Language as Ultra-human Power and the Authority of Leaders as Marginal Men

It is generally said that the British colonial government appointed minor and lesser known persons to positions of chief and headman, as the Kipsigis wanted to hold their traditional leaders in reserve so they could be consulted in times of need. This essay reconsiders the attribution and authority of both colonial and traditional Kipsigis leaders: were colonial Kipsigis chiefs and headmen really unimportant among the Kipsigis in the early stages of colonial days? On the other hand, were the traditional leaders, in fact, very important and central among them?In fact, both types of Kipsigis leaders have marginality in common for two reasons. Firstly, many were from several marginal clans such as those originating from captured and adopted individuals from hostile tribes such as the Gusii. Moreover, most were not only bilingual but also so skilful in persuading both their own people in meetings as well as enemies in peace negotiations that their speech often made them look like the “playful persons” or tricksters of Kipsigis folk tales.The Kipsigis regard language as a mighty ultra-human power. They believe in the “reincarnation” of an ancestral spirit in a newborn baby, or, at least, they give it the name of a clan's ancestor in memory of the person. Language, however, can be invoked for malicious as well as beneficial purposes. The effect of speech can change according to the various modes of expression, including praying, blessing, cursing, taking an oath, bewitching, etc. Moreover, it may sometimes severely affect people regardless and independent of the utterer's initial intention. Thus, the Kipsigis believe, it is always desirable for an ordinary person not to talk much lest he should cause unintended mishaps to someone unknown.Both traditional and colonial leaders were excessively talkative due to the nature of their posts. This doubled their marginality and ambivalence concerning social justice. Therefore, the public always tried to control the leaders' authority through communal cursing directed by the elders belonging to particular clans that specialize in cursing. These clans are among those who are regarded by the Kipsigis to be the backbone of society. In short, the traditional political structure of the tribe was dynamically balanced between the potential antagonism between opposite and interdependent categories of people: i. e. those who took the roles of leaders owing to their marginality and the public as the central existence of the tribe, and also between the opposite and interdependent powers of operating language: i. e. professional and tactical speech and defensive communal cursing.The traditional political structure was hardly touched even when the British government and the Kipsigis themselves chose “minor” or “obscure” individuals as colonial chiefs, as long as they were chosen owing to their marginality and ambivalence. This being the case, British indirect rule was rather successful despite the fact that the Kipsigis had traditionally no centralized authority which might effectively assume the chieftainship on behalf of the British colonial government.In due course of time, the Kipsigis people rapidly adjusted to the colonial and capitalistic economy so well that they soon became called a “Kenyan model tribe”

Blessing · Clan · Colonialism · Curse · Epistemology · Government (linguistics) · Linguistics · Negotiation · Oath · Political science · Power (physics) · Reincarnation · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies in Language · History · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy

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