essay
Inverted sacrifice
Circumpolar religion and ecology : an anthropology of the North • Tokyo • Published In 1994 • Pages: 253-271
By: Sharp, Henry S..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper, Sharp examines Chipewyan hunting practices and beliefs as a form of 'inverted' sacrifice, in which the animal offers itself to the human hunter. The Chipewyans believe that a successful kill could only occur if an animal gives itself to the hunter. This 'luck' is associated with dreams in which hunters learn from animal spirits where to find animals. The Chipewyan idea of INKONZE, or supernatural power, invokes the unity of all beings, humans and animals, and the reciprocity that exists between them. Sharp examines the broader literature on sacrifice, which according to him is based on a hierarchical, dualistic, and mechanical model of the universe, one not shared by the Chipewyan.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Hunting and trapping
- Cosmology
- Sacred objects and places
- Ethnozoology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Chipewyans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Arctic and Subarctic
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- 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 ; 1999
- 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
- 1965-1985
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- north-central Canada
- NotesAdditional notes
- Henry S. Sharp
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 270-271)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 95127754
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Chipewyan Indians