article
On the non-existence of an ancestor cult among the Tiv
Anthropos • 79 • Published In 1984 • Pages: 77-112
By: Edwards, Adrian Campion.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Edwards argues that the Tiv are an exception among West African societies in not practicing ancestor worship, which is seen in the literature as a means of butressing the authority of lineage elders. Instead the Tiv have the institutional complex of witchcraft and fetishes which legitimate the authority of elders in a negative, fearful way. Edwards identifies a more powerful, but more marginal, outer supernatural realm occupied by sprites, shape-changers and the ancestral home of the Tiv, Mt. Swem. Edwards shows how women, young men and affines have recourse to challenge the authority of lineage elders through their own fetishes, curses and blessings which tap into this outer realm.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Age stratification
- Ethics
- Lineages
- Sorcery
- Cult of the dead
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- Sacred objects and places
- Magic
- Magicians and diviners
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Tiv
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- 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
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1967-1982
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1906-1982
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Benue State, Nigeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- Adrian Campion Edwards
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-112)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tiv (African people)