article
Death as a way of life: the increasing resort to homicide in a Maya Indian community
American anthropologist • 69 • Published In 1967 • Pages: 455-470
By: Nash, June C..
Abstract
In this article Nash reports on her study of 37 homicides between 1938 and 1965 in the town of 'Teklum,' a fictitious name given to the Tzeltal community where she lived in 1964 and 1965. The cases were analyzed on the basis of various components: who was killed, the context, the agency, and motivation. The increasing homicide rate reflected the change of social control systems in the community -- the conflicts arising from competition in new economic enterprises, the rising suspicion of curers' abuse of their supernatural power, and the loss of belief in the guardianship of the spiritual ancestors.
- HRAF PubDate
- 1995
- Region
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub Region
- Maya Area
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Cheng-ruey Ma
- Field Date
- 1964 and 1965
- Coverage Date
- not specified
- Coverage Place
- 'Teklum' (probably Amatenango del Valle), Chiapas, Mexico
- Notes
- [by] June Caprice Nash
- Bibliography: p. [470-A]
- LCCN
- 17015424
- LCSH
- Tzeltal Indians