Malinowski, Bronislaw

Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1961. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. New York E.P. Dutton. 

In short, myth—whether of witdicraft or mental illness—functions as justificatory imagery and rhetoric for both the group and the individual. Myth, says Bronislaw Malinowski, can attach itself not only to magic but to any form of social power or social claim. It is used always to account for extraordinary privileges or duties, for great social inequalities, for severe burdens of rank, whether this be very high or very low. ... 

My analysis of the distinction between ritual and technical acts follows closely the standard anthropological view. See especially Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science, and Religion. 

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