Listige Kröten

Zur Frage des Witzes in Schamanismus und Wissenschaft

Abstract

Humorology has been a growing branch of the social sciences since the 1980s. This article explores the possibilities of applying humorologist theories to the realities of research in foreign cultures. The ritual of killing a war captive among the Tupinambá Indians during the Brazilian colonial period is taken as an example. The Tupinambá who fled from the Atlantic coast brought their ritual to the Amazon region with them, and it is argued that they met the predecessors of the Kamayurá Indians (today in southeast Amazonia), who in their mythology retain an ironic memory of that ritual. The article stresses the difficulty of understanding the humour of others in relation to warfare.