Dancing Skeletons Katherine Detwylers Summary

III. Anthropological Topics Covered: Many of the anthropological topics the author Katherine Dettwyler covered in the book, Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa, are “ethnocentrism; the evaluation of other culture according to preconceived notions originating from one’s own cultural customs and beliefs, culture shock; subjected to an unfamiliar way or life or set of attitudes, population control, breastfeeding, child care, the meaning of disability and child death in different cultures, female circumcision, women’s roles in patrilineal societies, the dangers of fieldwork, and facing emotionally draining realities” (Dettwyler, 2014).
One of the main cultural aspects of Malian society that I believe is noteworthy and worth illustrating and expressing in further detail are the diseases and illnesses that are associated with the direct malnutrition and lack of proper healthcare education and accessibility within the West African regions. The cultures
traditions and practices concerning maternal and child health, are far less significant than that of the Untied States. For one, Malians understood very little if nothing at all about the importance of maternal health and antenatal care. Women in Mali were ill-informed and naive about the importance of not giving birth in contaminated and unsanitary conditions. Many of these women were unaware of the consequences that resulted from their ill-advised traditional customs and practices. Attributes that have caused high maternal mortality rates within the country of Mali are directly coupled with uneducated and inexperienced communities on the basic health procedures, issues and the preliminary prevention of those identified health concerns.
A second anthropological aspect discussed of the Malian culture that I found quite notable involved kinship. Within a patrilineal society the women’s roles and close relations between mother and child can be out of the ordinary compared to that of the United States. In former times, the roles of women in the United States were more subservient – granted that has changed over time – like that of Malian culture. The key difference that I found quite remarkable though is the detached and unconcerned position a mother has in West Africa when they’ve lost a child. Because the loss of a child is a regular occurrence due to poor health and disease, mothers in the Bambara culture have learned to disconnect and separate their personal feelings, with that of justification and reasoning. While in the United States the loss of children is pretty rare, it is not so much in West African cultures.
Another kinship custom that is rarely heard or seen of in the United States that is widespread in Mali, West Africa is that many males have multiple wives, solely for the purpose of economic and financial gains. The wives and daughters strengthen the success of the community by accomplishing the many labor intensive domestic and agricultural responsibilities necessary for survival. A man in Bambara culture with multiple wives and several children are measured as affluent and prosperous. Success in Mali custom is determined by the number of individuals within your family unit, not the amount of money in your bank account, like that of the United States.
A third cultural aspect or issue that was mentioned in the book that is important to mention that is different from that of western traditions, are female genital mutilation which is very similar to male circumcision in the Untied States.
These painful, severe practices are a physical means of male control of female sexual behavior within the Bambara culture. Female circumcision is usually traditionally performed when a girl is about six months old, by cutting the outer edges of the labia majora, then stitching it together forming a permanent layer of scar tissue, preventing sexual intercourse. Once a woman is married to her husband the scar tissue is cut open then allowing for sexual intercourse. Therefore, accepting the possibility for many children. Bambara cultural traditions and practices are considered unknown and strange to most western societies, appointed specifically to those who struggle to understand the lack of significance that individuals assign to sex and sexual pleasure in other
cultures.
A fourth and conclusive Malian cultural position or issue that is worth mentioning further is the past and present political situation in West Africa. Mali was part of the French West Africa (French Sudan) during the colonial period of 1890 to 1960. Without any consideration of the people residing in the region, Europeans proclaimed the country’s borders, thus resulting in ongoing strife between the Tuareg population of northern Mali and the government in Bamako. Since the independence from France in 1960, there have been sporadic stimulations for some type of independence or sovereignty for the northern regions, but they were of little to no outcome or permanent result. The most current summary affecting the country Mali, is that the “recent political struggles have threatened to compromise the progress made over the past several decades, the return of democratically elected government and the subsequent resumption of aid from the United States and other countries should help improve conditions for all Malians in the years to come” (Dettwyler, pg.202).