On June 28, 1996, a conference was held at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, on controversies originating from Martin Bernal's study 'Black Athena: the Afro-Asiatic roots of classical... Show moreOn June 28, 1996, a conference was held at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, on controversies originating from Martin Bernal's study 'Black Athena: the Afro-Asiatic roots of classical civilization' (1987, 1991). Papers were presented by Wim van Binsbergen, Martin Bernal, Jan Best, Arno Egberts, and Josine H. Blok. The present publication contains edited versions of these papers, as well as responses by Martin Bernal Show less
Deze bundel, een weerslag van een tweedaagse workshop over staat en maatschappij in Afrika, gehouden medio december 1981 te Leiden, bevat naast een inleidend hoofdstuk van beide redacteurs, acht... Show moreDeze bundel, een weerslag van een tweedaagse workshop over staat en maatschappij in Afrika, gehouden medio december 1981 te Leiden, bevat naast een inleidend hoofdstuk van beide redacteurs, acht theoretisch-vergelijkende studies en elf case-studies. Gezamenlijk geven ze een beeld van recent Nederlands en Belgisch onderzoek op het gebied van staat en maatschappij in Afrika. De auteurs, in alfabetische volgorde: A.N. Achterstraat, H.K. Asmeron, W. van Binsbergen, R. Buijtenhuijs, H.J.M. Claessen, M.R. Doornbos, P. Doornbos, P. Geschiere, J. Goldschmidt, J.P. Heijke, G. Hesseling, L. Kapteijns, P. Konings, P. Nauwelaerts, H.L.M. Obdeijn, F. Reyntjens, H. Schoenmakers, A.A. Trouwborst. Show less
The current discussion on democratization in Africa tends towards Eurocentrism in that it pays insufficient attention to the analytical and methodological implications of cultural imperialism,... Show moreThe current discussion on democratization in Africa tends towards Eurocentrism in that it pays insufficient attention to the analytical and methodological implications of cultural imperialism, localization, wrongly claimed universality, and the social price of relativism. Conceptually, formal constitutional democracy is only one variant of democracy among others, and besides, it is an item of political culture which has only relatively recently been introduced to Africa. Recent developments among Nkoya peasants of Kaoma district, Zambia, and working-class townsmen from Francistown, Botswana, most of whom identify themselves ethnically as Kalanga or Tswana, suggest that the democratization movement is only another phase in the ongoing political transformation of Africa. In the course of this process, by an interplay of local and national (ultimately global) conceptions of political power, indigenous constitutional, philosophical and sociological alternatives of political legitimacy are tested, and subsequently accommodated or discarded as obsolete. The author carried out anthropological fieldwork among the Zambian Nkoya in 1972-1974, and in Francistown in 1988-1989, and in both cases has made repeated return visits since. Bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
This is a detailed account of how the author, carrying out research into the urban therapeutic scene in Francistown, Botswana, over varying periods of time in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, first... Show moreThis is a detailed account of how the author, carrying out research into the urban therapeutic scene in Francistown, Botswana, over varying periods of time in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, first became a patient of a 'sangoma' traditional healer, and was subsequently trained and initiated as a 'sangoma' himself. Bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
Paper read at the University of Zambia/ University of California Los Angeles conference on the history of Central African religious systems, Lusaka, 16 pp, 1972
Martin Bernal's 'Black Athena' has evoked three kinds of reaction: scholarly evaluation of the historical evidence for Bernal's claims, both of Ancient Europe's indebtedness to West Asia and... Show moreMartin Bernal's 'Black Athena' has evoked three kinds of reaction: scholarly evaluation of the historical evidence for Bernal's claims, both of Ancient Europe's indebtedness to West Asia and Northeast Africa, and of the construction in recent centuries of the Greek miracle as a Eurocentric, racialist myth; appropriation of the Bernal thesis by African-American and African intellectuals in the process of identity construction and in the politics of global knowledge production as a counterforce to Eurocentrism and scholarly racism; and critical scholarly extrapolation of the Bernal thesis with regard to African material beyond ancient Egypt. Arguing that origin is not