article
Embodying colonial memories
American anthropologist • 96 (3) • Published In 1994 • Pages: 634-648
By: Stoller, Paul.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article interprets Songhai possession ceremonies as forms of corporeal knowing and embodied historical memory. Many gods in the Songhai pantheon represent foreigners and former colonial masters, whom spirit mediums mimic and parody in their trances. Possession ceremonies serve as commentary on past and present social relations, and the pressing need to address inherent inequalities.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Observation in research
- Spirits and gods
- Revelation and divination
- Magicians and diviners
- Priesthood
- 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
- June 1987
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1987
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tillabéri region, Niger
- NotesAdditional notes
- Paul Stoller
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-648)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 17015424
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Songhai (African people)