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1 UNIT - I
1
MEANING AND SCOPE OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Meaning of Anthropology
1.3 Scope of Anthropology and Branches of Anthropology
1.3.1 Physical Anthropology
1.3.2 Cultural Anthropology
1.4 Summary
1.5 Ques tions
1.6 References
1.0 OBJECTIVES  To understand the meaning, definition and scope of Anthropology
 To comprehend the branches of Anthropology and its application
1.1 INTRODUCTION The study of Man and his varied aspects is comparatively a recent
endeavor a nd has been known as Anthropology. It is a young science
which is yet to be intimately familiar with the students of science.
It concerns us primarily with our own lives. It is a well -defined science
which tells us about the various aspects of the life of man, which is both
physical and cultural, from the time of his origin till the present day. It
embraces a vast field of study which views man from different angles.
Anthropology is probably the most comprehensive of the sciences dealing
with man and his wo rks.
1.2 MEANING OF ANTHROPOLOGY The word "anthropology" has been derived from two Greek words,
anthropos (man) and logus (study or science). Anthropology is, thus, the
science of man. More precisely, anthropology may be called "the science
of man and hi s works and behaviour". Anthropologists are interested in all
aspects of the human species and human behaviour, in all places and at all
times, from the origin and evolution of the species through its prehistoric
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2 Anthropological Thought
2 Anthropologists study human behaviour and are not concerned with
particular men as such but with men in "groups", with races and peoples
and their happenings and doings. So, anthropology may be defined briefly
as the "science of groups of men".
The ant hropologist focuses his attention on men in groups and studies the
total society consisting of different races or peoples of the world, both past
and present. Kluckholon points out that out of all other scientific
disciplines that deal with various aspects of man, Anthropology is the
science which comes nearest to the total study of man. It may be called a
holistic or synthesizing discipline or a science of "man in its totality".
Anthropology is both a biological and a social science. It deals on the one
hand with man as a member of the animal kingdom and on the other
with man's behaviour as a member of society. Both the structural
evolution of mankind and the growth of civilization are studied from the
earliest times of which any record survives to the pre sent. Similarly in his
concern with the contemporary human groups and civilizations the
anthropologist places particular emphasis on comparative studies.
1.3 SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY BRANCHES OF ANTHROPOLOGY The scope of Anthropology can be understood with t he help of its
branches
Anthropology has two main branches :
1. Physical Anthropology and
2. Cultural Anthropology.
1.3.1 Physical Anthropology:

Physical Anthropology deals mainly with :
(i) Human biology
(ii) Human evolution
(iii) Human variation and
(iv) Human genetics. munotes.in

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3 Meaning and Scope of Anthropology i. Human Biology:
The Physical anthropologist studies human biology as he is interested in
Homo sapiens alone. There is close relationship between the Physical
Anthropology and the study of other living beings. The Physical
anthropologist tells about the man 's place in the animal kingdom by
making a comparative study on the different groups of man and his near
relations like apes, monkey, etc. whom we call primates.
ii. Human Evolution:
In analysis of human evolution paleontology plays an important role.
Anatomy is essential for studying different human forms especially in the
study of racial differences, and no one can specialize Physical
Anthropology without prior training in anatomy. On the basis of
geological evidences it has become possible to find out t he age of the
different forms preserved under the earth.
iii. Human Variation:
All men have some common characteristics and belong to the species -
Homo -sapiens. However, it is generally found that the common hereditary
does not resemble those of other gr oups in various ways. Each of these
groups is designated as race.
iv. Human Genetics:
In recent times the attention of physical anthropologist has been diverted
to Genetics a branch of biology, which deals with descent, variation and
heredity. They now st udy the blood types, difference in musculature etc.
They also study the group differences in time of sexual maturation, in
growth rates and various disease immunities. The physical anthropologist
studies also the influences of the natural environment on ma n and trees to
find out whether the physical traits of man are affected by environment.
Moreover, he studies the problems associated with physical changes,
effects of food and mode of life on racial and physical characteristics.
Other Studies of Physical Anthropology:
Another aspect of study of Physical Anthropology is demography which
is directly related to fertility and mortality. There are various factors
including heredity and environment that influence fertility and mortality.
These are studied by th e physical anthropologists.
There is another subject called pedagogical anthropology which is
directly concerned with education. In various educational fields
pedagogical studies are utilised by many advanced countries. On the
whole, the Physical Anthropo logy is highly a specialized branch of
Anthropology .
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4 1.3.2 Cultural Anthropology :

