Godfrey Lienhardt's Divinity and Experience: The Religion of the Dinka, published by Oxford University Press's Clarendon imprint in 1961, is a landmark scholarly ethnography of Dinka religious thought based on fieldwork Lienhardt conducted among the Dinka of what is now South Sudan in the 1940s and 1950s. Its authority rests on that direct extended fieldwork and its enduring standing as a classic of the anthropology of religion, still widely cited for its argument that Dinka religious language describes divine power as seizing a person from outside rather than as an inward psychological state. It is specific to Dinka religious thought as Lienhardt recorded it at mid century, and it does not describe any stated pathway from mortal to divine status, so a claim of that kind should not be attributed to this source.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Godfrey Lienhardt's Divinity and Experience: The Religion of the Dinka, published by Oxford University Press's Clarendon imprint in 1961, the top tier reflecting a landmark scholarly ethnography based on fieldwork Lienhardt conducted among the Dinka in the 1940s and 1950s, still widely cited for its argument that Dinka religious language describes divine power as seizing a person from outside. Its limit is that it is specific to Dinka religious thought as Lienhardt recorded it at mid century, and it does not describe any stated pathway from mortal to divine status. NotesStandard scholarly study of Dinka religious thought, based on fieldwork among the Dinka of what is now South Sudan in the 1940s and 1950s. Argues that Dinka religious language describes experience as seizing a person from outside rather than as an inner state. Use for Dinka-specific facts about Nhialic and the free divinities and how they are addressed; not a source for a stated pathway from mortal to divine status, which the book does not describe.
Citation
AuthorGodfrey Lienhardt
PublisherOxford University Press (Clarendon Press)
Publication Year1961
URLhttps://archive.org/details/divinityexperien0000lien
Source TypeEthnography
Connections
Associated With
This source names South Sudan directly: "among the Dinka of what is now South Sudan in the 1940s and 1950s."
Source Divinity and Experience: The Religion of the DinkaGodfrey Lienhardt
This source names Sudan directly: "among the Dinka of what is now South Sudan in the 1940s and 1950s."
Source Divinity and Experience: The Religion of the DinkaGodfrey Lienhardt
Claims Backed By This Source (14 claims)
This source backs 14 claims across the atlas. As facts: 10 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 10 claims: 8 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Articles, 2 claims: 2 well-attested.
- Culture Groups, 1 claims: 1 general references.
- Pantheons, 1 claims: 1 general references.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.