article
Symbolic interaction in rituals of gender and procreation among the Garifuna (Black Caribs) of Honduras
Ethos • 19 (1) • Published In 1991 • Pages: 52-67
By: Chernela, Janet Marion.
Abstract
In this article Chernela examines the practice of couvade among the Garifuna and presents it as a more complex ritual than one that merely seeks gender equivalence as conveyed in the ethnology. In fact she argues that the couvade as practiced among the Garifuna is not about equivalence but a 'dramatization of maleness.' Chernela takes a structuralist approach and argues that key relationships expressed in the couvade are not between husband and wife but between father and son and brother-in-laws, i.e., the mother's brother and father/husband. According to Chernela, the father is identifying with the child, because they both share the same substance. In Garifuna matrilateral society, the mother's brother is provider and nurturer, and the father/husband/child are at the receiving end of such benevolence.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2005
- Region
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub Region
- Central America
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard ; 2003
- Field Date
- 1970-1974
- Coverage Date
- 1970-1974
- Coverage Place
- Belize
- Notes
- Janet M. Chernela
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-67)
- LCCN
- 73643517
- LCSH
- Garifuna (Caribbean people)