article
Watch out for snakes!: ethnosemantic misinterpretations and interpretation of a Serbian healing charm
Anthropological linguistics • 25 (3) • Published In 1983 • Pages: 309-325
By: Halpern, Barbara.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
A Serbian charm to heal snake bite is the focus of this article, discussed '…in the context of oral tradition, patterns of transmission of the charm, text misinterpretation, symbolism, and accurate interpretation' (p. 309). Although superficially the charm and its analysis appear straightforward, the author's ethnosemantic analysis would seem to negate previous simplistic interpretations. In the course of working toward the interpretation presented in this document, Halpern explores various aspects of the economy, indicating in the process the elegance of the folk genre, as well as new insights in the persistence of a mythic theme in contemporary rural life.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Language
- Domesticated animals
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Magic
- Ethnozoology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Serbs
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1997
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Europe
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeastern Europe
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1950s-1980s
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1950s-1980s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Orasac Village, Serbia and Montenegro
- NotesAdditional notes
- Barbara Kerewskiy-Halpern
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sn78000512
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Serbs