interpretations by scholars with diverse theoretical approach-
es. The most significant of these studies are Max Gluckman’s
Rituals of Rebellion in Southeast Africa (Manchester, 1954),
which emphasizes political and social functions; T. O. Bei-
delman’s “Swazi Royal Ritual,” Africa 36 (October 1966):
373–405, which interprets the cosmological system and
makes use of Jungian psychology; and Luc de Heusch’s My-
thes et rites bantous, vol. 2, Rois nés d’un coeur de vache (Paris,
1982), which sets the Ncwala in a broad comparative frame-
work built on a brilliant, Lévi-Straussian analysis of sacred
kingship in Africa.New Sources
Cummergen, Paul. “Zionism and Politics in Swaziland.” Journal
of Religion in Africa, 30 (2000): 370–386.
Hall, James. Sangoma: An Odyssey into the Spirit World of Africa.
New York, 1994.
Kasanene, Peter. Swazi Traditional Religion and Society. Mbabane,
1993.
HILDA KUPER (1987)
Revised Bibliography
SWEARING SEE VOWS AND OATHS
SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL (1688–1772), was a
multifaceted genius, scientist, and visionary. He was born in
Stockholm, Sweden, on January 29, and he died in London
on March 29. Paradox surrounds Swedenborg’s intellectual
legacy. The scientific and philosophical works that brought
him the acclaim of his contemporaries have largely been for-
gotten. The contributions that he made to the Swedish
Board of Mines and the House of Nobles were significant,
but like the efforts of most bureaucrats and politicians they
were intended to have an immediate and practical impact on
policy, not history. Thus, despite his genius, Swedenborg’s
exemplary life would attract scant notice, apart from his reve-
latory claims and his voluminous religious writings. He pub-
lished his writings anonymously for almost twenty years and
never attempted to gather a following. Nonetheless, after his
death, followers devoted to his religious works appeared first
in Europe and then around the world.
EDUCATION OF SCIENTIST AND CIVIL SERVANT. Sweden-
borg was born into wealth and privilege; both of his parents
came from mine owning families. His father, Jesper Swed-
berg (1653–1735), was ordained into the ministry of the Lu-
theran Church in 1682. In 1703 he was elevated to bishop
and served in Skara until his death in 1735. He name was
changed to Swedenborg upon ennoblement in 1719. Jesper
Swedberg had pietistical leanings, believed in the importance
of works as well as faith, and had both a hymnbook and a
translation of the Bible condemned by church censors.
Emanuel Swedenborg matriculated at the University of
Uppsala, from which he graduated in 1709 with a degree in
philosophy. From 1710 until 1715 he traveled in Europe
with a principle focus on studying mathematics and astrono-
my. On his trip abroad, he also learned various practical
skills, including engraving and instrument making. In addi-
tion he wrote three volumes of poetry, and before returning
home he wrote down descriptions of fourteen inventions, in-
cluding a submarine, an air pump, and a fixed-wing aircraft.
Upon his return to Sweden in 1715, he began publish-
ing Daedalus Hyperboreus, Sweden’s first scientific journal.
In addition, he became an assistant to the great inventor and
mechanical genius Christopher Polhem (1668–1751). To-
gether they served King Karl XII by working on various engi-
neering projects. In recognition of Swedenborg’s contribu-
tions to the realm, the king named him Extraordinary
Assessor of the Board of Mines. The death of Karl XII in Fre-
drikshald in 1718 brought an end to Sweden’s era as a great
power. Swedenborg was ennobled in 1719 by Queen Ulrika
Eleonora (1688–1741).
The death of Karl XII ushered in what is called in Swe-
den “the age of freedom” and the renunciation of the King’s
policies. The new political climate also put Swedenborg’s
commission as assessor in doubt. Determined to be seated,
in 1720 Swedenborg traveled to Europe to study mining
techniques. After his return to Sweden he took up his life as
a noble and author, and after 1724 as a bureaucrat, having
finally been granted a position as a regular assessor and given
a salary. In this position he was one of seven men responsible
for Sweden’s important mining industry. The members of
the Board of Mines set policies, inspected mines for safety,
tested the metals produced for quality, set prices, and adjudi-
cated law suits. Swedenborg served on the board for twenty-
three years. Appointed president of the Board of Mines in
1747, he declined the appointment and resigned from the
board in order to devote himself to his spiritual mission.
NATURAL PHILOSOPHER. With his career finally established,
Swedenborg turned his mind to understanding scientifically
the riddle of creation and the purpose of self-conscious life.
In 1734 he took a leave of absence from the Board of Mines
to publish his Opera philosophica et mineralia (Philosophical
and Mineralogical Works) in Liepzig. Swedenborg’s cosmolo-
gy is indebted in part to the philosophy of René Descartes
(1596–1650). In a series of studies culminating in Principia
rerum naturalium (The Principia; or the First Principles of
Natural Things, 1734) Swedenborg presented a theory about
the origin of the universe. Starting from a mathematical
point of departure, he envisioned the planetary system as de-
veloping a series of complicated particle combinations. Swe-
denborg tried to integrate the soul into this consistently
mechanistic structure, and in De infinito (The Infinite, 1734)
he presented his future research program “to prove the im-
mortality of the soul to the very senses themselves.”
This empirical intention led him into an extensive study
of contemporary physiology and anatomy, as well as both an-
cient and modern philosophy. The first result of this effort
was the publication of Oeconomia regni animalis (The econo-
my of the animal soul’s kingdom, 1740–1741). Dissatisfied8898 SWEARING