|
To answer Burridge's question first. The middle class are tops on the ancestralist list. They are the ones with ambition and suspicion, they see forces at work in their careers etc. They are the ones always seeking a spirit medium to explain why things are not going well,and what they need to do to appease the spirits.
The difference, my brother, is that ancestralism is about the supposed ancestors mediating between the God and man. So, if we were ancestralists, instead of looking to a descendant of David, we would look for someone possessed by David's spirit and this would actually be David.
Of course, such a spirit medium would have to convince us that he is in fact possessed by David's spirit. For example, today, there are up to 8 people claiming to be the true spirit medium of Nehanda Nyakasikana.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site may at times contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml |