Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardMnemonic Devices and Record Keeping

During royal investitures and court ceremonies in the Luba Kingdom, the performative reading of a *lukasa* (memory board) by the *Mbudye* Society serves which of the following primary political functions?

  1. A
    It serves as a literal cartographic guide, mapping geographic coordinates and trade routes across the kingdom's territory.
  2. B
    It is placed permanently inside a royal treasury as a static ancestral portrait to symbolize wealth.
  3. It legitimizes the divine authority of the ruler by dynamically mapping historical narratives and ancestral lineages onto the present.Answer
  4. D
    It acts as a judicial instrument where metal pins are driven into the wood to bind oaths and channel ancestral spirits to punish wrongdoers.

Answer

The performative reading of a *lukasa* legitimizes the divine authority of the ruler by dynamically mapping historical narratives and ancestral lineages onto the present.
The correct option is correct because the *lukasa* (memory board) is a tactile, three-dimensional mnemonic device used by the *Mbudye* Society of the Luba peoples. Rather than serving as a static record, the board is performatively read during court ceremonies. The oral recitation of the history encoded on the board validates the current ruler's lineage and divine authority by connecting their reign to historical and cosmological precedents.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the social group responsible for handling and interpreting the *lukasa*.
The *Mbudye* Society is an elite council of Luba history keepers who undergo extensive training to read the board's tactile markers.
This establishes the restricted performance context and social authority associated with the object.
2
Analyze how the physical markers on the *lukasa* translate into political power.
The beads and shells do not represent a fixed alphabet; instead, they function as mnemonic cues that the reader interprets to recount history, migration myths, and royal lineages.
This highlights the dynamic, non-static nature of record-keeping in Luba culture.
3
Determine the political motivation behind performative recitations at court ceremonies.
By linking the reigning king's lineage to legendary culture heroes and founders, the performance establishes the ruler's ancestral right to hold power.
This identifies the ultimate political function of the *lukasa* in statecraft.

Key Concept

The performative and political function of the Luba *lukasa* as a dynamic mnemonic tool controlled by the *Mbudye* Society to legitimize royal authority.
Rate this question

Topics

Mnemonic Devices and Record Keeping

More questions from this topic