There are almost as many definitions of culture as there are scholars.
Cultural Anthropology deals with learned behavioral characteristics of the
past, present and future of human societies. Now, the main fields of
studies under Cultural Anthropology are: Prehistoric archaeology,
ethnology and ethno -linguistics. Under ethnology again economic
anthropology, social anthropology, ethnography, religion, art, musicology,
recrea tion, folklore etc. are studied.
i. Prehistoric Archaeology :
It is now a specialized branch of Cultural Anthropology. The prehistorians
enlighten us with how the prehistoric people coped with the natural setting
by making tools and implements, weapons and other necessary
equipments in order to serve their biological and psychological needs such
as food, clothing, art etc.
ii. Paleontology :
Paleontology is closely associated with prehistory and helpful to make a
study on the extinct races from their fossil ized forms. It tells us how the
modern races have evolved from those extinct fossil races.
Technology: In order to satisfy his wants and to live by adjusting with the
natural environment, man had to make some material objects such as tools
and implements, weapons, utensils, clothes, houses, canoes etc. This is
called the material culture of the people. The study of the techniques of
making these objects of material culture is known as Technology. This
aspect of culture in the past is being studied with the help of Prehistoric
Archaeology.
iii. Ethnology :
It makes a comparative study of the cultures of the world and emphasizes
the theory of culture. It is often called Cultural Anthropology and
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5 Meaning and Scope of Anthropology iv. Ethnograph y:
Ethnologic studies are essential for a cultural anthropologist to know the
links between the different cultures and the principles guiding the socio -
cultural systems. Ethnology includes in its fold Economic Anthropology,
Social Anthropology, Religion, A rt, Musicology and Recreation, Folklore
etc.
Ethnography is the study of the cultures of the living peoples of the world
through direct and indirect observation of behaviour. Ethnography is not
the study of races, which is the work of the physical anthrop ologist. It
involves the collection of data only, the raw materials for scientific
analysis.
1.4 SUMMARY Anthropology has such a broad scope that it investigates every facet of
human life. The mill of Anthropology grinds everything under the sun.
The "sci ence of humanity" is anthropology. Anthropologists study human
beings in a variety of ways, from the biology and evolutionary history of
Homo sapiens to the social and cultural characteristics that set humans
apart from other animals. Because of the wide r ange of topics it covers,
anthropology has evolved into a collection of highly specialized fields,
particularly since the mid -twentieth century. Physical anthropology is the
branch of science that studies humanity's biology and evolution. Cultural
anthropo logy (or ethnology), social anthropology, linguistic anthropology,
and psychological anthropology are the fields of anthropology that
examine the social and cultural creations of human groups. Since
anthropology became a self -conscious field in the later h alf of the
nineteenth century, archaeology has been an intrinsic aspect of it as a
technique of investigating prehistoric cultures.
1.5 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the concept of sociology. Discuss its main branches.
2. Discuss the meaning and scope of anthropology
1.6 REFERENCES  Barnard,Alan. 2000. History and Theory in Anthroplogy.
UnitedKingdom. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
 Harris, Marvin, 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory : A
History of Theories of Culture, Jaipur, Rawat Publication.
 Kottak Conrad Phillip, 1997.Anthropology, The Exploration of
Human Diversity. New York The McGraw -Hill Companies Inc.
 MacGee R Jonand Warm Richard LAnthroplogical Theory and
Introductory History (4THed) 2008, McGrawHill New York. munotes.in

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6 Anthropological Thought
6  MairLucy, 1965. An Introduction to SocialAnthropology (2nded),
1965, New Delhi, India.
 Moore Jerry, 2009. Visions of Culture an i ntroduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom
.Rowen and Little Publishers.
 Thomas HyllandEriksen, 1988. What is Anthropology, Jaipur, Rawat
Publications.
 Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sivert Nielsen, A History of
Anthropolo gy, 2008, Jaipur, Rawat Publications.


