Kiyang-yang, a West-African postwar idiom of distress.
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| Title: | Kiyang-yang, a West-African postwar idiom of distress. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | de Jong JT (AUTHOR), Reis R (AUTHOR), de Jong, Joop T (AUTHOR), Reis, Ria (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry. Jun2010, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p301-321. 21p. |
| Abstract: | In 1984, a healing cult for young barren women in southern Guinea Bissau developed into a movement, Kiyang-yang, that shook society to its foundations and had national repercussions. "Idiom of distress" is used here as a heuristic tool to understand how Kiyang-yang was able to link war and post-war-related traumatic stress and suffering on both individual and group levels. An individual experience born from a traumatic origin may be generalized into an idiom that diverse sectors of society could embrace for a range of related reasons. We argue that, for an idiom to be understood and appropriated by others, there has to be resonance at the level of symbolic language and shared experiences as well as at the level of the culturally mediated contingent emotions it communicates. We also argue that through its symbolic references to structural causes of suffering, an idiom of distress entails a danger for those in power. It can continue to exist only if its etiology is not exposed or the social suffering it articulates is not eliminated. We finally argue that idioms of distress are not to be understood as discrete diagnostic categories or as monodimensional expressions of "trauma" that can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 105217434 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=105217434 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11013-010-9178-7 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 301 Titles: – TitleFull: Kiyang-yang, a West-African postwar idiom of distress. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: de Jong JT – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Reis R – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: de Jong, Joop T – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Reis, Ria IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2010 Type: published Y: 2010 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0165005X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 34 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry Type: main |
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