A Structuralist's View of an Indian Creation Myth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2546534 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ron Messer (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 195 |
| Publication date | 1989-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0254-9212 • E-ISSN: 2224-6428 |
| Publisher | University of Victoria Libraries (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/25605542 |
| OpenAlex | W2611174982 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 6 |
Within the mythology of the North American Indians a cer tain supernatural being is frequently presented as the synthesis of two apparently divergent traits of character. Here, the trickster-transformer culture hero, or trickster-hero, as he is sometimes called (Ricketts 1966:327), is at one and the same time a hero and a deceiver. The trickster-hero is both courageous and cunning, ingenious and impudent. This apparent contradiction in his personality, which appears so bla tantly obvious to the student of native folklore and mythology, is taken as a matter of course by the native American Indian. It will also provide the focal point for the investigation to be undertaken. Resume: Dans la mythologie des Indiens d'Amerique du Nord, un certain etre surnaturel est frequemment presente comme la synthese de deux traits de caractere divergents sinon contradictoires. Selon ce theme, le heros culturel-imposteur-magicien, ou heros-imposteur comme on l'appelle parfois (Ricketts 1966:327), est tout a la fois un heros et un imposteur. Ce heros-imposteur est en meme temps courageux et ruse, sincere et plein d'effronterie. Cette apparente contra diction dans sa personnalite, qui semble si evidente a celui engage dans l'etude du folklore et de la mythologie autochtones, est consideree comme un fait allant de soi par les Amerindiens. Et elle constituera le sujet central de la recherche entreprise ici. Structuralism has been with us for over three decades, and though it may no longer be in vogue, its usefulness as a methodological tool for interpreting a variety of cultural expressions (including myth) still exists. Structuralism has been criticized for being overly reductionistic ? a critique levelled at its underlying theory. This critique, however, stands apart from the powerful hermeneutic which structuralism offers as a methodology. In ways which recall the early reception accorded to psychoanalytic theory, structuralism has moved from being a revolutionary paradigm for understanding social/psy chological phenomena to being an anachronism in social thinking. Reminis cent too of the history of psychoanalysis is the fact that, although the underly ing theory is open to question, the practicability of the method is not. This paper will not defend structuralist theory but rather apply its methodology in Anthropologica XXXI (1989) 195-235
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Literature · Mythology · Sociology · Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1994 - 2002 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |