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dc.contributor.author | McNeill, Fraser G.![]() |
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dc.date.accessioned | 2024-06-11T11:53:37Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
dc.description.abstract | This article offers an ethnographic account of Covid-19 infection in Venda, South Africa. During July 2021, a research interlocutor and I tested positive for the virus and embarked on a 10-day period of isolation together. During this time, we practiced steaming rituals (u aravhela) on a daily basis and observed several healing practices related to eating, drinking and observing space. For me, the anthropologist, it was a period of intense participant observation; for the interlocutor, it was a period of teaching during which he became a makeshift ritual expert and I, his apprentice. Simultaneous to our isolation, exaggerated rumours about the interlocutor’s illness circulated in the area. This article frames Covid-19 infection as a Turnerian rite of passage whilst using ethnographic evidence to illustrate weaknesses in Turner’s model. The article concludes that the rumour and ritual around Covid-19 revealed the interconnected dynamics between stability, instability and efforts to make certainty under profoundly uncertain circumstances. | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Este artigo oferece um relato etnográfico da infecção por Covid-19 em Venda, na África do Sul. Em julho de 2021, um interlocutor de pesquisa e eu testamos positivo para o vírus e embarcamos juntos em um período de 10 dias de isolamento. Durante este tempo, praticamos diariamente rituais de vaporização (u aravhela) e seguimos várias práticas de cura relacionadas ao comer, ao beber e à observação do espaço. Para mim, o antropólogo, foi um período de intensa observação participante; para o interlocutor, foi um período de ensinamento em que ele se tornou um especialista em rituais improvisado e eu, seu aprendiz. Simultaneamente ao nosso isolamento, rumores exagerados sobre a doença do interlocutor circularam na região. Este artigo enquadra a infecção por Covid-19 como um rito de passagem turneriano, embora use evidências etnográficas para ilustrar fragilidades no modelo de Turner. O artigo conclui que o rumor e o ritual em torno da Covid-19 revelaram a dinâmica interconectada entre estabilidade, instabilidade e esforços para obter certeza em circunstâncias profundamente incertas. | en_US |
dc.description.department | Anthropology and Archaeology | en_US |
dc.description.embargo | 2025-02-26 | |
dc.description.librarian | hj2024 | en_US |
dc.description.sdg | None | en_US |
dc.description.uri | http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rasa20 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Fraser G. McNeill (2024) Covid-19 infection as ritual process in Venda, South Africa, Anthropology Southern Africa, 47:1, 32-45, DOI: 10.1080/23323256.2023.2224847. | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 2332-3256 (print) | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2332-3264 (online) | |
dc.identifier.other | 10.1080/23323256.2023.2224847 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96394 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group) | en_US |
dc.rights | © 2023 Anthropology Southern Africa. This is an electronic version of an article published in Anthropology Southern Africa, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 32-45, 2024. doi : 10.1080/23323256.2023.2224847. Anthropology Southern Africa is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rasa20. | en_US |
dc.subject | Anthropology | en_US |
dc.subject | COVID-19 pandemic | en_US |
dc.subject | Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) | en_US |
dc.subject | Ritual | en_US |
dc.subject | Rumour | en_US |
dc.subject | South Africa (SA) | en_US |
dc.subject | Uncertainty | en_US |
dc.subject | Venda | en_US |
dc.title | Covid-19 infection as ritual process in Venda, South Africa | en_US |
dc.type | Postprint Article | en_US |