Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T20:16:49.620Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

“Uneasy Lies the Head”: Politics, Economics, and the Continuity of Belief among Yoruba of Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

P.J. Dixon
P.J. Dixon
Affiliation:
University of Transkei
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Traditionally a considerable gap has existed between social anthropologists, on the one hand, and political scientists and historians, on the other, in their analysis of events. Archetypically, social anthropologists have concentrated upon enduring social structure and have tended to steer clear of more recent events in the society under study; yet this suggests that the anthropologist is avoiding the question of how the social structure that he enshrines in the ethnographic present is derived. ‘Social structure’ is a composite of the anthropologist's own observation of native behaviour and native exegesis, the latter in turn being the result of a dialectic between their (the indigenous people's) present perception of events and their idea (or image) of what their society has traditionally been and perhaps ought to be. This is particularly so in those societies that, in Lévi-Strauss' words (1966a:233–4) seek “by the institutions they give themselves, to annul the possible effects of historical factors upon their equilibrium and continuity in a quasi-automatic fashion,” that is, in those societies in which “their image of themselves is an essential part of their reality.”

Type
Belief Systems and Political Behavior
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 56 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abraham., R.C. 1958. Dictionary of Modern Yoruba. London:University Press.Google Scholar
Achebe, C. 1983. The Trouble with Nigeria. Lagos:Heinemann.Google Scholar
Adeniyi, T. 1976. The Lunatic and Other Essays. Ibadan:Owo Publishing.Google Scholar
Ahern, E.M. 1982. “Rules in Oracles and Games.”Man (N.S.), 17:2, 302–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajibola, J.O. 1979. Owe Yoruba. Lagos:Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Althusser, L. 1969. For Marx. London:Allen Lane.Google Scholar
Ardener, E. 1970. “Witchcraft, Economics and the Continuity of Belief,” in Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations (A.S.A. 9), Douglas, M., ed. London:Tavistock.Google Scholar
Ardener, E. 1971. “The New Anthropology and its Critics” Man (N.S.), 6:3, 449–67.Google Scholar
Ardener, E. 1975. “The Cosmological Irishman.” New Society, 14 08, 362–4.Google Scholar
Ardener, E. 1978. “Some Outstanding Problems in the Analysis of Events,” in The Yearbook of Symbolic Anthropology, vol. 1, Schwimmer, E., ed. London:Hurst.Google Scholar
Armstrong, R.P. 1971. The Affecting Presence. Urbana:University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Ataiyero, S.A. 1977. A Short History of the Ijeshas, pt. 1. Ilesha:Olufemi Press.Google Scholar
Awolalu, J.O. 1970. “The Yoruba Philosophy of Life.” Presence Africaine (N.S.); 73:1, 20–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beidelman, T.O. 1966. “The Ox and Nuer Sacrifice.” Man (N.S.), 1:4, 453–67.Google Scholar
Belasco, B.I. 1980. The Entrepreneur as Culture Hero. New York:Praeger.Google Scholar
Ben, Amos P. 1976. “Men and Animals in Benin Art.” Man (N.S.), 11:2, 243–52.Google Scholar
Berger, P. 1966. Invitation to Sociology. London:Pelican Books.Google Scholar
Bloch, M. 1983. Marxism and Anthropology. Oxford:Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Bohannan, P. 1958. “Extra-processual Events in Tiv Political Institutions.” American Anthropologist, 60:1, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, T.J. 1858. A Grammar and Dictionary of the Yoruba Language1. New York:Craighead.Google Scholar
Buckley, A.D. 1976. “The Secret—An Idea in Yoruba Medicinal Thought,” in Social Anthropology and Medicine (A.S.A. 13), Loudon, J.B., ed. London:Academic Press.Google Scholar
Buhari, M. 1984a. National Concorde (Lagos), 2 01.Google Scholar
Buhari, M. 1984b. New Nigerian (Kaduna), 19 01.Google Scholar
Cohen, A. 1969. Custom and Politics in Urban Africa. London:Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Chukwudum, A.M. 1981. Nigeria: The Country in a Hurry. Lagos:John West Publications.Google Scholar
Crick, M. 1976. Explorations in Language and Meaning. London:Malaby Press.Google Scholar
Dennes, W.R. 1924. The Method and Presuppositions of Group Philosophy, vol. 6, no. 1 of Publications in Philosophy. Berkeley:University of California.Google Scholar
Dixon, P.-J. 1981. “There is no God but God:God the Creator and Social Change,” DYN (Journal of the University of Durham Anthropological Society, United Kingdom), vol. 6, 55–83.Google Scholar
Dixon, P.-J. 1984. “Some West African Mortuary Rites.” University of Oxford (M.Litt.thesis).Google Scholar
Douglas, M., ed. 1970a. Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations (A.S.A. 9). London:Tavistock.Google Scholar
Douglas, M., 1970b. Natural Symbols. London:Cresset.Google Scholar
Eades, J.S. 1980. The Yoruba Today. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Economist, The. 1984. The Political Economy of Nigeria. London:Economist Newspaper Ltd., England.Google Scholar
Enahoro, P. 1984. Africa Now, January. London:Pan-Africa Publishers Ltd.Google Scholar
Emacheta, B. 1982. Naira Power. London:Macmillan.Google Scholar
Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1937. Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford:University Press.Google Scholar
