Loma political culture: a phenomenology of structural form

Abstract

Abstract Upper Guinea political culture is often described as a system of dual sovereignty expressed in an idiom of bilateral kinship. The article examines whether this model applies to the Loma, a prototypical Upper Guinea culture. The result is largely negative. Empirical data suggest a more complex distribution of political and religious powers, and the analysis of the correlation between ritual and social structure in Loma society indicates a need to revise the current conceptualisation of Upper Guinea political culture. Thus, while matrilateral alliance is indeed central in shaping Loma social, political and religious organisation, there are certain important limitations on its cognitive potential, particularly when it comes to the influential so-called secret associations.