Items related to Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System
Synopsis
The practice of cannibalism is in certain cultures rejected as evil, while in others it plays a central part in the ritual order. Anthropologists have offered various explanations for the existence of cannibalism, none of which, Peggy Sanday claims, is adequate. In this book she presents a new approach to understanding the phenomenon. Through a detailed examination of ritual cannibalism in selected tribal societies, and a comparison of those cases with others in which the practice is absent, she shows that cannibalism is closely linked to people's orientation to the world, and that it serves as a concrete device for distinguishing the 'cultural self' from the 'natural other'. Combining perspectives drawn from the work of Ricoeur, Freud, Hegel, and Jung and from symbolic anthropology, Sanday argues that ritual cannibalism is intimately connected both with the constructs by which the origin and continuity of life are understood and assured from one generation to the next and with the way in which that understanding is used to control the vital forces considered necessary for the cannibalism in a culture derives from basic human attitudes toward life and death, combined with the realities of the material world. As well as making an original contribution to the understanding of the significant human practice, Sanday also develops a theoretical argument of wider relevance to anthropologists, sociologists, and other readers interested in the function and meaning of cannibalism.
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Book Description
A new approach to understanding the phenomenon of ritual cannibalism through a detailed examination of selected tribal societies demonstrates that the practice is closely linked to people's orientation to the world, and helps distinguish "cultural self."
About the Author
Peggy Reeves Sanday is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of many books, including A Woman Scorned: Acquaintance Rape on Trial and, most recently, Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy.
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- PublisherCambridge University Press
- Publication date1986
- ISBN 10 052132226X
- ISBN 13 9780521322263
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages284
- Rating
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Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System
Published by
Cambridge University Press (1986), Cambridge, 1986
ISBN 10: 052132226X
ISBN 13: 9780521322263
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Renaissance Books, ANZAAB / ILAB, Dunedin, New Zealand
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Ex-library. Library stamps and markings. Adhesive tape and labels on spine.; xvi, 266 pages. Black cloth boards. Page dimensions: 228 x 150mm. "The practice of cannibalism is in certain cultures rejected as evil, while in others it plays a central part in the ritual order. Anthropologists have offered various explanations for the existence of cannibalism, none of which, Peggy Sanday claims, is adequate. In this book she presents a new approach to understanding the phenomenon. Through a detailed examination of ritual cannibalism in selected tribal societies, and a comparison of those cases with others in which the practice is absent, she shows that cannibalism is closely linked to people's orientation to the world, and that it serves as a concrete device for distinguishing the 'cultural self' from the 'natural other'. Combining perspectives drawn from the work of Ricoeur, Freud, Hegel, and Jung and from symbolic anthropology, Sanday argues that ritual cannibalism is intimately connected both with the constructs by which the origin and continuity of life are understood and assured from one generation to the next and with the way in which that understanding is used to control the vital forces considered necessary for the cannibalism in a culture derives from basic human attitudes toward life and death, combined with the realities of the material world. As well as making an original contribution to the understanding of the significant human practice, Sanday also develops a theoretical argument of wider relevance to anthropologists, sociologists, and other readers interested in the function and meaning of cannibalism."Table of Contents:Preface; Acknowledgments; Part I. Introduction: 1. Cannibalism cross-culturally; 2. Analytic framework; Part II. The Symbols That Give Rise to a Cannibalistic Consciousness: 3. The mysteries of the body: Hua and Gimi mortuary cannibalism; 4. The androgynous first being: Bimin-Kuskusmin cannibalism; 5. Cannibal monsters and animal friends; Part III. The Mythical Chartering And Transformations of Cannibal Practice: 6. The faces of the soul's desires: Iroquoian torture and cannibalism in the seventeenth century; 7. Raw women and cooked men: Fijian cannibalism in the nineteenth century; 8. Precious eagle-cactus fruit: Aztec human sacrifice; 9. The transformation and end of cannibal practice; 10. Conclusion: other symbols and ritual modalities; Notes; References; Index. Seller Inventory # 16475
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Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System
Published by
Cambridge University Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 052132226X
ISBN 13: 9780521322263
Used
Hardcover
Seller: dsmbooks, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Good. Good. book. Seller Inventory # D7S9-1-M-052132226X-3
Quantity: 1 available