Power and performance
Subtitle: ethnographic explorations through proverbial wisdom and theater in Shaba, Zaire
By: Johannes Fabian.
Series: New directions in anthropological writing
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: 1990
Place of publication: Madison, Wis
Language: eng
Number of pages: 314
Subjects: Groupe Mufwankolo.; Luba (African people); Theater -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Katanga.; Philosophy, Luba.; Power (Social sciences)
Description: In 1985 the distinguished anthropologist, Johannes Fabian, while engaged in fieldwork in the Shaba province of Zaire, first encountered this saying. Its implications -- for the charismatic religious movements Fabian was examining, for the highly charged political atmosphere of Zaire, and for the cultures of the Luba peoples -- continued to intrigue him, though its meaning remained elusive. On a later visit, he mentioned the saying to a company of popular actors, and triggered an ethnographic brainstorm. Power and Performance examines traditional proverbs about power as it illustrates how the performance of Le pouvoir se mange entier was created, rehearsed, and performed by the Troupe Theatrale Mufwankolo. The play deals with the issue of power through a series of conflicts between villagers and their chief. Both rehearsal and performance versions of the text of this drama are included, in Swahili and in English translation.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-305) and index.