Autorité mystique et pouvoir d' État ; religieuse des royaumes des Grands Lacs

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Abstract
The example of the early kingdoms of the Great Lakes illustrates the complexity of relationships between religion and political power. Despite analytical frameworks which view the former as a mere reflexion of the latter, it would appear in this case that royalty and the initiation cuit (kubandwa, religion cwezï) are intrinsically intertwined, but within varied historical circumstances. Sometimes a subversive and popular tradition expresses itself by pitting a sacred model of origins against the momentary difficulties of those in political power ; sometimes a social order affirms itself, legitimized by beliefs and the cuits while at the same time being manipulated by the ruling aristocraties. This contradictory image, both conservative and subversives, jointly expressed by religious and political authorities, may reflect the development of a " civil society " broader in scope and less confining than a purely lineage-based value System. The secular context of Western socio-political change furnishes one means to understanding such history.

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