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Black critics and kings : the hermeneutics of power in Yoruba society
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Black critics and kings : the hermeneutics of power in Yoruba society

by Andrew Apter

This study examines how Yoruba ritual and cosmology shape politics, history, and resistance in Nigeria from the nineteenth century to the modern state. It analyses how religious practices serve as a critical tool for negotiating power and political change.

Accession 1041 ISBN 9780226023427 Publisher University of Chicago Press
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Communication Culture Death and Burial Folklore History Political Science Religion Social Sciences
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on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-03 17:12
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
G:S2:1 4 Current vertical
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Book Location
Updated 6 days, 21 hours ago
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Last synced 2026-05-21 02:30 (2 weeks, 6 days ago)

Identity

name→ title
Black critics and kings : the hermeneutics of power in Yoruba society
vernon_id
4931
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1041
vernon_slug
black-critics-and-kings-the-hermeneutics-of-power-in-yoruba-society-andrew-apter

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location_reason
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9780226023427

Descriptive

production_date
1992
object_type
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object_status
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brief_description
How can we account for the power of ritual? This is the guiding question of Black Critics and Kings, which examines how Yoruba forms of ritual and knowledge shape politics, history, and resistance against the state. Focusing on "deep" knowledge in Yoruba cosmology as an interpretive space for configuring difference, Andrew Apter analyzes ritual empowerment as an essentially critical practice, one that revises authoritative discourses of space, time, gender, and sovereignty to promote political—-and even violent—-change.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Andrew Apter
tags→ tags
Cults, Religions, Religion, History, Political science, Social sciences, Civilisation, Sociology, Language and languages, Communication, Anthropology, Culture, Power (Social sciences), Kings and rulers, Heads of state, Executive power, Manners and customs, Ritual, Worship, Sacrifice, Yoruba (African people), Ethnology -- Nigeria, Gods, Mythology, Classical, Folklore
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Topics and Themes