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7 2
SUB -DISCIPLINES WITHIN
ANTHROPOLOGY: PHYSICAL,
CULTURAL, ARCHAEOLOGY,
LINGUISTIC
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Biological or Physical Anthropology
2.3 Cultural Anthropology
2.3.1 Ethnography
2.3.2 Ethnology
2.4 Archaeological A nthropology
2.5 Linguistic Anthropology
2.6 Summary
2.7 Questions
2.8 References
2.0 OBJECTIVES  To understand the various sub disciplines within anthropology
 To examine the subject matter of Physical anthropology
 To describe aspects of cultural anthrop ology
 To demonstrate the significance of Archeological anthropology
 To comprehend the diversity of languages through linguistic
anthropology
2.1 INTRODUCTION There are four subfields or sub -disciplines in anthropology viz; Biological
or Physical Anthropolo gy, Cultural Anthropology, Archeological
Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. These variations support in
totality of species. As we know anthropology is the holistic study of
mankind which assists in better understanding of origin and development
of human culture and society at large. The sub -disciplines of anthropology
provide the theoretical and applied foundation for employing wide
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2.2 BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Physical (or biological) anthropologists examine all elem ents of human
biology, both current and history. Physical anthropologists examine the
biology of modern humans as well as the evolution of humans and their
primate cousins, both alive and extinct. Living monkeys, fossil hominines,
human skeletons from anci ent contexts, and present living humans are all
studied by physical anthropologists. The subject matters of biological or
physical Anthropology is human Biological diversity in time and space. A
combination of genetic and environmental features produces th is variation.
Relevant environmental factors include heat and cold, moisture sunlight,
altitude and diseases. Five special interest within biological Anthropology
are:
1. Hominid evolution as revealed by the Fossil record (palaeontology).
2. Human Genetics
3. Hum an growth and development .
4. Human biological plasticity (the bod y’s ability to cope with stress,
such as heat , cold, and altitude)
5. The Biology, evolution, behaviour, and social life of monkeys, apes
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9 Sub-Disciplines Within Anthropology: Physical, Cultural, Archaeology, Linguistic These interest link physical Anthropology to other f ields Biology,
Zoology, Geology, Anatomy, Physiology , Medicine, and Public Health.
1. Osteology : The study of bo nes --helps paleoanthropologist , who
examines skull, teeth and bones, to identify hominid ancestors and
chart changes in a natomy.
2. Biological Anthropologist : Collaborate with archaeologist in
understanding biological and cultural aspects of human evolution.
Fossils and tools are often found together. Different types of tools
provide information about the habits, customs, and l ifestyle of the
hominids who use them.
Charles Darwin notice that the variety that exist within any population
permit some individuals, to do better than others at surviving and
reproducing. Genetics, enlightens us about the cause and transmission of
this variety. However it isn’t just genes that cause variety. During any
individuals lifetime , the environment walks along with heredity to
determine biological features. For example, people with a genetic
tendency to be tall will be shorter if they are poorly nourished during
childhood. Thus biological Anthropology investigates the influence of
environment (n utrition ,altitude, temperature , and disease)on the body as it
develops.
Biological Anthropology also includes primatology. The primate include
are closest biological relatives -- Apes and monkeys. Primatologist study
their Biology evolution, behaviour and social life, oft en in their natural
environment . Primatology assists palaeoanthropology.
2.3 CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Cultural anthropology study society an d culture, describing, analysing
social and cultural similarities and differences. Cultural anthropologists
examine all aspects of society and culture; culture is the learned behaviour
that unites human cultures and is passed down from generation to
genera tion. Economic, health, migration, governmental structure,
environmental politics, and many other social dynamics are studied by
cultural anthropologists in modern civilizations. In time and space,
anthropologists, perceive the universal, the generalized a nd the particular.
Certain biological, physiological, social, and cultural features are universal
-- shared by all human populations. Others are merely generalised --
common to several but not all human groups still others a particular not
shared at all.
Cultural anthropology has two aspects:
1. Ethnography (based on field work) and
2. Ethnology (based on cross - cultural comparison).

