Book
Symbolic immortality: the Tlingit potlatch of the nineteenth century
Smithsonian Institution Press • Washington • Published In 1989 • Pages: xi, 390
By: Kan, Sergei.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this monograph Kan focuses on the Tlingit mortuary complex of the nineteenth century. Kan considers the mortuary/ancestral complex to be the most conservative aspect of Tlingit culture and one of the main links between the past and the present. He uses a symbolic analysis to explore Tlingit cosmology, eschatology, and ethnopsychology. Kan's examination of mortuary rituals includes Tlingit treatment of the deceased, taboos imposed upon the mourners, and forms of exchange between the hosts (mourners) of memorial potlatches and their guests.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Burial practices and funerals
- Mourning
- Eschatology
- Gift giving
- Clans
- Status, role, and prestige
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Tlingit
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1997
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northwest Coast and California
- 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 N. Johnson ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1979-1980, 1982, 1984
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- ca. 1780-1880
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- southeastern Alaska, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Sergei Kan
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 357-384) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 8838200
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tlingit Indians