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Reviewed Work(s): Kinaald: A Study of the Navaho Girl's Puberty Ceremony by Charlotte
Johnson Frisbie
Review by: Louise Lamphere
Source: American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 70, No. 4 (Aug., 1968), pp. 779-780
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/670577
Accessed: 08-03-2017 19:47 UTC
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Book Reviews 779
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780 American Anthropologist [70, 1968]
of song analyzed. A free English In Anthropology
translation No.is1.) [Prescott, Ari
given for all examples, and in a fewCollege
Prescott cases Press,
the 1967. xii, 67 pp
spoken Navaho and literal English translations
dex, 1 map, 6 photographs, references.
are also provided. In some instances, several
versions of the same song are compared Reviewed
andby DAVID ABERL
variations cited. University of British Columb
Chapter 4 discusses the meaning of the Handsomely produced and with magni
Kinaaldi ceremony, its symbolism, and its place photographs, some by George Wharton
in Navaho religion. The final chapter deals with and some by Euler, this slim book tells a
changes in the ritual in response to Navaho ac- we are likely to know of the Ghost Da
culturation.
among the Pai (Walapai and Havasu
Chapter 4 is perhaps the weakest part of the which began in 1889. It assembles conte
book, relying heavily on previous interpreta- rary accounts taken from Arizona newsp
tions of Navaho religion by Clyde Kluckhohn from Indian Affairs archives, and from v
and Gladys Reichard rather than using the data other publications; information gather
presented earlier to reach new conclusions. Spier in 1918 and under Kroeber in 192
These anthropological analyses have emphasized additional information collected by Doby
the "communion" aspects of Navaho religion, Euler in 1952-1957. The study attempts
stressing concepts translated into the English count for acceptance of the dance, to disc
terms "harmony," "beauty," and "happiness"; relevance of the events for various theories of
all heavily laden with a long history of Chris-revitalization movements, and to deal with the
tian meaning. A more fruitful approach is sug- effects of the dance on tribal integration.
gested by David Aberle, who stresses the "ma- The theoretical approach is primarily that of
nipulative" aspects of Navaho ritual (The Nava-Leighton's classification of generic psychologi-
ho Singer's 'Fee': Payment or Prestation?," in cal stresses. The authors indicate that the Pai
D. H. Hymes and W. E. Bittle, eds., Studies in were threatened with loss of water resources
Southwestern Ethnolinguistics, The Hague, and land, with death at the hands of settlers,
1967). He outlines ways in which offerings and with serious disease, with disruption of family
other mythologically prescribed actions coercelife by settlers who took sexual advantage of
supernatural aid and bind the patient, singer, and Pai women, and with arbitrary exercise of au-
supernatural in a chain of reciprocity. The textsthority. After unsuccessful efforts to eliminate
in Chapter 3 reveal how the songs either recount these threats by force, the Pai accepted domi-
relationships stated in Navaho mythology or nation as the price for retaining a portion of their
describe the ritual actions being performed si- homeland. Then they turned to "in-group and
multaneously. The content of the songs supportsself-aggression." An alternative to this response
Aberle's analysis since they can be interpreted aswas the symbolic aggression of the Ghost Dance,
an integral part of the reciprocity which is de-with its promise that the Whites would disappear
scribed in myth and acted out in ceremonies. It and the Indians be returned to a life of plenty.
is a credit to the author's painstaking presen- A successful outcome of the dance was not forth-
tation of song texts that this relaionship can be coming; among the Walapai, the failure of an
seen.
effort to revive a dead man by magical means
Since there are a number of morphopho-
seems to have led to a loss of belief in the
dance.language
nemic changes made when the spoken
is transformed into a singing style, the
Mymeaning
first criticism of this work is that consid-
of songs can only be revealed by several trans-
erably more could have been done with the
lations. That the author provides question
examples of
of differential acceptance of the Ghost
song texts, spoken Navaho, and literalDanceand free
among the Pai. Like most books on reli-
English translations is one of the most valuable this one is long on details on
gious movements,
aspects of the book, since accurate the data
movementareand short on details of the con-
made available to those interested in text
various as-
of the movement, although the section on
pects of Navaho religion. In sum, this excellent
stress provides the broad picture. Specifically,
work shows how a detailed analysis theof a spe-
authors allege that the Havasupai took up
cialized topic can contribute more generally to than did the Walapai because
the dance later
the work of other anthropologists. they suffered less from the various threats expe-
rienced by both groups, but the book fails to
provide supporting detail. Furthermore, four
The Ghost Dance of 1889 among Walapai
the Pai In- are mentioned several times:
"chiefs"
dians of Northwestern Arizona. HENRY
Serum andF.Koara, who supported the dance,
DOBYNS and ROBERT C. EULER. Foreword by brought his group in late and
Leve Leve, who
Edward H. Spicer. (Prescott College Studies
danced separately from the body of the Wala-
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