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10 2.3.1 Ethnography :
It provides an “ethnopicture” of a particular group, society or culture.
During ethnographic fieldwork the e thnographer gathers data, which he or
she organises, describes, analyses, and interpret to build and present the
ethnopicture (e.g. book, article, of film). Traditionally, ethnographers have
lived in small communities, and studies local behaviour, beliefs, customs,
social life ,economic activities ,politics and religion.
Anthropological perspective often radically differs from that of economics
or political science. Those disciplines focus often on elites. However, the
groups that anthropologist have tradit ionally studied have usually been
relatively poor and powerless. Ethnographers often observe discriminatory
practices directed towards such people who experience food shortages,
dietary deficiencies, and other aspects of poverty. The anthropological
perspe ctive is different.
Cultures are not isolated . Franz Boas noted that contact between
neighbouring tribes has always existed and has extended over enormous
areas. “Human populations construct their cultures in interaction with one
another and not in isolati on”. Villages increasingly participate in regional,
national and world events.
Exposure to external forces comes through the mass media, migration, and
modern transportation. City and nation increasingly invade local
communities in the growth of tourist, d evelopment agents, government
and religious officials, and political candidate. Such linkages or
interactions are prominent components of regional, national, and
international systems of politics, economics, and information. These larger
systems increasing ly affect the people and places anthropology as
traditionally studied. The study of such linkages and systems is part of the
subject matter of modern anthropology.
2.3.2 Ethnology :
It examines, interprets, and compares the result of ethnography - the data
gathered in different societies. Ethnologist try to identify and explain
cultural differences and similarities, to distinguish between Universality,
generality and particularity. Ethnology get data for comparison not just
from ethnography but also from the other subdisciplines, particularly from
archaeological anthropology, which reconstructs social systems of the
past.
2.4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Archaeological Anthropology reconstructs, describes and interprets human
behaviour and cultural patterns t hrough material remains. Archaeology is
the study of ancient human societies via the examination of the remnants
of ordinary materials. Archaeologists investigate human human
settlements, sculptures, and other features and combine this information
with art efact examination in the lab. Archaeological research stretches
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11 Sub-Disciplines Within Anthropology: Physical, Cultural, Archaeology, Linguistic archaeologist are best known for studying pre -history (the period before
the invention of writing) , they also study historica l and even living
cultures .For example through a research project begun in 1973 in Tucson,
Arizona , for example archaeologist William Rathje has learnt about
contemporary life by studying modern garbage . The value of
“Garbology” a s Rathje calls it, is that it provides “evidence of what
people did, not what they think they did ,what t hey think they should have
done , or what the interviewer things they should have
done”(Harrison,Rethje, and Hughes 1994 , p. 108 ). What people report
may contrast strongly with their real behaviour as revealed by Garbology.
For example the Garbologist discovered that the three Tuscon
neighbourhoods that reported the lowest beer consumption had the highest
number of discarded beer cans per household (Podolefsky and Brown,eds
1992 p.100).
Using material remains as primary data, and informed by ethnographic
knowledge and ethnological theory, archaeologist analyze cultural process
and patterns, several kinds of remains interest archaeologist. Garbage tells
stories about consumpti on and activities. Wild and domesticated grains
have different characteristics, which allow archaeologist to distinguish
between gathering and cultivation. Examination of animal bones reveals
the ages of slaughtered animals and provides other information u seful in
determining whether species were wild or domesticated.
1. Analyzing such data archaeologist answer several questions about
ancient economies,
2. Did the group being studied get its meat from hunting, or did it
domesticate and breed animals, killing onl y those of certain age and
sex?
3. Did plant food come from wild plants or from sowing, tending and
harvesting crops?
At site where people live or have lived, Archaeologist find artifacts,
material items that humans have manufactured or modified. Did the
residents make trade for, or buy particular items? Were raw materials
available locally? If not, where did they come from? From such
information, archaeologist reconstructs patterns of production, trade and
consumption.
Archaeologists have spent much time stud ying potsherds, fragrance of
earthenware. Potsherds are more durable than many other artifacts, such
as Textiles and wood.
i. Ecology is the study of interrelations among living things in an
environment.
ii. Human Ecology or Cultural Ecology studies ecosy stem that includes
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12 iii. Paleoecology looks at the ecosystem of the past. In addition to the
reconstructing ecology patterns, archaeologist in for cultural
transformation, for example, from changes in the si ze and type of
sights and the distance between them .
Archaeologists also documented cultural patterns and processes by
excavating (digging through a succession of levels) at particular sites. To
learn about prehistoric populations those without written re cords
archeology is essential.
2.5 LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY The study of language is known as linguistics. Despite the fact that
linguistics is categorized as a sub -discipline of anthropology, it is
frequently treated as a separate discipline, particularly at large academic
institutions. We don’t know (and probably never will) when hominids
began to speak. We do know that the well -developed, grammatically
complex languages have existed for thousands of years. Linguistic
Anthropologists study language in its social and cultural context, in space
and through time. Linguists' job is to figure out how a language works and
what its rules are. As a technique of understanding the language, they look
for diverse grammatical systems and different ways of making sounds ,
which could provide insight into cultural behaviour. Linguists can assist in
tracing relationships between people in the present and past because
language is frequently used to categorise people and is the major means of
learning culture. Linguistics als o aids archaeology by allowing old texts to
be deciphered using present language standards.
1. Some make interference about Universal features of language, linked
perhaps to uniformities in the human brain.
2. Others reconstruct ancient languages by comparing th eir
contemporary descendants and in so doing make discoveries about
history.
3. Studying linguistic differences to discover varied perceptions and
patterns of thought in a multitude of cultures.
Sociolinguists examine diversity in a single language to show ho w speech
reflects social differences.
Descriptive linguistics studies sound, grammar and meaning in particular
languages.
Historical linguistics considers variation in time, such as the changes in
sounds, grammar and vocabulary between Middle English and Modern
English.
There is also variation among the speakers of any language at any given
time. One reason for variation is geography, as a regional dialects and
accents. Linguistic variation is also associated with social division.
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13 Sub-Disciplines Within Anthropology: Physical, Cultural, Archaeology, Linguistic associated with particular social classes. Linguistic and cultural
anthropologists collaborate in studying links between language and other
aspects of culture.
2.6 SUMMARY There are 4 sub -disciplines of anthrop ology namely, physical, cultural,
archeological and linguistics. All these sub -fields have developed its own
strategy and methods to understand various changing aspects of human
society and culture along with its origin and growth. Each of these distinct
sub-disciplines of anthropology contributes to our understanding of
humans in the past and today in different ways. Unlike history or biology,
which focuses on a particular facet of being human, anthropology is
unique in its holistic approach. This holistic approach is founded on these
sub-disciplines.

