Witchcraft is defined by Clyde Kluckhohn (1905-60) as "the influencing of events by super-natural techniques that are socially disapproved," and his description and analysis of Navaho ideas and actions related to witchcraft illuminate the ways in which society deals with the ambition for power, the aggressiveness, and the anxiety of its members.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique monograph on Navajo culture,
By A Customer
This review is from: Navaho Witchcraft (Paperback)
First published in 1944, Clyde Kluckhohn's Navajo Witchcraft offers a comprehensive analysis of witchcraft tradition in Navajo culture. As the main research source, 93 informants were interviewed by Kluckhohn. Among the sample, 76 people were men, 71 individuals were over fifty years old. It is important to note that 38 individuals were ceremonial practitioners who are skilled navigators of their folk knowledge. Based on the data which has been collected since 1923, the first draft was written in 1938, and it was rewritten several times for content revision and data addition. Navajo witchcraft consists of various techniques of malevolent activity which include "Witchery," "Sorcery," "Wizardry," and "Frenzy Witchcraft." Each technique is employed accordingly to a practitioner's purpose. For example, the flesh of a corpse is used in "Witchery," or Witcheryway to put a curse on an individual. Kluckhohn utilizes a functionalist interpretation method to explain the social validity of Navajo witchcraft. Navajo culture is a scarcity culture because of the semi-arid environment and over-grazing by livestock, making life harder for Navajos. In such living conditions, personal insecurity, intra-group tension, and aggression towards others arise among the members of the society. Kluckhohn argues that witchcraft exists as a channel for an individual's socially suppressed frustrations. Witchcraft is a road to supernatural power and power is a central theme in Navajo world view, therefore, its existence is socially accepted. Kluckhohn hypothesizes that socially accepted witchcraft serves as a remedy for hostility and anxiety, maintaining a social equilibrium in Navajo culture. There have been many criticisms made on the functionalism during this century, and one of the significant criticisms is the over emphasis on social equilibrium. Kluckhohn's functionalist interpretation has its own limitations. His interpretation lacks the consideration for the possibility of oncoming socio-cultural changes in Navajo culture which were made possible by the advancement of technologies in the late twentieth century. Due to such technological advancement, people became more mobile and have more access to various kinds of information and material goods. Consequently people have more alternatives to channel or sublimate their social frustrations. As socio-cultural situations have changed, witchcraft cannot be the only antidote for social frustrations and the only instrument that maintains the social equilibrium. It is indeed an advantage of this monograph however that it is one of the few books which illustrates the "dark side" of Navajo ceremonial tradition. Yet as I have mentioned, there may be a necessity to reinterpret the witchcraft tradition. I would argue that there's a necessity to collect contemporary Navajo views on witchcraft and its practice in order to reinvestigate the validity of witchcraft tradition in today's diverse Navajo society.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Resource for Native American Black Arts,
This review is from: Navaho Witchcraft (Paperback)
This book is really good for anyone interested in Black Magick according to the Navaho Tradition ( which is also very similar to the Apache Tradition ).
The only negative part of this book is that the author doesn't really go into detail on the exact wording of the chants that go along with the Hexes and Curses. Although I feel its understandable why he either chose not to put that in the book or why he wasn't given that kind of information from his contacts. This book is well worth the money for any student of the Occult.
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