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John Beattie

Bunyoro: An African Kingdom

by John Beattie (Author)

4.2 12 ratings

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This study examines the conflicts that arise when a feudal and bureaucratic administration struggles against the influences of European and traditional standards of behaviour.

ISBN-10

0030047854
ISBN-13

978-0030047855
Publisher

Wadsworth Publishing
Publication date

January 1, 1960
Language

English
Dimensions

6 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wadsworth Publishing (January 1, 1960)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0030047854
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0030047855
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,429,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,229 in Anthropology (Books)
- #11,200 in General Anthropology
- #15,961 in African History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 12 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

12 global ratings

5 star		63%
4 star		23%
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1 star		14%

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Hannah

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2015

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It's an interesting narrative perspective that was more or less a quick read into the lives of the Imbonggu.

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Bill R

A former kingdom in Uganda

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 28, 2013

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Although nominally restored now, it was the great rival of the Buganda kingdom. It is a short history covering its history and rulers to almost the present time.

One person found this helpful

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A glimpse at a disappearing world

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 30, 2010

Man's path from paleo-history is a fascinating study. Since our records of that era is confined to rocks and natural artifacts, those like me who want to understand what man was like in that time must extrapolate from more recent but similar groups of primitive people (I used the word 'primitive' in the anthropologic sense meaning the basis for derived forms rather than crude or preliterate).

I've spent a good bit of time reading about world tribes such as the noble Maasai, the easy-going pygmies, the !Kung--all cultures that are disappearing as 'progress' assaults their borders and spreads a life style that they would never come by naturally.When these last bastions of early civilizations are gone, we will lose a critical tie to understanding how religion came to be, why man adopted jewelry as decoration, how counting evolved (some tribes count only to two, some as far as ten and then multiples of ten), and where symbolic names started.

This latest book, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom is about the Nyoro of western Uganda. John Beattie wrote his treatise in 1960, based on research he did in the '50's, before the Kingdom was banned by Idi Amin, before it was recreated in the 1990's, before it adopted the very western religion of Christianity. In this eighty-three page book, he doesn't cover any of my questions, but were I able to study the Nyoro, I'm sure I could find answers--and Beattie probably did too, just not in this short book.

Here are my notes from the book:

* They live in small groups rather than villages, though they like to live close to one other. They believe good neighbors should help and support each other
* The typical Nyoro is a small farmer who cultivates 4-8 acres of land, owns goats and chickens and maybe a few sheep. He grows millet for food, as well as sweet potatoes, cassave, peas and beans.
* He makes beer from bananas
* Transportation vehicles include bikes and even cars
* They are courteous, hospitable and generous people, quick-witted, thoughtful and humorous
* They believe that some people are always above others, some always below
* Their government was European, as they were under British control, meaning chiefs were salaried positions. Councils advised them on a variety of decisions. Taxes were collected and sent to Britain.
* Despite the British rule, I expected to find a traditional isolated native population, uncontrolled by any outsider, but Beattie's description is of a people who embraced the progress of civilization and subverted their historic roots to a foreign system of life. Because Beattie reported them to be an amiable, content people, well-enough off, I suspect they were happy with the exchange. This is contradictory to the Indian experience with British rule. I wonder how much of that can be attributed to the size of the populations.
* Their family units are patrimonial and polygamous with a high divorce rate.
* Certain legal matters are adjudicated by neighborhood courts rather than a formal national system of law. The primary aim of these village tribunals is to restore good relations as well as to punish the offender.

Where a Western nation is hardly recognizable as itself fifty years ago, the Nyoro haven't changed much. Despite the fact that Britain relinquished control of Bunyoro and they are now an independent Constitutional Monarchy, the typical year that Beattie experienced in the 1960's is pretty similar to what Wikipedia currently details as typical:

* January (Igesa), there would be harvesting of millet
* February (Nyarakarwa) they did not have much work to do
* March (Ijubyamiyonga) fields were prepared for planting simsim
* May (Rwensisezere) there was not much work
* July (ishanya maro), women would prepare fields for millet
* August (Ikokoba) was the months of burning grass in the millet fields
* September (Isiga) was for planting millet
* November (Rwensenene) was named after grass hoppers
* October (ijuba) was a month of weeding
* December (Nyamiganura or Katuruko) was a month of rejoicing and festivities as there was little work to occupy the people

Today, they describe themselves as "the oldest Kingdom in East Africa and once the strongest military & economic power in the Great Lakes area." For more about this fascinating culture, visit their official website. Find out about their King, their Queen, their world.

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ernest schusky

Concise picture of an African Kingdom

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2012

Most African kingdoms are in West Africa, but signicant ones thrive in East Africa as well. Bunyoro is one of the best known, and this book makes knowledge of it available to a wide audience. It well illustrates the obligations that the royal lineages have to the peasant lineages at the bottom of a strict social hierarchy. Beattie poses an interesting problem that prevails in other East African kingdoms. The Bunyoro believe that the royal lineage/clans were a conquering people who invaded the area in the distant past to establish their kingdom yet all the people speak the same language and share the same myths, legends, and similar beliefs. In short, it is hard to find evidence for the idea of conquering outsiders.
However, the value of the book lies in its description of how the kingdom works through its economic system of redistribution. Anyone with an interest in how African kingdoms are organized will find the book indispensable as an introduction.
The book is one of the most popular in the Holt, Rinehart texts for students since it was widely used in introductory anthropology courses and African studies courses. Ernestschusky.com/About the author

2 people found this helpful

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bluie

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2015

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Good

Kemi

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 9, 2014

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Arrived and in good condition, happy with it!

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