RELG 380DAfrican Kingship

Catalog

As living ancestors, kings and queens in Africa were-and are-seen as socio-political and spiritual leaders. However, this view of kingship has undergone significant changes in recent centuries, to the extent that nowadays traditional rulers do not enjoy the same temporal power and authority as was in the past. The reason for the changing dynamics of African kingship is colonialism. Thus the course examines African concepts of divine kingship, systems of succession, kingship rites, Western contact with African leaders, and how Europeans used policies like assimilation, association, and direct and indirect rules to undermine the power and authority of traditional rulers.