article

Pride and perjury: time and the oath in the mountain villages of Crete

Man • 25 • Published In 1990 • Pages: 302-322

By: Herzfeld, Michael.

Abstract

In this article, Herzfeld examines the practice of oath taking by Cretan shepherds, i.e., of swearing one's innocence before a religious icon in order to dispel suspicions of animal-theft and restore trust. According to Herzfeld, the icons are indices of an 'unspoiled and irrecoverable past' of 'balanced perfection of social relations,' what he calls 'structural nostalgia.' By invoking this structural nostalgia, adversaries hope to restore a state of peace between them and erase a history of petty grievances and slights. Herzfeld also discusses how the intrusion of a modern bureaucratic judicial system undermines this practice of local self-management and the effectiveness of adjudication as a whole.

HRAF PubDate

2003

Region

Europe

Sub Region

Southeastern Europe

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 2002

Field Date

1974-1984

Coverage Date

1970-1987

Coverage Place

Crete, Greece

Notes

Michael Herzfeld

Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-322)

LCCN

sf 80000548

LCSH

Greece