Preview

The Dobe Ju/Hoansi Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1067 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Dobe Ju/Hoansi Essay
Qureshi 1 Hadiyah Qureshi See my one big comment below.
Critical Review
Professor Delcore
4/19/2014
The Dobe Ju/’hoansi Critical Review In the case study “The Dobe Ju/’hoansi”, the author Richard B. Lee, an anthropologist from the University of Toronto, provides an in-depth look into the lives of the South African tribe known as the Dobe Ju/’hoansi. In the book, Lee strives to shed light on several important factors of the Ju/’hoansi culture and lifestyle. The author addresses the point methodologically by first covering the foraging methods of the hunter-gatherers and then their sexuality and religion. Other factors of the tribe that the author focuses on are: politics, social change, marriage, conflict, and social organization. After analyzing Lee’s research on the Ju/’hoansi, I was able to discover that the biggest issue lies within their kinship, subsistence, and sexuality. [So far, you have stated the topic of the book, but you still need a clear statement of what you think Lee was trying to prove. He does describe their culture but he also have some things he wants to persuade us about.] As Lee states in the book, one of the biggest factors that led to his studies of the Dobe Ju/’hoansi is that they are an isolated hunting and gathering tribe. This is important, because hunting and gathering, or foraging, is thought to be how early human beings lived. Therefore, through his research, the anthropologist can view a part of early ancestral culture. One of the many assumptions that Lee had before spending time with the Ju/’hoansi tribe was that the idea of foraging for existence and subsistence is tough and it is difficult to survive using this method. However contrary to these assumptions, is the fact that a relatively small amount of work is needed to feed a village, and when cooperatively carried out with others, it is not very difficult. This can be supported by Lee’s observations. After seeing a woman collect nuts from a mongongo tree, he asked

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Both Lee and Marshall spent a great amount of time with the Ju/’hoansi, learning their unique culture and way of life. In Marshall’s ethnographic film, “The Hunters”, and chapter four of Lee’s ethnography, The Dobe Ju/’hoansi, each anthropologist discusses, in two different forms, the Ju/’hoansi’s subsistence techniques. Lee and Marshall agree in some areas, but not all.…

    • 1176 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ANTH Chapter Review

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Much of this chapter relates to many major points covered in the course Introduction to Anthropology. The most prominent discussed both by Barker and the course text itself is ethnographic fieldwork, which many anthropologists partake in. Both Barker and the course content describes the holistic perspective of understanding a culture as a whole. As explained in the text, Barker uses this participant observation to truly get inside the lives and minds of the Maisin people, which helps to provides more qualitative data. The observations Barker provides in chapter one are highly detailed. It consists of over 25 years of association and research, making the relation to theories…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After reading the novel Nest in the Wind: Adventures in Anthropology on a Tropical Island, written by Martha C. Ward, I learned about a culture on an island that is much different but similar in many ways to ours. The Climate of the Island was tropical with heavy rainfall. The Island was known as a “tropical paradise”. Ward a female Anthropologist went to this Island to study its inhabitants . Some area she focus on was Family, Religion, sex, tradition, economics, politics ,medicine, death, resources and daily activities . Ward approach to getting this information as accurate as possible was to live among the Pohnpeians as . She got involved in their culture and community. She even , though unwanted gained rank in their society. Her and Her Husband lived in a tin hut, learned customs and manners. They were forced to do the daily chores , find food learn the language and be an active part of the community When the first arrived they had little idea what to expect. They went for information and what they got was a life changing experience. Their study is one of the few done on the traditional way of Pohnpei life recording everything from chores to beliefs.…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    kanyini essay

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What do you think are the messages being presented by Bob Randall and the director Melanie Hogan, in the film Kanyini?…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ju Hoansi Research Paper

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Ju/’hoansi from Southern Africa, subsist as the most documented community by means of where and how they obtain a variation of subsistences (Golden 103). Furthermore, the Ju/’hoansi hunt and gather near their campsites, which reside next to a watering hole (Golden 104). The Ju/’hoansi women can recognize about more than one hundred edible plants for the reason that they operate the gathering. In fact, the Ju/’hoansi women cannot hunt because other Ju/’hoansi natives would consider a women hunting as deviant. On the other hand, the Batek, have an egalitarian system where the women can freely choose to hunt or gather food (Endicott 76). Mongongo, a nut, that has a long shelf life and known as the most important part of Ju/’hoansi’s diet (Golden…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shaki, or Napoleon A. Chagnon’s 15 month enculturation with the Yanomamo tribe, Bisaasi-teri is characterized by fear, discomfort, loneliness, nosiness, and invaluable experiences through relationships and modesty about human culture. Chagnon documents the experience through the struggle and discovery surrounding his proposed research, as his lifestyle gradually comes in sync with the natural functions of his community. Much of his focus and time was consumed by identification of genealogical records, and the establishment of informants and methods of trustworthy divulgence. Marriage, sex, and often resulting violence are the foremost driving forces within Yanomamo, and everything that we consider part of daily routine is completely unknown and inconsequential to them. Traveling between neighboring tribes, he draws conclusions about intertribal relations, especially concerning marriage and raiding. Chagnon deals with cultural complexity that takes time to decipher, and in process, potential risk. Confronted with seemingly trivial situations, they often become unexpected phenomena and Chagnon’s adherence to documentation is amazing. He encounters personal epiphanies that I find intriguing, related to privacy and hygiene. This report becomes an inspiring document of an extreme anthropologic lifestyle as much as it is a cultural essay.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Southeast Indians’ jobs and roles were really structured and really effective. One of these jobs and roles are Hunters. The hunters of the group spent most of their time hunting. The hunting tools they had were Spears and Bow and Arrows. The hunters caught all sorts of animals, including bears so they were risking their lives to feed the group. A second job/role was Gatherers. These were women who grabbed herbs and fruits for the group. They used the herbs to heal wounded/sick people. They were out grabbing herbs and fruit instead of taking care of the children most of the time. One more job/role is a farmer. They grew crops for the group. Some of the crops they grew were corns, beans, squash, and tobacco. The farmers figured out that if…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dharma Bums Essay

