Kingship and State: The Buganda DynastyThe pre-colonial kingdom of Buganda, nucleus of the present state of Uganda, has long attracted scholarly interest. Since written records are lacking entirely before 1862, historians have had to rely on oral traditions that were recorded from the end of the nineteenth century. These sources provide rich materials on Buganda in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but Christopher Wrigley, a senior and highly respected scholar, endeavours to show that the stories that appear to relate to earlier periods are largely mythology. He argues that this does not reduce their value, since they are of interest in their own mythical right, revealing ancient traces of sacred kingship, and also throwing oblique light on the development of the recent state. The author has written an elegant, wide-ranging and original study of one of Africa's most famous kingdoms. |
Contents
Preamble | 1 |
The story and its making | 20 |
Introduction to myth | 43 |
Introduction to Buganda | 57 |
The remoter past | 69 |
Genesis | 79 |
The cycle of the kings | 122 |
Fragments of history | 169 |
Foreign affairs | 192 |
The making of the state | 207 |
Reflections | 230 |
Notes | 253 |
275 | |
288 | |
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Common terms and phrases
African Amannya Amaganda ancient Bakka banana Bantu belonged Bemba Biggo Bito British brother Buddo Buddu Bunyoro Bunyoro-Kitara Burundi Busiro Busoga called chief Christian clan clearly colonial culture Cwezi death divine dynastic Early Iron Age East Africa father Ganda Ganda tradition Genesis Hamitic hero human Iron Age Jjemba Jjuuko kabaka Kagulu Kagwa Kamaanya Kampala Karagwe Kateregga katikkiro Kayemba Kiggala Kimera kind king's kingdom Kings of Buganda kingship Kintu Kisolo Kiwanuka Kiyimba Lake Lakeland land Leopard Lévi-Strauss lived London Lungfish Magonga Mawanda means mother Mpisa Mukasa Mulondo Mutebi Muteesa Mwindo myth mythical Nakibinge Nakku Nalubaale Nambi Namugala Nankere Ndahura Ndawula Nile nineteenth century Nkore Nsimbi Ntusi Nyanga Nyoro Olimi organised origin Pangolin political pre-colonial princes probably recent recognised reign ritual role Roscoe royal ruler Rwanda sacred Shilluk shrine society Speke Ssemakookiro Ssuuna Stanley story Sudan tale throne took Walusimbi western young