The Evil Eye Belief among the Amhara of Ethiopia

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2734643
AutoresRonald A Reminick (autor correspondente)
Ano1974
Volume13
Fascículo3
Páginas279
Data de publicação1974-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEthnology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0014-1828 • E-ISSN: 2160-3510
EditoraJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3773168
OpenAlexW160244369
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas17
Referências citadas2

Variations of the belief in the evil eye are known throughout much of the world, yet surprisingly little attention has been given to explaining the dynamics of this aspect of culture (cf. Spooner I970; Foster I972; Douglas I970). The Amhara of Ethio-pia hold to this belief. Data for this study were gathered among the Manze Amhara of the central highlands of Shoa Province, Ethiopia. Their habitat is a rolling plateau ranging in altitude from g,soo to I3>000 feet. The seasons vary from temperate and dry to wet and cold. The Amhara are settled agriculturists raising primarily barley, wheat, and a variety of beans and importing teff grain cotton, and spices from the lower and warmer regions in the gorges and valleys rlearby. Amhara technology is simple, involving the bull-drawn plow, crop rotation, soil furrowing for drainage, and some irrigation where streams are accessible. The soil is rich enough to maintain three harvests annually. Other important technological items include the sicklen loom, and the walking and fighting stick for the men; the spindle large clay water jug grindstone, and cooking utensils for the women. The most highly prized item of technology is the ride which symbolizes the proud warrior traditions of the Amhara and a man's duty to defend his inherited land. The homestead is the primary domain of authority within the larger political structure. The homestead varies in size from that of a nuclear family to a large hamlet consisting of several related families and their servants, tenants, and former slaves. The system of authority can be characterized in terms of Webers patriarchalism, where a group is organized on the basis of kinship and economics with authority exercised by a particular person controlling the resources upon which the group depends (Weber I948: 346 H). Obedience and loyalty are owed to the person rather than to the role or the rule, and this person rules only by the consent of the grolup members who stand to gain a portion of their patriarch's wealth as a legacy upon his death. This institution of patriarchal authority is reinforced by a cultural emphasis on male qualities of aggressiveness oriented around the acquisition and defense of land. Land is the fundamental requirement of the patriarchal system, for without it a man cannot fulfill his hasic role of supporting his dependents and providing a legacy for his children as a reward for their loyalty and service. But land is a scarce re

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