A Study on the Religious and Political Functions of Hereditary Officials in the Benba Tribe

Abstract

Based on ethnographic materials from the Benba tribe, this paper explores the religious and political functions of hereditary officials in a stateless society. Through the monopoly of ritual knowledge by hereditary officials and the performance of three core rituals, the Benba tribe constructed a unique "ritual governance" system, achieving political integration within a matrilineal society. Hereditary officials established their dual "political-religious" pivotal position through a triple monopoly on language, taboos, and space, effectively mitigating the tension between matrilineal succession and political centralization. Faced with colonial impact, this system demonstrated remarkable resilience, adapting to external changes through strategies such as ritual hybridization and cultural resistance. This study, through an analysis of the hereditary official group in the Benba tribe, attempts to provide an empirical case for the application of structural functionalism theory in African social studies and offers reference and insights into the diversity of power structures in matrilineal societies.