article

Observations on the Yurok: childhood and world image

University of California Press35 (10)Published In 1943 • Pages: i-vii, 257-302

By: Erikson, Erik H. (Erik Homburger).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The main point of Erikson's fieldwork, which is reflected in this paper, was to review some of Kroeber's data on the Yurok from the standpoint of analytic child psychology. During a short stay inYurok territory he was able to meet some of Kroeber's informants and gather some data. This material is analyzed in terms of vector psychology and Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Since he assumes a prior knowledge of these theories, the source is rather difficult for the layman to use. There is little new cultural material discussed. He concludes that the configurations he was able to delineate 'seem to express the general idea that by being a good warden of his nutritional system and a good warden of the river, and by guarding strength and wealth, the Yurok is clean enough to perform the miracle of his existence, namely, to eat his salmon and have it next year too.' At the time of writing, Erikson was with the Institute of Child Welfare of the University of California.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Community structure
Shamans and psychotherapists
Spirits and gods
Child care
Magical and mental therapy
Theory of disease
Organized ceremonial
Fishing
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Yurok
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
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
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Psychoanalyst
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
Timothy J. O'Leary ; 1958
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
ca. 1939
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1930-1943
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Yurok Indians, USA
NotesAdditional notes
by Erik Homburger Erikson
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
a 43003526
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Yurok Indians
Indian children--North America