article
Big stone foundations: manifest meaning in Chipewyan myths
Journal of American culture • 8 (1) • Published In 1985 • Pages: 73-77
By: Smith, David Merrill.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Smith examines the cultural significance of Chipewyan myths. He argues that "Myths are not icing on the cake of culture but are integral parts of viable human cultures." Furthermore, one does not have to delve too deeply to uncover their meaning, as Western scholars are tempted to do in their analyses. For example he recounts two myths that express an anxiety over getting enough food to eat and the need to share food and respect others. The meaning here is all to real for a people who have experienced recurrent hunger and starvation, and need to depend on the generosity of others.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Hunting and trapping
- Verbal arts
- Ethics
- Sacred objects and places
- Ethnozoology
- Texts translated into english
- 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
- 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 ; 1999
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1968-1972
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1968-1972
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Northwest Territories, Canada
- NotesAdditional notes
- David M. Smith
- Includes bibliographical references (p.77)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 79642570
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Chipewyan Indians