The Meaning of Myth in World Cultures

Buonanno, Michael

McFarland & Co Inc（2018/12発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 323 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780786497126
• DDC分類 398.2

Full Description

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.

Contents

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