Creation of Cooperativity through Mourning

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  • 死者祈念儀礼をとおして生起する共同性
  • 死者祈念儀礼をとおして生起する共同性 : ウガンダ共和国のアルル人におけるリチュアル・シティズンシップ
  • シシャ キネン ギレイ オ トオシテ セイキ スル キョウドウセイ : ウガンダ キョウワコク ノ アルルジン ニ オケル リチュアル ・ シティズンシップ
  • ウガンダ共和国のアルル人におけるリチュアル・シティズンシップ
  • Ritual Citizenship among the Alur People in the Republic of Uganda

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Abstract

<p>This paper discusses a type of citizenship that prevails within the ritual space shared by the deceased and the living among the Alur people. Although they were divided into people living in the West Nile region in Uganda and those inhabiting the northeast end of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the colonial era, the Alur used to perform the ritual of myel agwara (which means the dance of long flutes) some years after a person's death.</p> <p>According to Alur belief, when a person dies, he or she becomes a tipo (spirit) and sometimes protects and sometimes challenges the bereaved before transitioning to the ancestral world. Alur people respectfully maintain the abila and jok, which are small shrine-like structures made of wood and grass, at home to communicate with their ancestors through the tipo of the father and grandfather. Although the practices related to communications with the tipo have been strongly rejected by the Christian church, the spiritual world continues to lie snugly against the real world.</p> <p>The myel agwara is the final mourning ritual, and it is a three-night ceremony that includes music and dance, which are planned by the offspring of the deceased and other members of the clan. According to the Alur, myel agwara is performed only through the spiritual power of ambaya, which is a spiritual item made of the skin of a small animal and includes a whistle and some herbs, and is controlled by the power of kajagi, which is a long pole built at the centre of the ritual place. The ritual has not been performed in Uganda since 1987, because Uganda was in political turmoil during the 1970s and 1980s and people's lives were affected. I first discussed the myel agwara ritual with people of the Unu lineage of the Pamora clan in 2009, and we finally performed a selewa, which is a ritual similar to myel agwara, between 2 and 4 March 2012, despite encountering many difficulties such as a shortage of funds and agawara.</p> <p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>

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