article

The isangoma: an adaptive agent among the urban Zulu

Anthropological quarterly44 (2)Published In 1971 • Pages: 51-65

By: Du Toit, Brian M..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is the work of a professional anthropologist who worked with a primarily Zulu urban population. Its main focus is to outline the roles and functions of traditional spiritual specialists in modernizing Africa. These various specialists engage in diagnosis and treatment of physical and psychic ailments; but this is only one aspect of their work, which is more generally the practice of helping clients to live in harmony within their spiritual, natural, and social environment. As such, these specialists continue to be important resources to people at all levels of education and are not readily being replaced by specialists in western medicine.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Comparative evidence
Shamans and psychotherapists
Magicians and diviners
Medical personnel
Magic
Prayers and sacrifices
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Zulu
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
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
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
Jan Simpson ; John Beierle ; 1979
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1969
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1969
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Kwa Mashu urban complex, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
NotesAdditional notes
Brian M. Du Toit
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
32029126
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Zulu (African people)