article
Space, time and bodiliness in Dogon funerals: a praxiological view
Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford • 22 (2) • Published In 1991 • Pages: 101-117
By: Verboven, Dirk.
Abstract
In this paper Verboven examines the bodily movements of Dogon funeral rituals and interpretes them in relation to the Dogon social and cosmological order. According to Verboven, cultural meaning is derived from the body. The body is the basis for relational, spatial, or orientational metaphors that connect bodily, social, and cosmological principles. Basic body/space oppositions include in/out, up/down, left/right, front/back, which can be metaphors for social oppositions. Furthermore, bodily movement can be interpreted as dynamic transgressions of the above oppositions: entering/leaving, ascending/descending, turning counterclockwise/clockwise, approaching/withdrawing, respectively. Verboven interpretes the movements in funeral rituals as embodiments of Dogon social order, with its divisions between young/old, men/women, lineage/clan, etc.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- Africa
- Sub Region
- Western Africa
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Unknown
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard;1999
- Field Date
- not specified
- Coverage Date
- not specified
- Coverage Place
- Bandiagara escarpment, Mali
- Notes
- Dirk Verboven
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-117)
- LCCN
- sn92013022
- LCSH
- Dogons (African people)