article
The epistemology of sorkotarey: language, metaphor and healing among the Songhay
Ethos • 8 (2) • Published In 1980 • Pages: 117-131
By: Stoller, Paul.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article attributes the efficacy of Songhai magic to the magicians' understanding of the metaphorical meaning of the words in ritual texts. Such words act as doors to Songhai cosmological and spiritual realms, the true source of magical power. Magicians act as healers, and as protectors of the community from evil forces and sorcery.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sorcery
- Cosmology
- Theological systems
- Revelation and divination
- Magicians and diviners
- Ethnopsychology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Songhai
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2016
- 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; 2016
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1976-1977, 1979-1980
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1970-1979
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tera and Tillabéri departments, Tillabéri, Niger
- NotesAdditional notes
- Paul Stoller
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-131)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 73643517
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Songhai (African people)