https://revelpreview.pearson.com/epubs/pearson_scupin_aagp/OPS/xhtml/
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2.7 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the scope of Anthropology
2. Elaborate on various branches of Anthropology
3. Explain the major fields of Anthropology

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14 2.8 REFERENCES  Barnard, Alan. 2000. History and Theory in Anthroplogy.
UnitedKingdom. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
 Harris, Marvin, 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory: A History
of Theories of Culture, Jaipur, Rawat Publication.
 Kottak Conrad Phillip, 1997.Anthropology, The Exploration of
Human Diversity. New York The McGraw -Hill Companies Inc.
 MacGee R Jonand Warm Richard LAnthroplogical Theory and
Introductory History (4THed) 2008, McGrawHill New York.
 MairLucy, 1965. An Introduction to Social Anthropology (2nded),
1965, New Delhi, India.
 Moore Jerry, 2009. Visions of Culture an introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom
.Rowen and Little Publishers.
 Thomas HyllandEriksen, 1988. What is Anthropology, Jaipur, Rawat
Publications.
 Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sivert Nielsen, A History of
Anthropology, 2008, Jaipur , Rawat Publications.

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15 3
RELATION WITH SOCIOLOGY AS A
DISCIPLINE
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Relationship between the Two Sciences
3.2 Similarities between Sociology and Anthropology
3.3 Differences between Sociology and Anthropology
3.4 Summary
3.5 Questions
3.6 References
3.0 OBJECTIVES  To trace the nature and scope of sociology and anthropology
 To understand the relation between sociology and social anthropology
 To evaluate the similarities and differences amongst sociology and
anthropology
3.1 INTRODUCTION The r elationship between anthropology and sociology is dependent
upon the human cultures that are studied in both disciplines.
Sociology looks at human beings during a specific time period, while
anthropology looks at the overall growth and change of humans fro m
ancestral times to present -day times.
Anthropologists often study fossils and look at human remains, while
sociologists often look at more psychological facets or specific time
periods. Sociology focuses on the relationships between humans,
including the ir immediate families, extended families, work places and
general community or society. Anthropology covers many aspects of
humanity as possible, including evolutionary origins and changes in
physiology.
3.2 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO SCIENCES Acco rding to Hoebel , “Sociology and Social Anthropology are, in their
broadest sense one and the same”.
Evans Pritchard considers social anthropology a branch of sociology.
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16 Anthropological Thought
16 Sociology and anthropology a re both concerned with the systematic
investigation of social life and culture in order to comprehend the causes
and effects of human behaviour. Sociologists and anthropologists study
the structure and processes of both Western and non -Western cultures'
traditional cultures and modern, industrial societies. They look at how
culture, social structures (groups, organisations, and communities), and
social institutions (family, education, religion, and so on) influence
people's views, behaviours, and life oppor tunities.
In the study of society, sociology and anthropology combine scientific and
humanistic viewpoints. Sociologists and anthropologists investigate topics
such as culture, socialisation, deviance, inequality, health and illness,
family patterns, socia l change, and race and ethnic relations using a
variety of theoretical viewpoints. Students can gain new ideas and a
distinct perspective on their own lives by combining theoretical
perspectives with real study. This combination also aids students in
compr ehending everyday social life as a mix of both stable patterns of
interaction and ever -present sources of social change.
Sociologists have to depend upon anthropologists to understand the
present -day social phenomena from our knowledge of the past which is
often pro vided by anthropology.
Sociological topics such as the origin of family, the beginning of marriage,
private property, the genesis of religion, etc., can better be understood in
the light of anthropological knowledge .
Sociology has borrowed man y concepts like cultural area, culture traits,
interdepen dent traits, cultural lag, culture patterns, culture configuration
etc., from socio -cultural anthropol ogy.
The knowledge of anthropology, physical as well as socio -cultural, is
necessary for a soci ologist. An understanding of society can be gained by
comparing various cultures, particularly, the modern with the primitive.
Anthropology as a discipline is so closely related to sociology that the two
are frequently indistinguishable. Both of them are fast growing. The socio -
cultural anthropologists today are also making a study of the present
peoples and their societies. In a number of universities anthropology and
sociology are administratively organised into one department.
The conclusions drawn by s ociologists have also helped the
anthropologists in their studies. For example, anthropologists like Morgan
and his followers have come to the conclusion regarding the existence of
primitive communism from the conception of private property in our
modern s ociety.

