article

Space, time and bodiliness in Dogon funerals: a praxiological view

Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford22 (2) • Published In 1991 • Pages: 101-117

By: Verboven, Dirk.

Abstract
In this paper Verboven examines the bodily movements of Dogon funeral rituals and interpretes them in relation to the Dogon social and cosmological order. According to Verboven, cultural meaning is derived from the body. The body is the basis for relational, spatial, or orientational metaphors that connect bodily, social, and cosmological principles. Basic body/space oppositions include in/out, up/down, left/right, front/back, which can be metaphors for social oppositions. Furthermore, bodily movement can be interpreted as dynamic transgressions of the above oppositions: entering/leaving, ascending/descending, turning counterclockwise/clockwise, approaching/withdrawing, respectively. Verboven interpretes the movements in funeral rituals as embodiments of Dogon social order, with its divisions between young/old, men/women, lineage/clan, etc.
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Burial practices and funerals
Ethnophysics
culture
Dogon
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Unknown
Analyst
Ian Skoggard;1999
Field Date
not specified
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
Bandiagara escarpment, Mali
Notes
Dirk Verboven
Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-117)
LCCN
sn92013022
LCSH
Dogons (African people)