article

The Kpelle moot: a therapeutic model for the informal settlement of disputes

Africa33Published In 1963 • Pages: 1-11

By: Gibbs, James L..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document offers a description and analysis of the Kpelle moot 'court', or 'house palaver', as an institution for the informal settlement of disputes between Kpelle. Differing from more formal procedures of conflict resolution, the author argues that 'the genius of the moot lies in the fact that it is based on a covert application of the principles of psychoanalytic theory which underlie psychotherapy' (p.1). The moot is thus 'therapeutic' rather than 'coercive'.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Informal in-group justice
Community structure
Judicial authority
Functional and adaptational interpretations
Trial procedure
Sodalities
Extended families
Sex and marital offenses
Ingroup antagonisms
Sanctions
Social control
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Kpelle
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western Africa
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
M. A. Marcus ; 1986
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1957-1958
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1957-1963
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Liberia
NotesAdditional notes
James L. Gibbs, Jr.
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
29010790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Kpelle (African people)