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The Windigo Psychosis: Psychodynamic, Cultural, and Social Factors in Aberrant Behavior 1
Author(s) -
HAY THOMAS H.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1971.73.1.02a00010
Subject(s) - cannibalism , psychodynamics , psychosis , psychology , sociology , psychoanalysis , ecology , psychiatry , biology , larva
Although windigo cannibalism is unique to the northern Algonkians, the psychodynamic factors which produce it are general. The differential occurrence of the disorder is explained in terms of the northern Algonkian emphasis on following inner promptings, the absence of cultural alternatives, and in terms of the nature of interaction in the particular bands for which cannibalism was reported.