Evans-pritchard, E.E. 1940. The Political System of the Anuak. London:Lund, Humphries.Google Scholar
Evans-pritchard, E.E. 1956. Nuer Religion. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Evans-pritchard, E.E. 1962a. “The Divine Kingship of the Shilluk,” in Essays in Social Anthropology, Evans-Pritchard, E.E., ed. London:Faber.Google Scholar
Evans-pritchard, E.E. 1962b. “Social Anthropology: Past and Present,” in Essays in Social Anthropology, Evans-Pritchard, E.E., ed. London:Faber.Google Scholar
Evans-pritchard, E.E.. 1962c. “Anthropology and History,” in Essays in Social Anthropology, Evans-Pritchard, E.E., ed. London:Faber.Google Scholar
Fadipe, N.A. 1970. The Sociology of the Yorubas. Ibadan:University Press.Google Scholar
Firth, R. 1964. “Foreword,” in E. Leach, Political Systems of Highland Burma. London:Bell.Google Scholar
Floyd, B.N. 1984. Nigeria: Economic Activity and Agricultural Crisis Paper read at Institute of British Geographers Annual ConferenceUniversity of Durham, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Fbucault, M. 1979. Madness and Civilization. London:Tavistock.Google Scholar
Gluckman, M. 1956. Custom and Conflict. London:Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, I. 1984. The Observer (London), 15 01.Google Scholar
Idiagbon, T. n.d. To Rescue the Nation. Lagos:Federal Ministry of Information.Google Scholar
Janzen, J.M.; and MacGaffey, W.. 1974. An Anthology of Kongo Religion. Kansas:Lawrence.Google Scholar
Jones, G.I. 1963. Trading States of the Oil Rivers. London:International African Institute.Google Scholar
Leach, E.R. 1964. Political Systems of Highland Burma. London:Bell.Google Scholar
Lévi-Strauss, C. 1962. La Pensée Sauvage. Paris:Plon.Google Scholar
Lévi-Strauss, C. 1963. Structural Anthropology. London:Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Lévi-Strauss, C. 1964. Mythologiques I: Le Cru et la Cuit. Paris:Plon.Google Scholar
Lévi-Strauss, C.. 1966a. The Savage Mind. London:Weidenfeld and Nicholson.Google Scholar
Lévi-Strauss, C.. 1966b. Mythologiques II: Du Meil aux Cendres. Paris:Plon.Google Scholar
Lienhardt, G. 1954. “The Shilluk of the Upper Nile,” in African Worlds, Fbrde, D., ed. London:International African Institute.Google Scholar
Lienhardt, G.. 1962. “The Situation of Death: An Aspect of Anuak Philosophy.”Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 35, 74–85.Google Scholar
Maine, H.S. 1861. Ancient Law.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacGaffey, W. 1978. “African History, Anthropology, and the Rationality of Natives.” History in Africa, 5:2, 101–20.Google Scholar
Middleton, J. 1960. Lugbara Religion. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Morgan, W.T.W. 1984. “Oil Boom out of Steam.” Geographical Magazine, vol. 56.Google Scholar
Morton-Williams, P. 1956. “The atinga Cult among the South-Western Yoruba.” Bulletin d'lFAN, 18:3–4, 318–32.Google Scholar
National Concorde (Lagos). 1983. “Statement by The Governor, The Central Bank, Nigeria.” 9 12.Google Scholar
Needham, R. 1963. “Introduction,” in E. Durkheim, and M. Mauss, Primitive Classification. London:Cohen and West.Google Scholar
Norbeck, E. 1963. “African Rituals of Conflict.”American Anthropologist, 65:4, 1254–79.Google Scholar
Nwankwo, . 1984. “Keeping Control of Foreign Borrowing.” West Africa, 3, 12.Google Scholar
Nzeribe, F.A. 1984. The Guardian (London), 27 01.Google Scholar
Ogunbadejo, B. 1983. “Uneasy Lies the Head” (cartoon), in The Guardian Supplement (Nigeria), 25 09.Google Scholar
Oni, J.O. n.d. A History of Ijeshaland. Ile Ife:Fadehan Printing Works.Google Scholar
Oporandu, I. 1980. The Wages of Sin. Lagos:Macmillan.Google Scholar
Othman, S. 1984a. “Spoils of Power,” The Guardian (London), 3 02.Google Scholar
Othman, S.. 1984b. “Classes, Crises and Coup:The Demise of Shagari's Regime.” African Affairs, 83:333, 441–61.Google Scholar
Peel, J.D.Y. 1978. “Olaju: A Yoruba Concept of Development.” Journal of Development Studies, vol. 14, 139–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peel, J.D.Y.. 1983. Ijeshas and Nigerians. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Peel, J.D.Y.. 1984. “Making history; the Past in the Ijesha Present.” Man (N.S.), 9:1, 111–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peel, Q. 1984. Financial Times (London), 5 04.Google Scholar
Poster, M. 1982. “Fbucault and History.” Social Research, 49:1, 116–42.Google Scholar
Ranger, T.O. 1979. Revolt in Southern Rhodesia 1896–7. London:Heinemann.Google Scholar
Read, K.E. 1955. “Morality in the Concept of the Person among the Gahuku-Gama.” Oceania, vol. 25, 233–x82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruel, M. 1969. Leopards and Leaders. London:Tavistock.Google Scholar
Sahlins, M. 1981. Historical Metaphors and Mythic Realities. Ann Arbor:University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sahlins, M.. 1985. Island of History. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Saussure, F.de. 1916. Cours de linguistique gélnérale. Paris.Google Scholar
Strathern, A. 1982. “Witchcraft, Greed, Cannibalism and Death; Some Related Themes from the New Guinea Highlands,” in Death and the Regeneration of Life, Bloch, M. and Parry, J., eds. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wiener, N. 1948. Cybernetics. New York.Google Scholar
Williams, G. 1980. State and Society in Nigeria. Idanre:Afrografika.Google Scholar
Winch, P. 1958. The Idea of a Social Science. London:Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
World About Us, 1984. Nigeria: A Squandering of Riches (film). British Broadcasting Company.Google Scholar