Animal metaphors and social control in Tzintzuntzan

Abstract

Ever since Leach (1964) published his groundbreaking paper on animal categories and verbal abuse, scholars have demonstrated considerable interest in the subject of animal metaphors. Like Leach's study, most of this work (e.g., Basso 1976; Crocker 1977; Tambiah 1969) has grown out of the literature on binary oppositions, mediation, and anomalous categories; it has focused, in other words, on cognitive issues. Recently, the topic has been explored effectively with reference to the related subject of world view as well (Taggart 1982). In this paper, I analyze animal metaphors from a different perspective; i.e., the role they play in promoting social control. I intend to show that animal metaphors acquire this function in two ways: first, cognitively, by accentuating the differ? ences between human and bestial behavior and thereby encouraging people to conform to culturally approved codes; and second, socially, by providing people with highly charged terms that can be manipulated in daily speech to reduce or increase social distance. Animal metaphors constitute an important domain for talking about disapproved or undesirable attributes. Hence, when these meta? phors are invoked they implicitly remind people of human behavioral norms and physical ideals. They reinforce the social and moral order.