Book
The structure of Twana culture
Research studies : a quarterly publication of Washington State University • (2) • Published In 1960 • Pages: xvi, 576
By: Elmendorf, William W. (William Welcome).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a reconstruction of salient aspects of Twana culture and society as they existed prior to significant acculturation through contact with Euroamericans and relocation to the Skokomish Reservation, largely based on data from three aged informants believed to be the last remaining native speakers of the Twana language, Frank and Henry Allan and Charley Cush (referred to throughout the text by their initials, FA, HA and CC). The description underscores the functional integration of different elements to form a distinct Twana tribal culture that, in turn, belongs to a larger southern Northwest Coast region (frequent footnote comparisons are made to the Yurok of northwestern California, the subject of the second half of this publication, not included). This structural integration is elaborated by using several examples, such as the role of guardian spirits in affecting other aspects of Twana life: a person’s success in hunting big game is attributed to possession by specific spirits; guardian spirits are believed to be the ultimate cause behind such events as the death of a family member or warfare among neighboring communities.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Location
- Cultural identity and pride
- Settlement patterns
- Household
- Family relationships
- Regulation of marriage
- Arranging a marriage
- Community structure
- Community heads
- Speech
- Kin relationships
- Inter-community relations
- General character of religion
- Cosmology
- Mythology
- Animism
- Eschatology
- Revelation and divination
- Ethnozoology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Southern Coast Salish
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northwest Coast and California
- 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.
- 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
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2019
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1939-1956
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1790-1850
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Hood Canal area, Washington, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- W. W. Elmendorf
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 570-572)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- a 62000315
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Twana Indians
- Southern Coast Salish Indians