The Meaning of Myth in World Cultures

Michael Buonanno (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

323 Seiten

2018
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-9712-6 (ISBN)

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Mythology creates and sanctions meaning through the elaboration of identity in cultural metaphors that are at once ecological, sociological and ideological. This study examines mythology from a global perspective, citing case studies in cultural traditions from Africa, Europe, Oceania, Native America and elsewhere.

Mythology--circulated in sacred stories (myths) and their reenactments (rituals)--is the basis of any society's religion, and religion is an essential key to identity. Mythology's meaning depends on the elaboration of identity in cultural metaphors that are at the same time ecological (arising from a society's environmental exploitation), sociological (based on indigenous social relations) and ideological (couched in terms of a society's worldview). But tellingly, these metaphors are embodied in anthropomorphic spirits, fostering a deep sense of identification with those spirits as well as with individuals who share in one's spiritual devotions.

This study examines mythology from a global perspective, citing case studies in cultural traditions from Africa, Europe, Oceania, Native America and elsewhere.

Michael Buonanno is a professor of English and anthropology at the State College of Florida: Manatee/Sarasota. His previous publications have appeared in The Journal of American Folklore and New York Folklore. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: A Story Is Medicine

1. Origins: The Dance and the Dream

2. The Physical Environment and Ecological Metaphors

3. The Social Environment and Sociological Metaphors

4. Religion as Indigenous Philosophy

5. Anthropomorphic Metaphors and Identification

6. Ritual Enactment and Affiliation

7. Mythic Rhetoric: Allegories, Ancestors and Apocalypses

8. Identity: Myth, Memory and Affirmation

Conclusion: The Legitimacy of Myth

Chapter Notes

References

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	04.12.2018
Zusatzinfo	27 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	422 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Politik / Gesellschaft
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie ► Volkskunde
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-7864-9712-2 / 0786497122
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-9712-6 / 9780786497126
Zustand	Neuware