Book

Kuna ways of speaking: an ethnographic perspective

University of Texas PressAustin • Published In 1983 • Pages: xii, 260 , plates

By: Sherzer, Joel.

Abstract
This study, based primarily on fieldwork done in 1968-1970s on the island of Mulatuppu in the San Blas area, examines language and speech as the central and organizing focus of Kuna society. Sherzer's analysis is based on naturally occurring speech, observed and recorded in actual contexts and studied in terms of its relationship to these contexts (p. 10). As the result of the central and organizing role of language and speech in Kuna life, the author is able to present new and different insights into the nature of Kuna social and political organization, religion, economics, medicine, world view and aesthetics. The text of this work examines in turn the complex set of Kuna sociolinguistic resources, forms of discourse central to the prevading areas of Kuna ritual life -- politics, curing, magic, and puberty rites, discourse in everday life, patterned interrelationships linking many types of Kuna discourse and verbal interaction and the processes involved in the transmission and acquisition of speaking ability.
Subjects
Language
Speech
Sociolinguistics
Visual arts
Music
Oratory
Community heads
Community councils
Magical and mental therapy
Magic
culture
Kuna
HRAF PubDate
1999
Region
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub Region
Central America
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1997
Field Date
ca. 1968-1970s
Coverage Date
ca. 1968-1970s
Coverage Place
Mulatuppu Island; San Blas Coast and Islands, Panama
Notes
by Joel Sherzer
Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-260)
LCCN
83001318
LCSH
Cuna Indians