Book
The rhetoric of community ritual: the blessing of the shrimp fleet at Chauvin, Louisiana
University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Mich. • Published In 1991 • Pages:
By: Gordon, Barbara Elizabeth.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is an examination of the functions of a specific community ritual in Cajun society, the blessing of the shrimp fleet at Chauvin, Louisina. Gordon's data were gathered from her observation of the ritual and extensive interviews. Gordon uses the technique of fantasy theme analysis and attempts to demonstrate the community's use of discourse to develop and maintain group hierarchy. 'The discourse reveals six fantasy themes prevalent in the discourse of the people of Chauvin. The six -- unity, security, perpetuation, pride, care-taking, and pioneering -- are traits attributed to the shrimpers whose profession is 'blessed' by the ritual' (p. iv). The study shows how the discourse on the blessing of the shrimp fleet unites the Cajuns of Chauvin and reaffirms their Acadian culture and identity in the face of great pressure to conform to mainstream American social values.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Interviewing in research
- Sociocultural trends
- Total culture
- Marine industries
- Rest days and holidays
- Spectacles
- Ritual
- Ecclesiastical organization
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Cajuns
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1995
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- 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.
- Folklorist
- 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
- John Beierle, 1993
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1986-1987 (pp. 169-327)
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1986-1987
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Chauvin, Louisiana, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Barbara Elizabeth Gordon
- Thesis (Ph.D.) -- The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1991
- Abstracted in: Dissertation abstracts international -- 52/09, p. 3125, Mar. 1992.
- UM-AAC 9207506
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Cajuns