Visiting Deities of the Hopi, Newar and Marind-anim: A Comparative Study of Seasonal Myths and Rituals in Horticultural Societies
View/ Open
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Witzel, Michael, and Suma Anand. 2012. Visiting Deities of the Hopi, Newar and Marind-anim: A Comparative Study of Seasonal Myths and Rituals in Horticultural Societies. Cosmos: The Journal of the Traditional Cosmology Society 28: 19-55.Abstract
The mythologies and rituals of the three populations show a remarkable amount of overlap, in spite of their distant locations: in northern Arizona, the Kathmandu Valley, and southern New Guinea. They exhibit the mytheme of a large number of visiting deities that appear at certain periods during the year. These ritually undertake a number of actions, usually related to the agricultural cycle, and then return to their respective homes. Usually violent sacrifice is involved as well. It will be suggested how these myths and sacrifices evolved in Neolithic horticultural societies, by pathway dependency, from earlier Palaeolithic beliefs.Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#OAPCitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12646636
Collections
- FAS Scholarly Articles [18256]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)