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17 Meaning and Scope of Anthropology 3.2 SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY "Social anthropology" is described by Frazer as "the branch of sociology
concerned with primitive societies."
Social anthropology, according to Radcliffe -Brown (1983), is a
"comparative sociolog y." "A science that applies the generalising method
of the natural sciences to the phenomena of man's social life and to
everything that we include under the term culture or civilisation," he
defines "comparative sociology" as "a science that applies the g eneralising
method of the natural sciences to the phenomena of man's social life and
to everything that we include under the term culture or civilisation."
While anthropology was conceived as a comprehensive study of humanity
and its related characteristic s, August Comte regarded sociology to be the
overarching study of human society.
Following the scientific model, anthropology and sociology combined
description and generalisation.
1) Sociology and Anthropology both study human society, how societies
are orga nised and how human interact and behave within them.
2) Both fields are integrated into the other social sciences and are, in
fact, provide the origins of many of them.
3) Both field share some detailed theory, methods, historical
backgrounds, and scientific app roaches.
4) Sociology and Anthropology are also understanding of the fact that
some aspects of human life and society cannot be studied in the same
way that is dictated by the “hard” scientific approaches.
5) Both field reject arguments that are solely based on human nature.
The overall society, its cultural influence and it’s impact are of the
interest of sociologist and Anthropologists.
3.3 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY The first and most significant distinction is in the nature of the discipli nes
themselves. Sociology is the study (or science) of society, whereas
anthropology (integrated anthropology) is the study of man and everything
related to him, including physical and sociocultural aspects.
The historical foundations of the differences be tween sociology and
anthropology may be traced. Anthropology is often thought to have "no
philosophical origins," whereas "the former does." While the emergence
of sociology can be attributed to the attempt to restore social order in
society (in the Europe an social context) following the great social
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18 Anthropological Thought
18 influence on the emergence of anthropology was not as direct as that of
sociology or other social sciences; rather, it was an indirect influence
through the opening up of intellectual and geographical spaces to allow
the Euro to emerge.
One of the main sources of variation has been the original focus of
sociology and anthropology's areas of study (socio -cultural). Sociology
began as a ge neralising social science focused on the study of society,
particularly with a focus on a larger societal context to explain social
events. It focuses on the study of industrialised societies (especially those
in Western Europe) that are termed modern soci eties. On the other hand,
anthropology's initial focus was on the study of 'other' foreign groups,
such as non -European and/or non -western societies. As a result, their
research and practise focused on simple, small -scale, and pre -literate
communities outs ide of Europe and Western societies.
The other distinction between sociology and socio -cultural anthropology is
in their approach, namely in their study methodologies and procedures. To
collect data, sociologists mostly use quantitative approaches such as
questionnaires, which are then analysed using statistical techniques.
Anthropology originated as a science that was conducted in the field.
Anthropologists mostly employ qualitative approaches, such as
"participant observation," as well as other techniques and procedures.
Note withstanding their inter -dependence the two sciences differ from
each other in many respects. The points of differences are as follows.
(1) The primitive, pre -literate people and their culture form the subject
matter of anthropology. The complete human society is the basis of its
investigation. It not only studies, the physical characteristics of the
human race but also studies the influence itself. On the other hand,
sociology takes note of the influence of the human race exerts on
social relations, and it deals with people and their culture in the
present context.
(2) The subject -matter of sociology is not the concern of anthropology. In
respect of subject matter, both anthropology and sociology differ from
each other.
(3) Anthropology has for i ts subject matter the small and static culture of
people who belong to the pre -literate period. In sharp contrast to
anthropological concern with small and static cultures, sociology
investigates the culture of society which, to say the least is very vast
and dynamic in nature.
(4) It is really curious that sociologists can easily manage with the
second -hand information, while anthropologists cannot but depend
upon the first -hand knowledge.
(5) Anthropology is concerned with the past whereas sociology is
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19 Meaning and Scope of Anthropology (6) Finally, Sociology and Anthropology have dissimilar methods since
their subject matter differs. It has been seen that sociologists in their
study of man and society make use of statistics, documentary
evidences, etc. The anthropologists’ especially social anthropologists
use functional methods in their study of the primitive man and his
culture.
It is not possible for an anthropologist to complete his research project
without living with those people of a particular society whom he has
chosen for his investigation. On the whole anthropology employees the
methods used by natural sciences while sociology uses the methods of
social science.
Sociology and anthropology differ from each other in following respects.

