article
Fires, tricksters and poisoned medicines: popular cultures of rumor in Onitsha, Nigeria and its markets
Etnofoor : a Dutch anthropological journal • 11 (2) • Published In 1998 • Pages: 111-132
By: Bastian, Misty L..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of the discourse surrounding market fires based on Bastian's doctoral research (see her dissertation, document no. 46.) The Igbo are inveterate traders and open air markets, some as large as 3,000 stalls, are a major Igbo institution. When fires occur they can be devastating. What is said by various people, such as traders, locals, professionals, men, and women, about the tragedy provides a window on their beliefs about witchcraft and pollution, an ambivalence about a growing market economy, and the divisions in Igbo society.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Retail marketing
- Property offenses
- Disasters
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Igbo
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2003
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary 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 ; 2001
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1987-1988
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1930-1988
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- Misty L. Bastian
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-132)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Igbo (African people)