article
Symbolic rebirth: the "Mwali" rite among the Luguru of eastern Tanzania
Africa • 48 (2) • Published In 1978 • Pages: 176-188
By: Brain, James Lewton.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study argues that Luguru female initiation rites can be linked to what the author calls "unconscious male envy of female procreativity." This claim is justified through systematic interpretation of important symbols and prescriptions featured during different phases of the rite. The seclusion of the girl in a dark room at the onset of her first menstruation is likened to conception in the womb. In the course of her long seclusion the girl has to lie in a fetal position on a short bed and simulate total helplessness. At the end of her seclusion, the girl appears to a waiting crowd, carried on the shoulders of a brother of her soon-to-be husband, almost naked, covered in oil and with her eyes closed, as if emerging from the womb. As a whole, these instructions and displays signal that while women give birth to babies, men control the ultimate formula for making an adult woman.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Puberty and initiation
- Organized ceremonial
- Menstruation
- Childbirth
- Gender status
- Gender roles and issues
- Techniques of socialization
- Sex training
- Ethnopsychology
- Avoidance and taboo
- Cult of the dead
- Kin relationships
- Nuptials
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Luguru
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern 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.
- Anthropologist
- 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
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2020
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1965-1966
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1965-1966
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro Region, Tanzania
- NotesAdditional notes
- James L. Brain
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-188)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 29010790
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Luguru (African people)