Tribes Without Rulers: Studies in African Segmentary Systems / Edition 1

by John Middleton, David Tait

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415329972
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/26/2004
Series:	Routledge Library Editions: Anthropology and Ethnography
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

'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

From the Publisher