article

Closure as cure: tropes in the exploration of bodily and social disorder

Current anthropology27 (2)Published In 1986 • Pages: 107-120

By: Herzfeld, Michael.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Herzfeld examines evil eye (THIARMOS) from a semiotic perspective. He makes a distinction between the experience and expression of illness. The experience of pain from evil eye is one of a tension headache, which can include nausea and backache. The illness expresses 'personal inadequacy,' 'damaged identity,' and 'social failure.' The less powerful are more prone to the symptoms of evil eye and the more powerful are thought to be its agents. Herzfeld argues that curing spells restore order by invoking a cosmology and bring closure by delineating the body.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Reviews and critiques
Theory of disease
Magical and mental therapy
Shamans and psychotherapists
Magic
Numerology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Greeks
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
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
Ian Skoggard ; 2002
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1974-19841
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1974-1984
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
'Glendi', Crete, Greece
NotesAdditional notes
by Michael Herzfeld
Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-120)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
a 63000576
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Greece