Suchergebnisse

The trickster has held a prominent place in the study of folklore,
as much as it has been central to anthropological understandings of egalitarianism.
In both, the trickster embodies an insoluble tension between
the repressed, amoral desires of the individual and the moral demands
of social life. This tension, so it goes, is visible in the ambiguity of the
figure—a protean indeterminate being, neither good nor bad. Among
the Jú|'hoànsi of northeastern Namibia, the trickster is similarly ambiguous.
The figure conveys not a clash of values, but rather the doubt and
uncertainty people feel toward those with whom they share resources, or
about different ways of sharing and how they might relate to one another.
This article approaches such uncertainty through a focus on the mocking
phrase "you're a trickster" and the moral discourses that accompany it.

In 2020, the government of Aotearoa New Zealand imposed some of the most stringent funerary restrictions in the world as part of its efforts to eliminate COVID-19. This article explores how people experienced this situation, asking why restrictions that some described as precipitating 'the most difficult time of their lives' were described by others as a 'relief', 'blessing', or 'gift'. Much existing literature frames funerary restrictions as a distressing assault upon established ways of grieving to which mourners must try to adapt–and in Aotearoa, both the stringency of the restrictions and the means by which they had been imposed did lead to many people finding them challenging. However, for those with ambivalent pre-existing feelings regarding their funerary traditions–such as many in the Samoan diaspora–COVID-19 restrictions afforded both a reprieve from burdensome practices and a much-welcomed opportunity to reimagine their traditions. Funerary restrictions, though disruptive, are thereby shown to have generative potential.