Work

Do “Culture Heroes” Exist? A Dialogue With Luc de Heusch on the Limits of the Structuralist Approach to Myth

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: This article argues the inadequacy of the structuralist framework of analysis as applied to Central African myths of foundation and tries to demonstrate that a dichotomous approach can inhibit the full understanding of these narratives, often misrepresenting and curtailing their meaning. Instead, it is claimed that blurredness, ambiguity, “consubstantiality,” and fluidity are, in Central Africa, the assortment of logical and symbolic instruments able to convey, as well as constantly recreate, the prodigious intricacy of meanings that emanate from mythological thinking.

Source: SAGE Open

DOI: 10.1177/2158244016649013

Author: Manuela Palmeirim

Institutions: State University of Zanzibar, University of Minho

Language: English

Topic: Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies

Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,600

Funders: Royal Anthropological Institute, Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica