Rainer Wassner 
Der Beitrag von Ernesto de Martino 
zur italienischen Kulturanthropologie 
Abstract. — De Martino (1908-1965) required of the anthropology of religion the 
extension of the historical method to include the analysis of magic and religion of non 
occidental cultures in order to redefine in this mirror the potentiality and the limits of 
occidental rationality. — In his own work, that is set against positivism as well as against 
cultural relativism and ethnocentrism, he initially clears up the reality of the magical 
powers. Magic is then derived genetically from situations which signal psychologically 
and culturally a loss of control of the world. The effect of magic as an institution is to 
re-integrate the threatened groups into coherent social networks. This concept, which 
partly goes back to other scholars and partly coincides with theirs, has its weaknesses in 
stressing the stabilizing and defensive character of magic. According to de Martino, the 
political task of Ethnology and Folklore consists in contributing their share to over 
come the socio-economic conditions of magic-producing situations by providing laical 
knowledge and information. His pionieering field-research in Southern Italy which is 
to a large extent continued by current Italian cultural anthropologists discovers wide 
spread pre-Christian and anti-Catholic religious elements, in the assessment of which 
he remains true to his enlightened impulses. In the history of Italian cultural anthropol 
ogy de Martino is, despite criticism of particulars, on a par with Pettazzoni and Lantemari. 
[Methodology, Biographies, Magic, Psychotherapy, Folklore] 
1. Vorbemerkung 
Das Werk des italienischen Kulturanthropologen und Religionshistorikers 
Emesto de Martino (1908-1965) ist außerhalb seines Landes bedauerlicher 
weise wenig bekannt. 1 In seinen brilliant geschriebenen Beiträgen, die einen * 1 
Rainer Waßncr, Dipl.-Sozialwirt (1972), M.A. (1978), Dr. phil. (1982, Univ. Ham 
burg) ; Forschungsschwerpunkte: Politik-, Religions- und Medizinsoziologie; z.Zt. Wissen 
schaftlicher Angestellter und Lehrbeauftragter am Institut für Soziologie der Univ. Ham 
burg. — Veröffentlichungen: Aspekte der Mythologiebetrachtung bei Marx/Engels fPai- 
deuma 1976); Zur Institution des Politischen bei Claude Lévi-Strauss (Kölner Zeitschrift 
für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 1979); Magie und Psychotherapie: Ein gesellschafts 
wissenschaftlicher Vergleich von Institutionen der Krisenbewältigung (Berlin 1983). 
Adresse: Chateauneufstr. 19, 2000 Hamburg 26. 
1 Ausgenommen sind Mircea Eliade, mit dem de Martino auch einen (unveröffent 
lichten) Briefwechsel unterhielt; bei uns Wilhelm Mühlmann und, von jüngeren Autoren, 
Thomas Hauschild (1981 und 1979).