Book
Bemba myth and ritual: the impact of literacy on an oral culture
P. Lang • 2 • Published In 1983 • Pages: xxiii, 197
By: Maxwell, Kevin B. (Kevin Burns).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Maxwell bases this study of the Bemba on the distinction between an oral-aural culture, one that pertains to the mouth and ear, and a visualist culture, which pertains to the eye. The Bemba are members of an oral society. Hearing is their primary cognitive sense and the physical properties of sound significantly affect their worldview. Maxwell focuses on the traditional religion of the Bemba and presents analyses of their charter myth, initiation rites, divinities, and traditional authorities in terms of their acoustic characteristics. He also discusses the Bemba conversion to Christianity and suggests that the survival of elements of their traditional oral religion has become dependent on their acculturation to a visualist culture and literacy.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Religious beliefs
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Reviews and critiques
- Literature
- Puberty and initiation
- Revelation and divination
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Bemba
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1997
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- 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
- Ronald Johnson ; 1995
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1978-79, 1981
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- not specified
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northeastern Zambia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Kevin B. Maxwell
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-197)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 83048769
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Bemba (African people)