to be equated with subsequent local transformation and performance in maturity, the present author posits that a different mode of thinking about cultural dynamics and interdependence is required. Two case studies tracing the geographical distribution and probable diffusion of geomantic divination and mancala board games since the 16th century, suggest that it is a typical pattern of African cultural history to see active early participation in global cultural flows, followed by subsequent 'cultural involution' and the loss of virtually all trace of an earlier intercontinental exchange. The unit of analysis is civilizations; 'Africa', the continent, is not a viable unit of analysis in this connection. Notes, ref., sum. in French (p. 100) Show less
On June 28, 1996, a conference was held at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, on controversies originating from Martin Bernal's study 'Black Athena: the Afro-Asiatic roots of classical... Show moreOn June 28, 1996, a conference was held at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, on controversies originating from Martin Bernal's study 'Black Athena: the Afro-Asiatic roots of classical civilization' (1987, 1991). Papers were presented by Wim van Binsbergen, Martin Bernal, Jan Best, Arno Egberts, and Josine H. Blok. The present publication is an edited versions of Wim van Binsbergen's paper. Show less
This introductory chapter sketches globalization and Africa in broad theoretical terms, examining the meaning of the term globalization; the impact of globalization on daily life in Africa in... Show moreThis introductory chapter sketches globalization and Africa in broad theoretical terms, examining the meaning of the term globalization; the impact of globalization on daily life in Africa in economic as well as sociocultural terms; globalization as a historical phenomenon; the political aspects of globalization; its spatial dynamics: migration and transmigration, and the relationship of transnationalism with the emergence of new religious forms; and the contribution of anthropology to the field of globalization studies. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Zambia is among the few African countries where chiefs occupy an honorable position at the national level, and where a House of Chiefs is established, complementary to Parliament. This paper... Show moreZambia is among the few African countries where chiefs occupy an honorable position at the national level, and where a House of Chiefs is established, complementary to Parliament. This paper examines the relationship between chiefs and the central government on the basis of an analysis of newspaper articles from the 'Zambia Daily Mail' and the 'Times of Zambia' over the period 1 February 1972 to 1 February 1973. Attention is paid to the various images of the chiefs, both positive and negative, as expressed in the newspapers; the career of Princess Nakatindi of Sesheke (d. 1972); the continuity in the relations between chiefs and the central government; the chiefs' search for protection by the State; the subjugation of the chiefs by State bureaucracies; and the selective use of chiefly symbolism. The analysis shows that modern politics and traditional leadership do not constitute two separate worlds, but that State and chieftaincy are closely interlocking aspects of modern Zambian life. App., bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
In this chapter the author explores how the inhabitants of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, have used their church organization to create a viable social texture for themselves, serving political,... Show moreIn this chapter the author explores how the inhabitants of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, have used their church organization to create a viable social texture for themselves, serving political, economic and kinship goals way beyond the letter of the gospel. In Zambia, towns only came into being during the colonial period. The author starts with a discussion of the relative importance of continuity and transformation in the urban social structure of rural patterns of social relations. He then presents a long monologue of just one urban protagonist, recorded during fieldwork in 1972-1973. Mrs. Evelyn Phiri lives in the township of Kapemperere in Lusaka, and is a member of a well-established church body, the Roman Catholic Church. Her monologue highlights the discussion of elements of continuity and transformation. The church appears as a local formal organization, as a structure of material and ideological/spiritual assistance, and finally as a structure of social control. It assumes functions which can only be understood against the background of preexisting rural traditional patterns, yet caters for needs of crisis support, conflict regulation and the expression of group identity and an emerging class structure. This provides a framework within which to identify urban social processes such as they manifest themselves in the social drama evocated in Mrs. Phiri's monologue. Notes, ref Show less
