essay

Ojibwa power belief system

Anthropology of power : ethnographic studies from Asia, Oceania, and the New WorldNew YorkPublished In 1977 • Pages: 141-151

By: Black, Mary B..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article examines the Ojibwa concept of 'power-control' and how it is related to Ojibwa beliefs and behavior, particularly in the realm of interpersonal relations. The author states that 'the system that unifies and organizes these behaviors and beliefs places a strong emphasis on each person's privacy of self-determination or autonomy (freedom from control), and at the same time underlines the dependence of human beings on the 'spirit' persons for abilities to get through life in the proper manner. Basically, this constitutes the foundation for Ojibwa religon, but it also permeates most area of daily living. The ideal of individual autonomy and the rules for the acquisition and use of power have yet to be related to the several other spheres of cultural organization: social structure, political structure, social control, education and enculturation, and the securing of the subsistence' (p. 150).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Status, role, and prestige
Social relationships and groups
Sacred objects and places
Ideas about nature and people
Ethnopsychology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Ojibwa
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.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1998
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
'traditional' to ca. 1850
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Central Ojibwa: Minnesota, United States; Ontario, Canada
NotesAdditional notes
Mary B. Black
Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-151)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
76009150
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Ojibwa Indians