......The “ALAAFIN” is elected from among many eligible members of the Royal Family by a Powerful Society of Yoruba Noblemen know as the “Oyo Mesi”, the seven principal councilors of state. There have been 43 “Alaafin”, all drawn from the Same Dynasty which has ruled The Yoruba for over 2,000 years. Before he is crowned “OBA”, The “Alaafin-elect” must become a Priest, usually a Priest of “SANGO”, the Deified “Fourth King of The Yoruba”, and “Third Alaafin of OYO”, who is worshipped as “The THUNDERGOD”. The “Alaafin” has as much Spiritual as well as purely Political work to perform being at once “King” and “Priest” of the State............The West African political system was “Communal Socialism”, in which the vital means of production belonged to each separate Community, which in turn was united with a larger aggregate such as the Provincial State, which was in turn united with a Central State.............. The Old Yoruba Empire distinguished itself in The World, with Three very distinctive and unique models.First, it evolved a wonderfully developed Constitution, though Unwritten, the average Yoruba man is governed by strong convention.Secondly, the Yoruba evolved a Military System that allows them to develop Weaponry. The Yorubas are the first to smith Iron and thus, they built foundries from where they also produced agricultural implements to boost food production.Thirdly, the Yoruba Race, evolved a very practical method of Administration, by adopting the Cabinet System of governance. So, as far back as the 16th Century, the Old “OYO” Empire developed the Cabinet System of Government. And from the Prime Minister, to “The Alaafin”, and the various Divisional Heads, all tiers have their Roles and Responsibilities clearly spelt out and adhered to, with Separation of Powers and inputs for checks and balances............The Legend of "The GOD OF THUNDER", The Great King “SANGO”, 4th King of The Yoruba, 3rd “ALAAFIN” of The Ancient City of “OYO”, is a tale of Command. “OYO” the Ancient Political Capital of the “Yoruba”, took its rise somewhere in the 8th Century. “OYO” was founded by “ORANMIYAN” a grandson of “ODUDUWA, the Father of the “Yoruba” Nation. “Oranmiyan” was succeeded by “AJUAN, AJAKA” who proved too mild for the aggressive,conquering temperament of his times. The people rejected “Ajuan” in favor of his more flamboyant, warlike brother “SANGO, OLUFINRAN”.

Sàngó in Africa and the African Diaspora is a multidisciplinary, transregional exploration of Sàngó religious traditions in West Africa and beyond. Sàngó—the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning—is a powerful, fearful deity who controls the forces of nature, but has not received the same attention as other Yoruba orishas. This volume considers the spread of polytheistic religious traditions from West Africa, the mythic Sàngó, the historical Sàngó, and syncretic traditions of Sàngó worship. Readers with an interest in the Yoruba and their religious cultures will find a diverse, complex, and comprehensive portrait of Sàngó worship in Africa and the African world.

In this pioneering study of the shifting status of the emperor within court society and the relationship between the state and the Buddhist community during the Heian period (794–1185), Asuka Sango details the complex ways in which the emperor and other elite ruling groups employed Buddhist ritual to legitimate their authority. Although considered a descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, the emperor used Buddhist idiom, particularly the ideal king as depicted in the Golden Light Sūtra, to express his right to rule. Sango’s book is the first to focus on the ideals presented in the sūtra to demonstrate how the ritual enactment of imperial authority was essential to justifying political power. These ideals became the basis of a number of court-sponsored rituals, the most important of which was the emperor’s Misai-e Assembly. Sango deftly traces the changes in the assembly’s format and status throughout the era and the significant shifts in the Japanese polity that mirrored them. In illuminating the details of these changes, she challenges dominant scholarly models that presume the gradual decline of the political and liturgical influence of the emperor over the course of the era. She also compels a reconsideration of Buddhism during the Heian as “state Buddhism” by showing that monks intervened in creating the state’s policy toward the religion to their own advantage. Her analysis further challenges the common view that Buddhism of the time was characterized by the growth of private esoteric rites at the expense of exoteric doctrinal learning. The Halo of Golden Light draws on a wide range of primary sources—from official annals and diaries written by courtiers and monks to ecclesiastical records and Buddhist texts—many of them translated or analyzed for the first time in English. In so doing, the work brings to the surface surprising facets in the negotiations between religious ideas and practices and the Buddhist community and the state.