This volume brings together fifteen essays investigating aspects of interculturality. Published between 1969 and 2002, the essays operate at the borderline between anthropology and intercultural... Show moreThis volume brings together fifteen essays investigating aspects of interculturality. Published between 1969 and 2002, the essays operate at the borderline between anthropology and intercultural philosophy. Ethnographic data are derived from field research carried out in Tunisia, Zambia and Botswana. While a number of chapters focus on specific African contexts, others have a more theoretical focus, or deal with the whole of Africa. The essays are arranged in five parts: 1. Preliminaries; 2. The construction of intercultural knowledge through anthropological fieldwork; 3. From anthropological fieldworker in southern Africa, to North Atlantic diviner-priest: an experiment in intercultural philosophy; 4. From cultural anthropology to intercultural philosophy; 5. Exercises in intercultural philosophy. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Il y a un demi-siècle, le chercheur sénégalais Cheikh Anta Diop posait la question de la négritude de l'Égypte et de l'antériorité des civilisations nègres. Aujourd'hui, c'est de l'Amérique du... Show moreIl y a un demi-siècle, le chercheur sénégalais Cheikh Anta Diop posait la question de la négritude de l'Égypte et de l'antériorité des civilisations nègres. Aujourd'hui, c'est de l'Amérique du Nord que nous viennent les échos d'une telle contestation de l'histoire écrite par les Blancs. La réécriture du passé des Africains, vu à la lumière de l'Égypte pharaonique, suscite une relecture du passé européen. Les humanités gréco-latines se voient opposer des humanités négro-égyptiennes. Toute l'historiographie savante est donc soupçonnée d'un complot planétaire contre les peuples noirs, dont elle aurait dérobé l'héritage culturel pour mieux les asservir. Cette science dite eurocentriste est donc défiée par une histoire afrocentriste du monde. L'objet de cet ouvrage est de mieux connaître l'argumentation de ce courant, d'en discuter les sources et les méthodes, d'en comprendre les motivations et d'en analyser les réseaux. Les auteurs viennent de tous horizons et de plusieurs disciplines (histoire, égyptologie, linguistique, anthropologie, philosophie, sciences politiques). Les contributions sont regroupées en quatre parties: 1. Un nouvel africanisme? (contributions de: François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar, Paul Cartledge, Clarence Walker, Henry Tourneux, Agnès Lainé); 2. Au commencement était l'Égypte (Wim van Binsbergen, Béatrix Midant-Reynes, Pascal Vernus, Marc Étienne); 3. Projections dans le passé (Bernard Ortiz de Montellano, Jean-Pierre Chrétien, Stephen Howe); 4. Réseaux et métamorphoses (Vittorio Morabito, Pino Schirripa, Christine Douxami, Stella Vincenot, Lydia Samarbakhsh-Liberge). Show less
In deze bijdrage verkent de auteur de problematiek van chaos en domesticatie in het kader van ruimtelijke verplaatsing bij twee samenlevingen waar hij onderzoek verricht heeft: de Nkoja op het... Show moreIn deze bijdrage verkent de auteur de problematiek van chaos en domesticatie in het kader van ruimtelijke verplaatsing bij twee samenlevingen waar hij onderzoek verricht heeft: de Nkoja op het platteland van Zambia en de inwoners van Francistown, een middengrote stad in Botswana. Nkoja dorpen zijn tijdelijke conglomeraties van betrekkelijke vreemden die zich in hun onderlinge betrekkingen voortdurend bewust zijn van het optionele aspect van hun samenleven en strategisch uitzien naar mogelijkheden om, vooral door intra-rurale verhuizing, hun persoonlijke zekerheid te verbeteren. De chaos van hun individuele strevingen wordt getemd door het besef dat men gebruik maakt van dezelfde hulpbronnen, hetgeen co”rdinatie en overleg noodzakelijk maakt. Francistown is een centrum van verplaatsing. De toestroom van stedelijke migranten leidde tot een jaarlijkse groei van c. 8 procent in het laatste decennium. De spontane 'squatter' wijken zijn vanaf het eind van de jaren 70 gesaneerd en een deel van de bevolking is overgebracht naar nieuwe 'site-and-service' wijken. Losgeweekt uit hun eerdere sociale verbanden, worden zij hier geconfronteerd met een sociale chaos die zich vooralsnog moeilijk temmen laat. Noten Show less
