My critique of Needham's analyses has led me to question both the general definition of binary opposition and the narrower conclusion it entails regarding the ‘duality of powers’. I shall therefore conclude my analysis of Nyamwezi oppositions by enquiring into the possible existence of an antithetical pair of ‘mystical powers’ and ‘political powers’. This involves distinguishing between two types of question which are often confused: what is the nature of the opposition between the figure of the ‘Chief’ and that of the ‘priest’? What is the relation between power and values? Not only must we distinguish between these questions, we must also avoid comparing them in the name of a supposed homology.

KING/PRIEST

Royal authority is defined in terms of mastery of the yearly cycle. At the beginning of the year, the king ‘calls’ the ‘black’ rain. Sometimes a human victim, treated as a symbolic equivalent of the king, is put to death (Cory 1951, p. 35). If, however, the rain is too long in coming, the king himself must be killed, or expelled, or replaced. One may also attempt to thrash him, to the point of tears. For the latter, it is said, being royal drops of water, ‘will attract’ those other drops of water that all await for their fields and that the royal ancestors in their wrath are holding back (Abrahams 1967, p. 34). The queen and the priest can then ‘bring forth’ seeds. Then, during tillage, the king and the priest supervise sacrifices which guarantee that the crops will mature. All these rites are performed on the orders of the royal councillors.