article
Nagual, witch, and sorcerer in a Quiché village
Ethnology • 3 (3) • Published In 1964 • Pages: 305-328
By: Saler, Benson.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article examines the place in the Quiché worldview of the nagual, which has been understood by various ethnographers as a companion or guardian spirit, destiny animal, or transforming witch. The author distinguishes between the sorcerer and the witch, both of whom make use of such spirit animals. The central argument is that the historical and socio-economic context of a community influences how the concept of nagual is understood and utilized.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sorcery
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Animism
- Ethnozoology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Quiché Maya
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Maya Area
- 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.
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 2021
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1958-1959
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1958-1959
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- El Palmar, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
- NotesAdditional notes
- Benson Saler
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-328)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 64005713
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Quiché Indians