Olfaction in Aslian Ideology and Language

Bibliographic Data

ID4364591
AuthorsNiclas Burenhult (Max Planck Society), A Majid (0000-0003-0132-216X, Max Planck Society)
Year2011
Volume6
Issue1
Pages19-29
Publication date2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Senses and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-8927 • E-ISSN: 1745-8935
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2752/174589311x12893982233597
OpenAlexW1979022758
LanguageEN
Citations received45
References cited16

The cognitive- and neuro-sciences have supposed that the perceptual world of the individual is dominated by vision, followed closely by audition, but that olfaction is merely vestigial. Aslian-speaking communities (Austroasiatic, Malay Peninsula) challenge this view. For the Jahai — a small group of rainforest foragers — odor plays a central role in both culture and language. Jahai ideology revolves around a complex set of beliefs which structures the human relationship with the supernatural. Central to this relationship are hearing, vision and olfaction. In Jahai language, olfaction also receives special attention. There are at least a dozen or so abstract descriptive odor categories that are basic, everyday terms. This lexical elaboration of odor is not unique to the Jahai but can seen across many contemporary Austroasiatic languages and transcends major cultural and environmental boundaries. These terms appear to be inherited from ancestral language states, suggesting a long-standing preoccupation with odor in this part of the world. Contrary to the prevailing assumption in the cognitive sciences, these languages and cultures demonstrate that odor is far from vestigial in humans

Cognitive science · Ideology · Linguistics · Odor · Olfaction · Perception · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neuroscience · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies · Philosophy · Psychology

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