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Book Cover
Book
Author HolĂ˝, Ladislav.

Title Religion and custom in a Muslim society : the Berti of Sudan / Ladislav Holy
Published Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1991

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  305.89650624 Hol/Rac  AVAILABLE
Description x, 243 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Series Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 78
Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 78
Contents Machine derived contents note: Preface and acknowledgements -- List of maps and photographs -- Introduction -- 1. The Berti and Islam -- 2. Men and women -- 3. Milk and water -- 4. Village and wilderness -- 5. Custom and religion -- 6. Life cycle -- 7. Circumcision -- 8. Blood and rain -- 9. Custom and superstition -- Glossary -- References -- Index
Summary "Among the Berti of Northern Darfur (Sudan), as among many Muslim societies, the formal religious practices are predominantly the concern of men, while local, unorthodox customary rituals are performed mainly by women. It is usual to dismiss such local, popular practices as pre-Islamic survivals, but Professor Holy shows that the customary rituals constitute an integral part of the religious system of the Berti. Carefully analysing the symbolic statements made in Berti rituals, Professor Holy demonstrates that the distinction between the two classes of rituals is an expression of the gender relationships characteristic of the society. He also examines the social distribution of knowledge about Islam, and explains the role of the religious schools in sustaining religious ideas. The work is not only an ethnographic study of ritual, belief and gender in an African society. It also makes a significant contribution to current anthropological discussion of the interpretation and meaning of rituals and symbols."--Publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [226]-233) and index
Notes Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology no:78
Subject Berti (African people)
Muslims -- Sudan -- Social life and customs.
Muslims -- Sudan.
Sudan -- Social life and customs.
LC no. 90020417
ISBN 0521394856