NYIKANG THE WARRIOR PRIEST: SHILLUK (CHOL) IMAGERY, ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT (THE SUDAN)

The divine kingship of the Nilotic Shilluk has been extolled as the example par excellence of a sacradotal political system. This dissertation explores Shilluk divine kingship as both a political reality and as an ideational form. The focus of this study is derived from the theoretical position that state development is a dual process involving the inception and the legitimization of the political configuration. During the process of political centralization ideological components define the political arrangement and then legitimize its existence by generating further symbols of power.;An important aspect of this study considers kingship in Shillukland to be a dual institution where the political power of the incumbent reth (king pl. ror) waxes and wanes according to the vicissitudes of economic and military strength, yet ideologically, the kingship persists as an institution central to the Shilluk sense of well-being. This inherent diachratic structure of the Shilluk state is a consequence of particular historical contingencies and socio-economic arrangements.;This dissertation contends that the Shilluk state emerged (ca. 1650-700 A.D.) at a time of social and environmental stress under the guidance of 'charismatic' leaders. Reliance upon the external resources secured by trade and raiding activities, and existing environmental limitations restricted the state's dominance over the self-sustaining village economy. In compensation for the apparent lack of political control over the subsistence portion of the economy Shilluk ideology, manifested in mythology, contains powerful symbols which embue the centralized leadership with a culturally perceived control over the environment resulting in a sacral aura around the kingship.;This research concludes that appropriate images and symbols render the culture hero a warrior priest responsible for societal and cosmic order and that mystical association with the culture hero arranged during the installation ceremony provides the incumbent with the requisite authority to complement the existing political power.;Shilluk oral traditions provide evidence to allow for the historical reconstruction of the emergence of the state and for identifying the requisite cultural constructs of centralization. Although couched in metaphor the abundant narratives record the Shilluk perception of history where a lineage based political system was transformed into a centralized state. This rich resource is a repository of historical information depicted in culturally prescribed terms.