Book
Curing among the San Blas Kuna of Panama
University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Michigan • Published In 1997 • Pages:
By: Chapin, Mac.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This dissertation is an ethnographic account of the belief system surrounding disease and curing among the Kuna Indians of the San Blas coast and islands of Panama. The work attempts to describe the system in its own terms '…and to interpret its meaning by attending to the various symbolic, ritual, and social contexts in which it finds expression' (p. xvi). Basically this study strives to understand Kuna theories of disease, its causation, and cure. It is also a key work on cosmology as well as medicine, and tries to correct many confused statements and errors appearing in some of the older literature on the Kuna. The ethnographic data in the text relevant to curing is loosely organized around the progression of events from the initial discovery of the illness, the diagnosis of the disease itself, and the establishment of ways to restore the individual to health. The final chapter of the work is concerned with cultural and social change among the Kuna, with particular emphasis on the island of Ustuppu during the past 70 years.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sociolinguistics
- Music
- Magical and mental therapy
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Animism
- Spirits and gods
- Childbirth
- Difficult and unusual births
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kuna
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- 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
- Central America
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- 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
- John Beierle ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1967-1972, 1975-1976
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1967-1976
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- San Blas coast and Islands, Panama
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Norman Macpherson Chapin
- Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Arizona, 1983
- UM 8319716
- Includes bibliographical references (p.570-580)
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Cuna Indians