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Title: | But where is the throne? Recalled ritual and the cycle of Segou |
Author: | Belcher, Stephen |
Year: | 1994 |
Language: | English |
City of publisher: | Toronto |
Publisher: | African Studies Association |
Geographic term: | Mali |
Subjects: | Segu polity epics (form) |
Abstract: | Accession to power and legitimacy are central themes in the various narratives which comprise the epic cycle of Segou, but the treatment is always negative. The throne of Segou is a hide, an item used at one point to wrap the body of a dead king, and this would suggest that the kings of Segou are associated with death. There is no throne, in other words; there is only power. This paper focuses on the legend of the founder of the kingdom, Biton Koulibaly, and analyses the episodes of the narrative. As a tentative conclusion, the author suggests that the kings of Segou governed with no consent, but only with coercion. The most important activity recalled within the epic cycle is the insult of the kings that triggers many of the episodes. This verbal excoriation transforms the figures of the past almost into scapegoats, as vehicles for the negatives of society. |