Zinacantan, Chamula, and Chenalho are neighboring Mayan communities situated in highland Chiapas, Mexico, near the city of San Cristobal Las Casas. The inhabitants of the three communities speak dialects of the Tzotzil language. Five religious fiestas, celebrated by these communities in honor of their saints, provide the data for Victoria Bricker's comparative study of ritual humor. In Chenalho and Chamula performances of ritual humor are concentrated in the five-day period of a single fiesta, while in Zanacantan similar performances are distributed over threee fiestas. In these fiesta settings, performers in distinctive costumes make obscene and sacreligious remarks in the context of religious ritual. These performances are defined as ritual humor because they occur only in ritual settings. Bricker's study constitutes a controlled cross-cultural comparison of ceremonial or ritual humor in its social and cultural setting. Much new information is provided in verbatim texts, recorded during actual fiesta performances. The study reveals that, although the three communities share a common pool of ritual symbols, they elaborate them differently in ritual humor. The study analyzes the symbolic expression of values, social organization, and interethnic relations.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University of Texas Press
ISBN-13
9780292719361
eBay Product ID (ePID)
95000585
Product Key Features
Author
Victoria Reifler Bricker
Publication Name
Ritual Humor in Highland Chiapas
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Anthropology
Publication Year
1973
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
293 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
771g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Victoria Reifler Bricker
Series Title
Texas Pan American Series
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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