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.…
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…
It is said that the Africa culture stands out more than any other culture In the World. With a rich and diverse culture African culture is known to change from county to county, many cultures along with traditions are found in Africa which makes Africa diverse, unique and mesmerizing in many ways to the world. Africa culture is all about the ethnic group’s family traditions, the literature, art and music shows the religion along with the social paths of their culture. (Nafisa Baxamusa, 2011)…
Similar to how different fields of study use distinct methodologies to collect data, each scholastic field also utilizes specific databases to locate scholarly articles. For this assignment, you will be locating articles and texts from a variety of databases that are all commonly used in anthropological research. In addition to being able to locate articles, it is very important to be able to identify the thesis statements of the articles or texts to make sure they will be useful in your research.…
Monique and the mango rains is a touching story about a peace corps volunteer and a Malian midwife. The story is set in the small village of Namposella and is narrated by the Peace Corps volunteer Kris Holloway. The book gives you an in depth perspective on the life of a woman in Mali and their culture as a whole. In this paper I will be discussing anthropological concepts including rite of passage, patriarchy, and religion and how they apply to Monique and the mango rains.…
The life of the native people in Nampossela, in regard to social aspects, was one of great difficulty. It was not uncommon for girls to be married with 7 children by the time they were are eighteen. According to the book, there is a “sobering statistic that placed a Malian woman’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth at one in twelve, compared to a U.S woman’s risk of over one in three thousand” (p. 8). They role was to be confined to her home; and from a young age are put into domestic roles such as doing housework and looking after younger siblings.…
Discuss research into the nature of relationships in different cultures. (9 marks + 16 marks)…
Between these two amazing writings , there were a plethora of comparisons and differences. Kewauna and Marita journeyed Through some pretty tough times. They never let their current situation determine their final destination. Both Kewauna and Marita were not going to accept defeat, but instead rise above the occasion. Living in poverty still could not affect them academically. They dedicated hard work and the ending results were spectacular. Don't let fear and current circumstances hinder you from your…
By describing some of the Mali’s ethnic groups, the author makes the reader get to know an extremely different way of living, that deeply question western beliefs that are thought to be universal, like the “natural” love of a mother for a child. At the same time, when talking about toubab practices, the book gives the readers the opportunity to get to know their own culture from an outsider perspective.…
Dancing Skeletons, written by the biological and nutritional anthropologist Katherine Dettwyler, is an ethnography about child nutrition and development in Mali. While conducting her ethnographic fieldwork, Dettwyler had to remain completely impartial and any avoid any ethnocentric feelings that she experienced, as well as practicing cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is the principle that people should not judge the behaviour of others using the standards of their own culture, and that each culture must be analyzed on its own terms. This ethnography assisted a reader in grasping this concept by studying a different culture from its own cultural perspective instead of examining it through a Western, ethnocentric point of view. Dettwyler assisted the reader in realizing that the…
Another study about culture variation is Tronick et 01. (1992). He studied an African tribe called the Efe who live in extended family groups. The infants were looked after unlike western mothers, they were breastfed by different women. However, they did sleep with their own mother at night. The conclusion was that despite such abnormal ways, the infants, at six months, still showed one primary attachment.…
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.…
The Ju/’hoansi bushmen are semi-nomadic people that live on the boarders of the Kalahari Desert. This people are traditionally hunter-gathers. Deciding to join their lifestyle will ultimately change everything I think about the world.…
In my research, to understand how we undertake the study of the African experience you have to start in the beginning of time which dates back hundreds of thousands years ago and go into one of the first civilizations known as ancient Egypt. Understanding where the people come from and where they are at today does not even cover a quarter of understanding the true African experience. To understand truly how to undertake the African experience you must understand the social structure, governance, ways of knowing, science and technology, movement and memory, and cultural meaning (The six conceptual categories). With these concepts you understand that in a cosmograph known as the circle of life, there is a cycle that is always repeated: birth, the peek of life, death, the peek of death and rebirth. “Anything above the line is alive, anything below the line is dead.” The experience is continued all the way from beginning to the current time and you have to know all the stages to fully understand the true African experience.…
As hinted in the paragraph above, what this essay demonstrated was the uniqueness of looking at a culture from the outside. Inherently, the scientific approach is taken with upmost respect. It is seen as a view without bias. In bench work, this approach is vital. But when studying societies, too many variables can obfuscate the entire interpretation.…