article
Mesquakie witchcraft lore
Plains anthropologist • 6 (11) • Published In 1961 • Pages: 31-39
By: Fugle, Eugene Milton.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author attempts to show in this article how certain cultural patterns in Fox society, generally considered to be non-aggressive in character, are in fact covertly aggressive. Witchcraft lore is one of these patterns. The covert aggressiveness of this pattern is shown in the training of the shaman, who is considered to have a complete knowledge of all medicines both for good and evil. Since he may easily choose to perform evil magic rather than good, he is never fully trusted in the society. Disease as well as disasters of various kinds may be attributed to the working of the sorcerer, often resulting in 'witchery' feuds between families and secret societies and distrust between individuals. The author attributes the lack of aggressiveness between individuals in face to face situations as due to fear of inciting sorcery as a counter response. The resulting social effects of this covert aggressiveness is lack of individual cooperation and a backlog of unresolved grievances. Fugle concludes that there is '…little doubt that witchcraft is the scapegoat for all sorts of hostility and rationalization in Mesquakie society (p. 39),' and serves, therefore as a way of releasing generalized tensions in the society as well as those tensions more specific to the social structure.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Ethos
- Social relationships and groups
- Ingroup antagonisms
- Adjustment processes
- Sorcery
- Magical and mental therapy
- Spirits and gods
- Pharmaceuticals
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Fox
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2014
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- 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
- John Beierle ; Marlene Martin ; 1977
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1954
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1954
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Tama County, Iowa, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Eugene Milton Fugle
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 39)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 66038259
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Fox Indians