ABSTRACT
This chapter examines and explicates razzing—a teasing ritual utilized by American Indians that functions as a means of testing and establishing cultural identity. It discusses the problematic nature of identifying as an Indian and explains the concept of Indian-ness. The approach used to conceptualize and analyze razzing is based on the ethnography of speaking as articulated by Hymes. The categories of topic, purpose, act sequence, setting, and participants are particularly useful for describing the organization of the razzing ritual. The chapter delineates the structure and functions of razzing; and provides an exemplar of razzing in which cultural competence is displayed from and insider's perspective. Not only is razzing constructed as talk in face-to-face interactions, it may also be constructed in the form of songs directed towards other individuals or events. Razzing in this form is best exemplified by "forty- nines.".
