The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual (Cornell Paperbacks) - Softcover

Turner, Victor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801491010 ISBN 13: 9780801491016

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1970

Synopsis

A pioneering work of high quality, this collection of anthropological studies provides one of the most detailed records available for an African society―or indeed for any group―of the semantics of ritual symbolism. It combines unusually detailed ethnographic description, based upon field work among the Ndembu of Zambia, with remarkable theoretical sophistication. Professor Turner describes the ritual phenomena in terms both of practice and of their sociological and psychological implications within a preliterate society.

Case histories illustrate the function of ritual in creating community harmony. Data on circumcision rites and medical practices and an essay on color classification have wide implications for comparative analysis. Excellent photographs and useful diagrams complement the text.

About this title

About the Author:

Victor Turner (1920–1983) was professor of religion and anthropology at the University of Chicago. He authored many books, including Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society and Revelation and Divination in Ndembu Ritual, both published by Cornell.

Review:

"A collection of ten of the most brilliant and important essays on ritual yet written. These papers by Victor Turner... are all seminal and distinguished."

(American Anthropologist)

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1970
• ISBN 10: 0801491010
• ISBN 13: 9780801491016
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 417