1st Edition
Tribes Without Rulers Studies in African Segmentary Systems
248 Pages
by
Routledge
248 Pages
by
Routledge
248 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Recent research in Africa has shown a wide range of political systems, from small societies of wandering hunters to large states of several million people comparable with mediaeval European feudal kingdoms. In between are many societies in which a central government is lacking; the political system is based upon a balance of power between many small groups, which with their lack of classes or specialized political offices, have been called 'ordered anarchies'.
First published in 1958.
1. John Middleton and David Tait, Introduction 2. Laura Bohannan, Political Aspects of Tiv Social Organization 3. Jean Buxton , The Mandari of the Southern Sudan 4. Godfrey Lienhardt, The Western Dinka 5. Edward Winter, The Aboriginal Political Structure of Bwamba 6. David Tait, The Territorial Pattern and Lineage System of Konkomba 7. John Middleton, The Political System of the Lugbara of the Nile-Congo Divide
'The book is a significant addition to the growing body of field research on non-western political institutions.' - M. Fortes, Nature
'Contains excellent short essays on six African societies in which lineages determine the major political groups.' - Africa
