Phillips Stevens

The Kisra legend and the distortion of historical tradition

The presence of the ‘Kisra legend’ in certain western Sudanic societies has long puzzled historians and anthropologists. Attempts by many to explain the phenomenon have been seen as unsatisfactory. In Section I of this study we noted the fact that the Arabic Kasra or Kesra , having been derived from the title of one or the other of two Persian kings of the sixth and seventh centuries, denotes, in von Grunebaums phrase, ‘a truly royal style of life’. The profound influences of Perso-Arabic elements on many cultures of the southern and western Sudan, even before the spread of Islam in these areas, strongly suggests the possibility that, rather than by any specific migration, the idea of ‘Kisra’ was borne across the Sahara, to the areas where it took root in the form of the Kisra legends. When the geographical situation of those societies having fully-developed Kisra legends is considered, noting that the most detailed and strongly held legends obtain among societies who were constantly threatened by others who were recognized as technologically, and possibly felt as culturally, superior, and among whom the Kisra idea also existed, the origins and distribution of such legends becomes more plausibly explainable. It has been suggested that, through a selective altering of historical tradition, over time, societies who felt so threatened were able to (1) assert their equality to, if not superiority over, the threatening power; (2) justify their successful maintenance of independence in spite of this threat; and/or (3) thus re-establish a basis for societal unity.

Women’s Aggressive Use of Genital Power in Africa

Anthropology has long recognized the inadvertent polluting power of the male and female genitals. In his important discussion of Yoruba beliefs in female power and witchcraft, Raymond Prince (1961) recognized that African women know very well that they can direct the power that can emanate from their own genitals, and in some extreme situations their threats to loosen this power are strongly persuasive. Only a few others have recognized the aggressive use of female genital power. Further research in this area has important implications for understanding African ideas of sexuality.

Universal Cultural Elements in the Satanic Demonology

The “Black” or “Satanic Mass” is the western Christian variant of a complex scenario that expresses peoples most basic and terrible fears. Many elements in the scenario, called a demonology, are found universally and throughout history. Anthropological examination of them suggests that they represent sub-cultural, innate fears deeply rooted in our evolutionary biology. This paper briefly discusses certain motifs prominent in the satanic demonology, including: nocturnal activity, ritual murder and the ritual use of blood, cannibalism and vampirism, incest and other forms of illicit sexuality, general fears of danger to children, and death, all of which represent universal cultural fears. Also considered are certain elements which seem specific to Western variants of the demonology, e.g., torment with snakes and spiders, and urine and feces. The possibilities of primate parallels to some of these features of the demonology is also considered. Cultural bases for these elements and the significance of their distribution may help to explain the widespread allegations of horrible deeds by satanic cults, and the testimonies of “survivors” of satanic rituals.

A Review of A Companion to the Anthropology of Religion

Unlike the venerable Oxford Companion series, which “combine the functionality of a subject dictionary with the breadth and scope of an encyclopedia” (http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/s...

TA(A)SP: the formative years

This essay is a personal reconstruction of the founding and early development of The Association for the Anthropological Study of Play, whose name was changed in 1987 to The Association for the Study of Play (TASP). Chronologically from 1973 to 1978 and through description of some later events the essay summarizes the theoretical rationale for TASP; emphasizes the pioneering individuals who organized, inspired, and sustained the organization; and indicates some publications and theoretical contributions generated by it.

Where Humans and Spirits Meet: The Politics of Rituals and Identified Spirits in Zanzibar, and: Social Identities (review)

The construction of identity has been of interest in anthropology for some decades and was the motivation for the Oxford seminar founded in the 1980s by Edwin Ardener (d. 1987) from which this series derives. In multi-cultural populations, the establishment of identity is essential, but can be tricky. The author of this book contends that among the heterogeneous population of Zanzibar, spirit possession provides a means whereby sharp differences in genders, ethnicities, and religious faiths can be publicized and negotiated, and the ambiguities generated by such differences can be resolved. Kjersti Larsen has solid credentials to offer such a study. Her fieldwork in Zanzibar comprised 2 1⁄2 years from 1984 into the 1990s and was conducted completely in Swahili without an interpreter. This book is based on fieldwork conducted in a one-year stay, 1991-1992, and a return in 1997, by which time she knew the society well, and her subjects seem to have become quite comfortable with her participant observation. Focusing mainly on the

The Anthropologist in West Africa Today: Some Observations from Recent Field Work

At least three articles concerning anthropological and other research interests in Africa have appeared in recent years in the African Studies Bulletin: McCalls (1967) on the history of anthropological concerns and McKays and Kopytoffs (both 1968) on “the research climate” in Eastern and francophone West Africa, respectively. In this paper I shall discuss some specific problems which the field anthropologist may face during the course of his research-problems the nature of which may not be foreseen in the preparatory stages, which may have few or no precedents in previous field-work situations, and which, in any case, receive little discussion in the literature on anthropological field methods. The problems to be discussed were encountered, or felt, by me in a specific location, and with specific research goals, but I think they reflect more than possible inadequacies in my own research methods and have potentially far wider application than merely to my particular field situation. Indeed, they could have important implications for the future of anthropological and other field research, both in Africa and elsewhere. Research was conducted in Numan Division, Adamawa Province, North-East State, Nigeria, from September 1969 to April 1971. I had debated whether to mention specific names in this paper, but I have decided to do so, since “Village A” and “Chief B” and other such substitutions would be confusing, and especially since the situations to which I will refer are readily acknowledged and openly discussed by the people of the area. I will, however, avoid referring to particular persons by their given names.