Research Catalog

Ancestral voices : oral ritual texts and their social contexts among the Mewahang Rai of East Nepal / Martin Gaenszle.

Title
Ancestral voices : oral ritual texts and their social contexts among the Mewahang Rai of East Nepal / Martin Gaenszle.
Author
Gaenszle, Martin
Publication
Münster : Lit ; Piscataway, NJ : Distributed in North America by Transaction Publishers, [2002]

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Details

Description
xvii, 338 p., [7] p. of plates : ill., 1 map; 24 cm.
Summary
"This study focuses on various genres of ritual speech among the Mewahang Rai, all of which make use of a distinct ritual language. The main objective is to situate the oral ritual texts in their ethnographic context. Combining a textual with a cultural approach, the author discusses the indigenous concept of tradition, the rhetorical and poetic features of ritual speech genres, and the discursive universe constructed through the texts. On the theoretical level, the book contributes to recent debates about ritualization and performance, and to discussions in linguistic anthropology concerning the notions on formality, indexicality, entextualization and contextualization."--BOOK JACKET.
Series Statement
Performanzen ; Bd. 4 = Performances ; v. 4
Uniform Title
Performanzen Bd. 4.
Subject
  • Western Meohang language > Social aspects
  • Rai (Nepalese people) > Rites and ceremonies
  • Oral tradition > Nepal
  • Language and culture > Nepal
  • Componential analysis in anthropology
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. [316]-333) and index.
Language (note)
  • English; some text in Western Meohang with English translations.
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
Ch. 1. The Concept of muddum -- Ch. 2. Transmission -- Ch. 3. Genres of Dialogue -- Ch. 4. Discursive Universe -- Ch. 5. Rhetorical and Poetical Forms -- Ch. 6. Power of Ritual Speech -- T.1. Opening the Dialogue ('Big Wedding') -- T.2. 'Calling the Ancestors' -- T.3A. Offering to the Hearthstones -- T.3B. 'Calling the House Deity' -- T.3C. 'Raising the Head-Soul' -- T.4. Journey to the Sky -- Who are the Mewahang Rai? A synopsis of Mewahang social organisation and mythology.
ISBN
382585891X
OCLC
  • 51106918
  • SCSB-10375825
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library