Sociology:
 Sociology studies t he modern, civilized and complex societies
 Sociologists more often study parts of a society and generally
specialize in institutions such as family, marriage or processes, such
as social change social mobility.
 Sociologists study small as well as large so cieties.
 Sociology makes use of observation, interview, social survey, and
questionnaire. They employ other methods and techniques in its
methods and techniques in its investigation.
Anthropology:
 Anthropology concerns itself simple, uncivilized or primiti ve and
non-literate societies.
 Anthropologists tend to study societies in all their aspects as whole.
They concentrate their studies in each culture area.
 Anthropologists usually concentrate on small societies such as those
of nomads.
 Anthropologists direc tly go and live in the communities they study.
They make use of direct observation and interviews. Sociology Anthropology 1. It deals with the modern, civilized and complex society. 1. It deals with the simple, primitive and uncivilized society. 2. Sociologist study small as well as large society etc. 2. Anthropologist usually concentrates on small societies and communities such as Chepang, Raute etc. 3. Sociologist used social survey, questionnaire, interview method and technique in its investigation. 3. Anthropologist used participatory methods in research. munotes.in

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20 Anthropological Thought
20 4. It gives importance in analysing quantitative data. 4. It gives importance in analyzing qualitative data. 5. It studies social relationship in groups. So the scope of sociology is narrow. 5. It studies biological as well as cultural development of man. So its scope is wide.
3.4 SUMARY Sociology and social anthropology have a very strong link. The breadth,
interest areas, ideas, technique, and practice of the two disciplines ar e so
similar that it's impossible to tell them apart. They were developed in a
tradition that had a lot of convergence in its thrust areas of inquiry. This is
because sociology and social anthropology both investigate human society
and has many theoretical difficulties and interests in common. This is also
why many scholars regard social anthropology to be a subfield of
sociology or a branch of sociology. Despite their commonalities, there are
certain distinctions between the two subjects that may be found from the
early developmental stages to the latter stages in terms of the regions and
thrusts of inquiry, the use of methodology, theories, and practice
preferences.
3.5 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the Relationship of Anthropology with sociology as a
discipline.
3.6 REFERENCES  Barnard, Alan. 2000. History and Theory in Anthroplogy. United
Kingdom. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
 Harris, Marvin, 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory: A History
of Theories of Culture, Jaipur, Rawat Publication.
 Kottak Conrad Phillip, 1997.Anthropology, The Exploration of
Human Diversity. New York The McGraw -Hill Companies Inc.
 MacGee R Jonand Warm Richard LAnthroplogical Theory and
Introductory History (4THed) 2008, McGrawHill New York.
 MairLucy, 1965. An Introduction to Social Anthropology (2nded),
1965, New Delhi, India.
 Moore Jerry, 2009. Visio ns of Culture an introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom
.Rowen and Little Publishers.
 Thomas HyllandEriksen, 1988. What is Anthropology, Jaipur, Rawat
Publications. munotes.in

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21 Meaning and Scope of Anthropology  Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sivert Nielsen, A His tory of
Anthropology, 2008, Jaipur, Rawat Publications.
 https://www.rmc.edu/depar tments/sociology -and-
anthropology#:~:text=Sociology%20and%20anthropology%20involv
e%20the,Western%20and%20non%2DWestern%20cultures .
 https://www.achieveriasclasses.com/relationship -between -sociology -
and-anthropology/
*****


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22 4
FIELDWORK IN ANTHROPOLOGY
Unit Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 ETHNOGRAPHY: Anthropology’s Distinctive Strategy
4.3 Ethnography Techniques
4.4 Observation
4.5 Participant Observation
4.6 Example
4.7 Stages in learning a field language
4.8 The Genealogical Method
4.9 Well -informed Informants
4.10 Life Histories
4.11 Emic and Etic Research Strategies
4.12 Longitudinal Research
4.13 Summary
4.14 Questions
4.15 References
4.0 OBJECTIVES  To describe ethnography as a field of study in anthropology
 To explain the emergence of ethnography as a source of data
collection
 To understand the significance of observation and participant
observation while collecting data
 To comprehend various steps and processes involved in fieldwork
 To compare between Emic and Epic approach
 To analyze the importance of genealogical method, and longitudinal
research and oral histories in field work
4.1 INTRODUCTION Anthropology developed into a separate field as early S cholars worked on
Indian (native American) and travel to distant lands to study small groups.
This type of first hand personal study of Local setting is called
Ethnography. Traditionally, the process of becoming a cultural
anthropologist has required of fi eld experience in another society. Early munotes.in

