthropologists demonstrate how ritual and power intertwine to produce a series of variations around myth, tragedy and historical realities. However, underneath this diversity, two common themes invariably emerge: the attempt to portray kingship as timeless and perfect, and the dual nature of the king as sacred being and scapegoat.
About the Author
Declan Quigley is Honorary Research Associate, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oxford University.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Character of Kingship--Declan Quigley * Forms of Sacralised Power in Africa--Luc de Heusch * Sacred King, Sacrificial Victim, Surrogate Victim--Lucien Scubla * A Reply to Lucien Scubla--Luc de Heusch * Tragedy, Ritual and Power in Nilotic Regicide: The Regicidal Dramas of the Eastern Nilotes of Sudan in Comparative Perspective--Simone Simonse * The Transgressive Nature of Kingship in Caste Organization: Monstrous Royal Doubles in Nepal--Marie Lecomte-Tilouine * Kingship and Untouchability--Declan Quigley * Kingship and Caste in Africa: History, Diffusion and Evolution--Tal Tamari * King House: The Mobile Polity in Northern Ghana--Susan Drucker-Brown * Kings and Tribes in East India: The Internal Political Dimension--Burkhard Schnepel * Japanese Monarchy in Historical and Comparative Perspective--Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney * Chiefs and Kings in Polynesia--Henri M.J. Claessen