mahaarvamiste
Maaharvamiste is a term used in anthropology and folklore studies to describe a ritual practice in which a community publicly reframes or ratifies estimates of shared resources, typically harvest yields, through symbolic acts that recalibrate expected values. The word is constructed from Estonian maha- meaning “down” or “lower,” and arvamiste, the plural form of arvamine “estimation” or “guessing.”
The concept appears in theoretical discussions of ritual economy and collective decision-making, particularly in contexts of
In described cases, participants gather in a communal setting where leaders or elders announce revised, lower
Scholars view maaharvamiste as a means of signaling information, coordinating collective action, and distributing risk in
See also: ritual economy, collective estimation, redistribution, scarcity response.