essay

Introduction to Zuñi ceremonialism

47th Annual report of the Bureau of American EthnologyWashingtonPublished In 1932 • Pages: 467-544

By: Bunzel, Ruth Leah.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article the author describes the important Zuni ceremonies and the organization of the personnel involved in carrying out the various rites connected with these. Following a brief description of Zuni culture and economy, the author considers their cosmological beliefs and views on the relation of man and nature. The importance of controlling nature and especially rain and fertility is discussed and there is some attempt at relating the general nature of Zuni ceremonialism to this. The various ritual elements and paraphernalia and their incorporation into different ceremonies and rites are described. The author also describes the composition and organization of the different religious fraternities, priesthoods and cult groups and concludes her account with a discussion of variations in individual participation in ceremonial and religious life.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Cosmology
Prayers and sacrifices
Sacred objects and places
Organized ceremonial
Priesthood
Congregations
Spirits and gods
General character of religion
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Zuni
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
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
essay
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
Betty Potash ; 1961: John Beierle; 2007
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
ca. 1928
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1928
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, United States
NotesAdditional notes
by Ruth L. Bunzel
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
32024503
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Zuni Indians--Rites and ceremonies/Zuni Indians--Religion/Zuni mythology