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Everyone desires to find happiness, which can be found through anywhere: people, an object, an action, or even something as simple as a belief. People turn to religion at times of need to find satisfaction in life. In Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, the main character, Ray Smith, turns to Buddhism for happiness. During his study of Buddhism philosophy, he meets a younger writer much like himself, Japhy Ryder. While Japhy is close to his spiritual awakening, Ray is barely beginning and has much to learn. Ray encounters complications as he tries to focus on the two main elements of Buddhist philosophy, which are all life is suffering and the suppression of suffering can be achieved.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    ANTH100 – Introduction to Anthropology APUS Assignment: Be An Anthropologist 2 Due by 11:59p on Sunday of Week 6 Purpose: The goal of this exercise is to observe a ‘cultural scene’ as an anthropologist would (i.e. based on everything you have learned in the course to-date). The student will analyze their observations in terms of themes from the subfield of cultural anthropology such as how it helps frame our societies (family, lifestyle, lineage, language and communication) and, in some ways, its evolution. Description: Culture as we have discussed in our readings and lecture notes is an incredible advantage that has allowed humans to enter almost every niche in nature. The development and maintenance of culture is what sets humans apart from…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Fadiman isn’t your ordinary anthropologist, she is an American essayist and reporter. In her research she used ethnographic methods such as fieldwork, participant-observation and interviews. Her ethnographic connections were organized by Blia Yao Moua, a clan leader in the same clan as the Lees. “They teach me. When I…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kung Women

    • 1782 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The !Kung are hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa and the women play an essential role in the production of subsistence for their families. The woman actually contribute a greater proportion of the subsistence to their families directly than do the men who are the game hunters in the family. As Friedl describes in “Society and Sex Roles” (page 101) regardless of who produces food, the person who gives it to others creates the obligations and alliances that are at the center of all political relations.” The woman from birth are the gathers within the !Kung and Friedl believes that it is due to four inter-related factors as to why the woman are the foragers; the variability in the supply of game, the different skills required for hunting and gathering; the incompatibility between carrying burdens and hunting; and the small size of semi-nomadic foraging populations (page 102). !Kung women play a very vital role in the survival of their families through their gathering of subsistence and they are not simply laborers but they are owners and/or distributors of what they bring home. However, they remain to be the less powerful of the genders within their culture. The !Kung woman’s role is critical to the survival of their villages because when unsuccessful hunters come home without protein (game) it is the woman who will feed the men, children and the elderly within their village and because they strictly provide for their family as the foragers they are not, based on Friedl’s’ theories, the one who disperses food to others. Thus, !Kung women are not considered to be the person with seniority…

    • 1782 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jensen, Jon. "Luther College." Sustainability: Anthropology in East Africa: Culture Change Among the Maasai. N.p., 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From my reading of Lee 's article, I believe it is nothing more than a poorly veiled attempt to elevate his own importance in the mind of the reader and perhaps even his peers. I feel that Lee has done a huge disservice to not only himself and his own credibility but also to that of the profession of anthropology. What does Lee 's article say about his observational strengths in the field if after three years he fails to note what appears to be a very powerful and meaningful hunting…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Japanese Culture Essay

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Japan’s culture is rich in history that dates back as far as 100,000 years ago by historians, however official studies dating back to 8,000 years ago. Roughly the size of California, located in the Pacific Ocean, Japan consists of four major islands; Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku as well as thousands of much smaller islands. The general landscape of Japan’s four main islands are mountainous that are sometimes snow covered, the largest being MT. Fuji located on the island of Honshu. In all, two thirds of Japan’s overall landscapes are mountains with forest slopes, short flowing rivers, irregular lakes, and small rich plains that experience the four major seasons. Japan averages temperatures of 79 degrees throughout the year with the coldest…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tiv People Research Paper

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Tiv people are a group of individuals who reside in West Africa. With approximately 6 million people, the Tiv live in regions with significant populations in places such as Nigeria and Cameroon. “Tiv”, as the culture is called, is the name of the ancestor from which all Tiv people descended. The Tiv people believe that they all come from a single patrilineage, as they reckon patrilineal descent from their earliest ancestor (Fardon, 4; 1984). Both their social and political organization is founded on the lineage system (Fardon, 2; 1984). As subsistent farmers, the Tiv perceive their patrilineal genealogy as the foundation of their land-tenure structure. As such, the social organization of the Tiv culture is founded on kinship that is structured…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays