Sign in or 
Share this
"Strange Beliefs" (Evans-Pritchard)
Summary
Can Any Beliefs Really Be Considered Rational/Irrational? (Strange Beliefs)
Being an interpretor of culture and the threat of going native
Commentary on "Strange Beliefs" (Functions and Importance of Culture)
Commentary on 'Strange Beliefs" (Functions and Importance of Culture) (cont'd)
In Strange Beliefs, written and produced by Bruce Dakowski, Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard’s(E.P.) contribution to the field of Anthropology is documented. He is said to have “revolutionized” Anthropology by turning it away from the search for universal ways of human behaviour. Anthropologists rather, were to be seen as interpreters rather than scientists, and their task was the translation of culture.
E.P.’s debut work “Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande”, was produced from his interaction with the Azande back in 1926. E.P.’s study stemmed from his interest in how the Azande’s ideas could be pieced together to form their system of belief, and how it compared to his own. He found that the Azande’s underlying assumptions were different, exemplified by a rice granary. Now a granary, supported by wooden posts would be expected be worn down by termites and eventually collapse. Why it falls at a particular time on a particular person is something his culture called “bad luck”, or “by chance”. However, to the Azande, that sort of misfortune is believed to be caused by witchcraft. The Azande attributed any misfortune, particularly those fatal ones, to witchcraft. In E.P.’s words, “It is death that answers the riddle to mystical beliefs.” The witchdoctor is highly regarded in Azande land, and he is integral to their society because he is supposed be combat witchcraft, with his ceremonies of spells, substances and procedures. The Azande’s faith in witchcraft is so inherent that it is unshaken and not disproved by its failures.
Through his study of the Azande, E.P. sought to raise the question of what can be considered ‘rational thinking’ in any culture. Professor David Pocock of the University of Sussex, who was a student of E.P., comments that Azande express and manage envy, hate and spite through the concept of witchcraft. Witchcraft then, was a practical way of organizing life for the Azande.Before E.P., witchcraft and magic were loosely-used terms by the Western world, and meant to imply primitive and misguided thinking and behaviour. There were no study of African religions and were simply classified as mysticisim and odd beliefs. E.P.’s record of the Azande society, has led African religions to be treated with the same seriousness and philosophical thinking as world religions.
The second part of Strange Beliefs followed E.P. to Cairo, Egypt in 1932 where he acquired a university post. It was there he studied “Primitive Mentality”, particularly focused on human thought. In addition, he stressed the importance of history in Anthropology, much to the displeasure of his former teacher Malinoswki. E.P., wanted to learn more about the history of ideas and sought to utilise anthropology in a historical context. This is where E.P. was made famous by his conviction of Anthropology as not a natural science, but something that lies between humanities and the social science. Because it is not understandable at face value, anthropologists are to aid by being translators of the foreign culture, as how interpreters translate language.
Shortly after, E.P. was sent by his government to the land of Nuers, which led him to produce an ethnography of their society. The Nuer, were seen as problematic by his government, because there were a war-like tribe prone to aggressiveness and displayed strong resistance to being governed. E.P. discovered from his stay with the Nuers, that this was due to their egalitarian upbringing. The Nuers are described to be deeply democratic, easily prone to violence and find any sort of restraint irksome. Every Nuer considered himself as good as his neighbour and would “strut around like lords of the Earth, which they considered themselves to be.”
As fundamental as witchcraft is to the Azande, were cattles to the Nuers. Young boys would take the name of their favourite bulls, songs were composed about the beauty of the beast, and its presence in Nuer’s folklore abounded. Cattles were also used in social processes such as payment and compensation for settling feuds. E.P. described the cattle as “the idiom for the way the Nuer thinks”, highlighting its importance to the Nuer society. Rather than being organized by a legal institution, the Nuer’s lives are centred around the cattle. E.P. termed the political structure of the Nuer “ordered anarchy”, in which it is not ruled by any officer. This finding derived from the Nuer tribe, was another great contribution of E.P. as it challenged western political views of African societies, which stereotyped them as slaves.
Rather than accepting widespread belief of what is considered "irrational" and "primitive", E.P. managed to contest those notions, convincing his fellow anthropologists that those terms were irrelevant because the societies of the Azande and the Nuer, functioned no poorer than their own. What does not make sense in their culture, is actually they know as "common sense" to the Azande or the Nuer. Hence there can be no universal theory of human behaviour.
A common question often raised to anthropologists is, “why go out of their way to study other cultures when they can study their own?” In response, E.P. cites two reasons: Objectivity and Distinction. The former is developed and achieved through the study of “other people”, as it is easier to make correlations and observations in societies unlike one’s own. While the latter, distinction, is necessary for these remote societies to be studied in their entirety, and for their whole social life to be evaluated. By letting the people talk, the authority is shifted from the anthropologist to the people. The anthropologist then takes on the ideal position of being a translator, interpreting what he observes to the rest of the world.
In conclusion, the role of an anthropologist is best illustrated in E.P.’s analogy of one who is “not just member of the audience, but also on the stage.” This highlights the imperative requirement for the anthropologist to be active participants, rather than passive observers in order to effectively translate another’s culture.
Commentaries
In conclusion, the role of an anthropologist is best illustrated in E.P.’s analogy of one who is “not just member of the audience, but also on the stage.” This highlights the imperative requirement for the anthropologist to be active participants, rather than passive observers in order to effectively translate another’s culture.
Commentaries
Being an interpretor of culture and the threat of going native
Commentary on "Strange Beliefs" (Functions and Importance of Culture)
Commentary on 'Strange Beliefs" (Functions and Importance of Culture) (cont'd)
|
bruschettas |
Latest page update: made by bruschettas
, Sep 21 2011, 5:02 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by bruschettas
10 words added view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
Evans-Pritchard
Films
More Info: links to this page
|
| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| teambringit | Functional Role of Witchcraft | 1 | Sep 14 2011, 6:59 AM EDT by foradancer | ||
|
Thread started: Sep 10 2011, 6:21 AM EDT
Watch
“Strange Beliefs” brings out many interesting points which could spark potential interesting discussions. Among all of them, the Azande tribe and the role of witchcraft as an integral part of their society really caught my attention. We saw that the witchcraft did not really work and the mother still died eventually despite him heeding the witchdoctor advice in finding the correct medicine. Such faith is something that amused me for such supernatural acts and faiths aren’t really commonly practiced in our society.
I see the existence of witchcraft as an important part of the Azande. Their life seems to center around witchcraft. Everyone has a common understanding and faith. Hence, witchcraft plays an extremely vital role in creating a bond between everyone. In many ceremonials such as funerals, witchcraft is being performed and everyone is gathered with a common understanding that the person passed away because he/she had been bewitched. From here, we can see the importance of witchcraft in getting everyone together with a common mindset, hence promoting group solidarity. Social order is maintained and the society can function well. We should not criticize the tribe of being “lowly educated” because of their blind belief in the supernatural. Instead, see the practice of witchcraft as an important aspect of their society. This is when cultural relativism comes in again. Without witchcraft, the tribe might very well end up in chaos.
7
out of
8 found this valuable.
Do you?
Keyword tags:
Evans-Pritchard
Films
|
||||
Showing 1 of 1 threads for this page
