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- Title
The world 'topsy-turvy' and the ancient Near Eastern cultures: a few examples.
- Authors
Kruger, Paul A.
- Abstract
This paper considers socio-political examples of the universal cultural phenomenon of symbolic inversion (mundus inversus), the earliest instances of which can be traced back to the cultures of the ancient Near East. Symbolic inversion refers to manifestations of expressive behaviour where everything is inverted in relation to the normal state of affairs. Two spheres in the ancient Near Eastern world where this cultural theme is especially prominent are in the conception of the ‘other’ (other ethnic groups) and in the sphere of social criticism, where a given status quo is attacked and alternative structures are propagated.
- Subjects
MULTICULTURALISM; SYMBOLIC inversion; UTOPIAS; EXPRESSIVE behavior; ETHNIC groups; SOCIAL criticism
- Publication
Anthropology Southern Africa (Anthropology Southern Africa), 2006, Vol 29, Issue 3/4, p115
- ISSN
0258-0144
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1080/23323256.2006.11499937