Unsettled Frontiers provides a fresh view of how resource frontiers evolve over time. Since the French colonial era, the Cambodia-Vietnam borderlands have witnessed successive waves of market integration, migration, and disruption. The region has been reinvented and depleted as new commodities are exploited and transplanted: from vast French rubber plantations to the enforced collectivization of the Khmer Rouge; from intensive timber extraction to contemporary crop booms. The volatility that follows these changes has often proved challenging to govern. Sango Mahanty explores the role of migration, land claiming, and expansive social and material networks in these transitions, which result in an unsettled frontier, always in flux, where communities continually strive for security within ruptured landscapes.

Learn simple Sango for getting around and making friends.Modern Sango is a concise, portable and easy-to-grasp reference of the Sango language.This kasahorow language guide includes a basic grammar of Sango for readers and writers.Written in Modern Sango. Modern Sango is a simplified spelling system used to write all the varieties of spoken Sango.Subscribe to the online magazine "Sango kasahorow" to read more Modern Sango.

The book Kingdoms in the Heart of Africa constitutes a thrilling tale of four fictitious prominent kingdoms that dominated the region called the heart of Africa. The four kingdoms: Mbantuu kingdom, Utanne kingdom, Shanaba kingdom and Manaka kingdom were in constant competition with each other. The book explores the power dynamics that dominated the relations between these kingdoms as they compete for the position of dominance in the region. Each of the kingdoms was headed by a powerful king except for the kingdom of Shanaba kingdom, which was headed by queen Edonge, who was considered to be the goddess of Africa. There was constant rivalry between the kingdoms as each sought to assert itself as the most powerful kingdom in the region. Due to this, suspicion prevailed amongst the kingdoms, resulting in secret plots and alliances forming between the different kingdoms. Despite the tension, division and conflict that beset the region, in these kingdoms, vast masses of minerals that had never been discovered before in other parts of the world were found. This attracted foreign interest in the region, whose sole quest was to conquer the region, an issue the kingdoms were oblivious to. The rise of these kingdoms propelled Africa to a place of prominence in the world.

The second edition of this landmark work is enhanced by new chapters on Ogun worship in the New World. From reviews of the first edition: "... an ethnographically rich contribution to the historical understanding of West African culture, as well as an exploration of the continued vitality of that culture in the changing environments of the Americas." --African Studies Review "... leav es] the reader with a sense of the vitality, dynamism, and complexity of Ogun and the cultural contexts in which he thrives.... magnificent contribution to the literature on Ogun, Yoruba culture, African religions, and the African diaspora." --International Journal of Historical Studies

A framework for discussion, research and intervention in language spread based on the results of a memory span test to evaluate the competence of a large number of subjects in a spreading language, Sango of the Central African Republic.

This book guides readers to the new concept of “Satoumi” and explains how its practice works to solve challenges in complex social-ecological systems of coastal areas. The book describes the significance of Satoumi Science as a transdisciplinary process. It starts with introducing the definition of Satoumi, highlights the important distinction between active measures (direct actions to improve ecosystem functions and services) and passive measures (a variety of management activities), and presents the concept of Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge (ILEK) as a knowledge base for Satoumi activities. It also introduces residential researchers and bilateral knowledge translators as the key actors of Satoumi co-creation through the transdisciplinary processes. The concept of Satoumi goes beyond the idea of protecting pristine nature by eliminating humans. It is about creating coastal environments where humans closely connect with the sea, which leads to the effective conservation and sustainable management of various natural resources and ecosystem services. This book will be of high interest to managers, governments, environmental groups, and the research community. Chapters cover current and emerging concerns, such as over- and under-use of natural resources, restoration of damaged ecosystems, and co-creation of new relations between humans and coastal seas, from transdisciplinary approaches to tackle with complex and 'wicked' challenges of coastal social-ecological systems.