article
Religious involution: internal change, and its consequences, in the taboo-system of the Mentawaians
Tropical man • 5 • Published In 1976 • Pages: 46-81
By: Schefold, Reimar.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Basing his analysis on Clifford Geertz's work on involutionary change in agricultural patterns in Java which triggered off reactions in other culture sectors of the society, Schefold attempts to show in this study how the advent of new external conditions, or at any rate external conditions experienced as new, have brought about certain changes in Mentawei religious institutions, particularly in reference to the observance of taboos. These changes "…have a subsequent influence, more or less strong, on other spheres of life. Effected changes reestablish in more complex guise the previous situation. They merely signify a modification of basic patterns already in existence; as a consequence of a pressure which remains to be more closely analysed bring in their wake real evolution. -- Other than in the instance depicted by Geertz, on Mentawai it is also possible to observe counter-tendencies which insure that culture despite involutionary developments will not bog down in a blind alley" (p. 48).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Sociocultural trends
- Cultural participation
- Arranging a marriage
- Nuptials
- Residence
- Grandparents and grandchildren
- General character of religion
- Animism
- Avoidance and taboo
- Pregnancy
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Mentawaians
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeast Asia
- 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
- John Beierle; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1967-1969
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- not specified
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Mentawei Islands, west of Sumatra, Indonesia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Reimar Schefold
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 81)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sn90040007
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Mentawai (Indonesian people)