article
Mushahara: a Nubian concept of supernatural danger and the theory of taboo
American anthropologist • 69 (6) • Published In 1967 • Pages: 685-702
By: Kennedy, John G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document provides a theoretically-informed analysis of the cultural meanings and psychosocial functions underlying the traditional Nubian concept of supernatural harm caused to individuals in vulnerable states by other persons' violation of taboos. It is believed that individuals and families undergoing certain life-cycle events (such as birth, circumcision, marriage, and death) attract capricious spirit-beings, which are countered by a range of religious prohibitions and moral sanctions aimed at avoiding the threat by appeasing the spirits. The most important measures taken include avoiding sexual intercourse after birth, temporarily secluding newlyweds and grieving family members, and removing gold and other potentially contaminated materials when attending life-crisis events. The author points out the limitations of both functionalist and Freudian approaches for explaining the distinctively Nubian meanings of these practices.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theory of disease
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Purification and atonement
- Avoidance and taboo
- Ethnopsychology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Nubians
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northern 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
- 1962-1965
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1933-1965
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Aswan Governate, Egypt
- NotesAdditional notes
- John G. Kennedy
- bibliographical references (p. 702)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 17015424
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Nubians--Egypt--Social life and customs