The papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume... Show moreThe papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume challenges the dominant view that globalization is a primary threat to African societies. Instead, it emphasizes African agency in situating globality, that is, in selectively and creatively appropriating elements of the emerging global culture. Contributions: Situating globality: African agency in the appropriation of global culture (Wim van Binsbergen, Rijk van DijkandJan-Bart Gewald); Global and local trends in media ownership and control: implications for cultural creativity in Africa (Francis B. Nyamnjoh); Global media and violence in Africa: the case of Somalia (Jan-Bart Gewald); Can ICT belong in Africa, or is ICT owned by the North Atlantic region? (Wim van Binsbergen); 'Man will live well': on the poetics of corruption in a global age (Sanya Osha); 'Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia': Pentecostal Pan-Africanism and Ghanaian identities in the transnational domain (Rijk van Dijk); Global connections, local ruptures: the case of Islam in Senegal (Roy Dilley); How is a girl to marry without a bed? : weddings, wealth and women's value in an Islamic town of Niger (Adeline Masquelier); The social life of secrets (Senegal, Ferdinand de Jong); The persistence of female initiation rites: reflexivity and resilience of women in Zambia (Thera Rasing). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the extent to which violence can be said to underlie any form of Stae formation in precolonial Africa. This is done by examining the role of violence in... Show moreThe purpose of this chapter is to explore the extent to which violence can be said to underlie any form of Stae formation in precolonial Africa. This is done by examining the role of violence in State formation in west central Zambia from the 17th century onwards. The chapter shows that State formation in west central Zambia entailed the imposition upon local village communities of a more or less centralized sociopolitical structure, representing a departure from the social organization and ideology prevailing in pre-State times. In the specific context of the expansion of Lunda political culture over much of south central Africa, the typical form of Statehood that emerged had two salient features: perpetual kinship and positional succession, neither of which corresponded with structural themes in local village society. The chapter compares the cultural logic of the village and that of the royal court in more detail, arguing that the latter completely ignored the former. This is illustrated by the particular cases of the Nkoya and the Lozi. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the extent to which violence can be said to underlie any form of Stae formation in precolonial Africa. This is done by examining the role of violence in... Show moreThe purpose of this chapter is to explore the extent to which violence can be said to underlie any form of Stae formation in precolonial Africa. This is done by examining the role of violence in State formation in west central Zambia from the 17th century onwards. The chapter shows that State formation in west central Zambia entailed the imposition upon local village communities of a more or less centralized sociopolitical structure, representing a departure from the social organization and ideology prevailing in pre-State times. In the specific context of the expansion of Lunda political culture over much of south central Africa, the typical form of Statehood that emerged had two salient features: perpetual kinship and positional succession, neither of which corresponded with structural themes in local village society. The chapter compares the cultural logic of the village and that of the royal court in more detail, arguing that the latter completely ignored the former. This is illustrated by the particular cases of the Nkoya and the Lozi. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
In 1987 and 1991 Martin Bernal published two volumes on the Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization. His theory that ancient Greek culture derived from Egypt and Phoenicia opened a discussion... Show moreIn 1987 and 1991 Martin Bernal published two volumes on the Afroasiatic roots of classical civilization. His theory that ancient Greek culture derived from Egypt and Phoenicia opened a discussion known as the debate on 'Black Athena'. This article sorts out whatever lasting contribution Bernal has made to classical archaeology. In 'Black Athena' Bernal described how one particular view of ancient Greek history has served Eurocentric interests. But his own alternative serves other ideological interests, viz. the rapprochement to Afrocentrism. According to Bernal, the name of the Greek goddess Athena derived from the ancient Egyptian Ht Nt, "temple of Neith". Even though Bernal's etymology has been effectively refuted on the grounds of historical linguistics, the iconographic and semantic details which Bernal adduces make it quite conceivable that the link between Athena and Neith was more than superficial. The present author suggests, however, that Neith and Athena both derive from a common prototype which, throughout the ancient eastern Mediterranean, has produced Great Goddesses with connotations of underworld, death, violence and rebirth. Such a view - although inspired by Bernal - effectively explodes the Black Athena thesis, since it dissolves the very contradiction between Indo-European and Afroasiatic as the source of Aegean civilization, and draws on a common substratum which cannot readily be relegated to an African provenance. In conclusion, the present author advocates continued research in the spirit of Martin Bernal, with vastly increased personal, disciplinary, financial and temporal resources. (A shorter French version of this article is published in: Afrocentrismes : l'histoire des Africains entre Égypte et Amérique / sous la dir. de François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar, Jean-Pierre Chrétien et Claude-Hélène Perrot. - Paris : Karthala, 2000, p. 127-150.) Show less
