Book
An Apache life-way: the economic, social, and religious institutions of the Chiricahua Indians
University of Chicago Press • Chicago • Published In 1941 • Pages:
By: Opler, Morris Edward.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source describes the culture of the Chiricahua Apache as it existed during the youth (i.e., ca. 1870) of the author's older informants from whom much of the data contained in this work was collected. Specifically, the author has attempted to show how societal influences inherent in the socialization processes impinge upon and direct an individual's personality development in such a manner as to produce a valued and accepted member of Chiricahua society. This process of socialization takes place through the individual's initial awareness of his culture, his initial contacts with its percepts, the social pressure that is brought to bear in order to enforce conformity, and the final adjustment, of the individual as measured through acceptance, to the demands, obligations and satisfactions of his society. In the presentation of his data, and development of his primary thesis the author gives much incidental information on various other aspects of Chiricahua ethnology. The source is divided into nine major parts, with emphasis on socialization processes throughout. These are: childhood; maturation (with emphasis on the molding of sex attitudes, the girl's puberty rite, and the training of boys for raid and war); social relations of adults; folk beliefs, medical practices and shamanism; household maintenance (hunting, use of wild plants, foods and beverages, their preparation and preservation, economic interest in warfare, division of labor, agriculture, property trade and gift giving); marital and sexual life of adults; the general round of life (including information on camp life and etiquette, humor, recreation, smoking, and games); status and political organization; and death and eschatology. The material for this source was gathered by the author, a professional anthropologist, during a cumulative period of time of approximately two years from 1931-1937. Over thirty native informants have contributed information to the author's field notes.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Childhood activities
- Puberty and initiation
- Music
- Arranging a marriage
- Ethnometeorology
- Revelation and divination
- Mythology
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Sacred objects and places
- Theory of disease
- Magical and mental therapy
- Diet
- Division of labor by gender
- Extramarital sex relations
- Athletic sports
- Eschatology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Chiricahua Apache
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southwest and Basin
- 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
- John Beierle; 1964, 1970, 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1931-1937
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1840-1886
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Southwest United States; northern Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico
- NotesAdditional notes
- Morris Edward Opler
- Includes bibliographical references (481-482)and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 41024474
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Apache Indians
- Indians of North America
- Chiricahua Indians--Social life and customs.