Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty (African Studies)

632 Pages·1996·2.07 MB·English

by  Christopher Wrigley

Kingship and State : The Buganda Dynasty
title:
African Studies Series ; 88
author: Wrigley, Christopher.
publisher: Cambridge University Press
isbn10 | asin: 0521473705
print isbn13: 9780521473705
ebook isbn13: 9780511000416
language: English
Uganda--History--To 1890, Mythology,
subject Ganda, Oral tradition--Uganda, Ganda
(African people)--Kings and rulers.
publication date: 1996
lcc: DT433.265.W75 1996eb
ddc: 967.6/01
Uganda--History--To 1890, Mythology,
Ganda, Oral tradition--Uganda, Ganda
subject:
(African people)--Kings and rulers.
Kingship and State
Page i
The pre-colonial kingdom of Buganda, nucleus of the present state of
Uganda, has long attracted scholarly interest. Since written records are
lacking entirely until 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.
Page iv
African Studies Series 88
Editorial board
Professor Naomi Chazan, The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for
the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Professor Christopher Clapham, Department of Politics and
International Relations, Lancaster University
Professor Peter Ekeh, Department of African American Studies, State
University of New York, Buffalo
Dr John Lonsdale, Trinity College, Cambridge
Professor Patrick Manning, Department of History, Northeastern
University, Boston
Published in collaboration with
THE AFRICAN STUDIES CENTRE, CAMBRIDGE
A list of books in this series will be found at the end of this volume
Page v
Kingship and State
The Buganda Dynasty
Christopher Wrigley
University of Sussex
Page vi
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 I RP
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
© Cambridge University Press 1996
First published 1996
Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data
Wrigley, Christopher.
Myth and history in Buganda: a study of an African tradition
Christopher Wrigley.
p. cm. (African studies series; 88)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0 521 47370 5
1. Uganda History To 1890. 2. Mythology, Ganda.
3. Oral tradition Uganda. 4. Ganda (African people) Kings
and rulers.
I. Title. II. Series.
DT433.265.W75 1996
967.6'01-dc20 95 4678 CIP
ISBN 0 521 473705 hardback
VN
Page vii
To the Republic of Uganda
Page ix
Contents
List of Illustrations page x
Preface xi
Notes on Language xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
1
Preamble 1
2
The Story and its Making 20
3
Introduction to Myth 43
4
Introduction to Buganda 57
5
The Remoter Past 69
6
Genesis 79
7
The Cycle of the Kings 122
8
Fragments of History 169
9
Foreign Affairs 192
10
207
The Making of the State
11
Reflections 230
Notes 253
Bibliography 275
Index 288