Synopses & Reviews
This book is a brilliant commentary on the political culture of the BaKongo of Lower Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). MacGaffey analyzes texts written by young Kongo men between 1914 -1916 to explicate KiKongo culture and to question long-cherished anthropological assumptions.
Synopsis
This commentary on the political culture of the BaKongo of Lower Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo) is based on texts in the KiKongo language. They were written by young Kongo men between 1914 and 1916 at the instigation of K. E. Laman, a Swedish missionary. The most important texts were the work of Lutete Esaya, a teacher at the Lolo and Vungu stations of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Lutete devoted much of his attention to aspects of Kongo ritual and religious belief, including minkisi and the rituals for the installation of chiefs. Lutete's original text and those of the other informants are given with translation and notes.
Part One discusses the origin and nature of the texts, the traditions of migration they report, and the way the traditions can be read with regard to organization of trade in the Lower Congo in the 19th century. It also describes problems of cognition, ideology, and translation. Part Two deals with the ritual of powers as the texts report them.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-268) and index.
About the Author
Wyatt MacGaffey, formerly John R. Coleman Professor of Social Sciences at Haverford College, has published extensively on African social structure, history, art, religion, and politics. His books include Custom and Government in the Lower Congo (1970), Religion and society in Central Africa (1986), and Astonishment and Power (1993; with Michael D. Harris). IN 1994 he was awarded a Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Texts and Contexts
3. Translation, Exoticism, Banality
4. Tradition and Trade
5. Complexity, Astonishment and Power: The Personhood of Objects
6. Nkondi: Minkisi to Kill People Swiftly
7. Composition and Powers of an Nkondi Called Mbola
8. Life and Death: Objecthood of Persons
9. Lutete's Chiefs
10. Reflections and Extensions
Appendix