Kingship

The institution of kingship has been fairly widespread globally from ancient times, through the medieval period, and into the contemporary era. The biblical and Greco-Roman worlds and the great dynasties of Egypt were characterized by a succession of kings, emperors, and queens who made their mark in history. Many of these monarchies were sacral in character.

Indeed, the link between religion and governance has a long history, and the link is especially evident when governance is perceived as leadership, as illustrated by the concept of the “divine right” of kings, which was to gain currency in the history of Europe. Thus, some previous and existing forms of political power are dependent on structured belief systems. The institution of divine kingship is one extreme manifestation of the intersection of religion and governance. There is now a tendency in the West, particularly in Europe and the United States, to distinguish between religion and society or to make a separation between church and state; these relationships, which have become contentious, are in actual fact less distinct in many other parts of the world. A striking example is the case of Africa.

Ever since James Frazer delineated divine kinship in 1890 with his theories on the pattern of myths and ritual, the focus of investigation has been largely on Africa. The notion of divine kingship was closely related to Ancient Egypt, where kings ruled at least since about 3000 BCE, when the Pharaohs, the early Egyptian kings, came to power. Other kingdoms developed in North Africa and large areas south of the Sahara, such as the Yoruba and Benin kingdoms (Nigeria), the Asante kingdom (Ghana), and the Zulu, Sotho, and Swazi kingdoms (southern Africa). Edward Evans-Pritchard's sociōanthropological study on the divine kingship of the Shilluk (Sudan) espouses the place of the institution against the backdrop that the kingship, not the king, is divine, that divine kingship is as much a political as a ritual phenomenon, and that the office must be viewed in the total context of the social [Page 668]structure. Mary Douglas demonstrates the significance of institutions in shaping the minds of individuals in society and their influence on collective action.

The institution of kinship in Africa is pervasive, a phenomenon that is deeply ingrained in the sociopolitical fabric and the religio-cultural experience of virtually all African societies. Not all African societies have had traditional rulers in the form of kings, queens, or chiefs. In other contexts, communities are governed by elders, the clan, or village heads. But where kings and chiefs existed, their office is usually regarded as having been divinely instituted or maintained. The ritualization of the office does not only make the king stand out among all others in society, it also keeps him in constant touch with the source of power. The traditional rulers hold a significant place in African life and concepts by virtue of their office. The institution of kingship embraces political, ritual, and cosmological aspects. According to John Mbiti, these kings and chiefs are looked on both as political heads and as sacred personages who symbolize the prosperity and welfare of their nations. Kings are political and economic role models, mystical and religious heads, and the divine symbol of their people's health and welfare. They are significant for their ritual and constitutional aspects, which tend to form a common pattern.

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