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23 Fieldwork in Anthropology ethnographers lived in a small scale, relatively isolated societies, with
simple technologies and economies.
4.2 ETHNOGRAPHY: ANTHROPOLOGY’S ISTINCTIVE STRATEGY Ethnography does emerge as a research strategy in soc ieties with greater
cultural uniformity and less social differentiation than are found in large
modern industrial nation. Traditionally, ethnographers have tried to
understand the whole of an alien culture. To pursue this Holistic goal,
ethnographers adopt a free ranging strategy for gathering information.
Demo from setting to setting, place to place in subjective subject to
discover the totality and interconnectedness of social life. Ethnographers
draw on a variety of techniques to piece together a picture of otherwise
alien lifestyle.
4.3 ETHNOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES The characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer include the
following:
1. Direct, firsthand observation of daily behavior, including participant
observation
2. Conversation with varying degrees o f formality, from the daily
chitchat that helps maintain rapport and provides knowledge about
what is going on to prolonged interviews, which can be unstructured
or structured
3. Interview schedule to ensure that complete, comparable information is
available for everyone of interest to the study
4. The genealogical method
5. Detailed work with well -informed informants about particular areas of
community life
6. In depth interviewing, often leading to the collection of life histories
of particular people
7. Emic(actor -oriented) research strategies that focus on local (native)
beliefs and perception and Atic (observer -oriented) approach that give
priority to the ethnographers perception and conclusions
8. Problem oriented research of many sorts
9. Longitudinal research - the cont inuous long term study of an area of
sight .

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24 Anthropological Thought
24 4.4 OBSERVATION 1. Ethnographers must pay attention to hundreds of details of daily life,
seasonal events, and unusual happenings.
2. They must observe individual and collective behaviour and they must
observe indivi dual and collective behaviour in varied settings.
3. They should record what they see as they see it.
Things will never see quite as strange as they do during the first few days
and weeks in the field. The ethnographers eventually get used to, and
accept as normal, cultural patterns that were initially alien.
Many ethnographers record their impressions in a personal diary, later;
this record of early impressions will help point out some of the most basic
aspects of cultural diversity. Search aspects include distinctive smells,
noises people make, how they cover their mouths when they eat, and how
they give at others these patterns, are part of what Bronislaw Malinowski
called “the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behaviour”
diseases of culture als o fundamental there natives take them for granted.
There are two basic event to talk about, but the un accustomed one for
anthropologist who perceives them. Thereafter they are submerged in
familiarity and fade to the edge of consciousness. This is why ini tial
impressions are valuable and should be recorded. First and foremost,
ethnographers should be accurate observers, recorders, and reporters of
what they see in the field.
4.5 PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION Ethnographers don’t study animals in laboratory cage s. Their subjects are
not speechless animals but human beings. One of ethnography’s
characteristic procedures is participant observation, which means that we
take part in community life as we study it.
As a human beings living with others, we can’t be a de tached observer.
We must also take part in various events we are observing and try to
comprehend.
4.6 EXAMPLE 1. During the fourteen months of Conrad Philip Kollah’s stay in
Madagascar, a large island on the southern coast of Africa, he
observed and partic ipated in many occassions in Betsileo life. He
helped at the harvesting time, joined other people who climed the top -
in order to stamp dowm and compact -accumulating stacks of rice
stalks. Once he brought a silk shroud for reburial ceremony of the
village ancestor. He entered the village tomb and watched people
lovingly rewrap the bones and decaying flesh of their ancestors. He
acompanied the peasent to town and market. He observed their
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25 Fieldwork in Anthropology 2. In Arembepe, a fishing community in Bahia state, on Brazil’s
northeast coast, he sailed on Atlantic in simple boat with local
fishermen. He gave jeep rides into the capital to malnurished babies,
to pregnant mothers and once to a teenage girl possessed by spirit. All
those people needed to consult specialist outside the village. He
danced on Arembepe’s festive occasions, drank libtion
commemorating new births and became a godfather to a viallage girl.
Most anthropologist have similar field experiences. The common
humanity of the student and studied, the ethnographer and the research
community, makes participant observation inevitable.
4.7 STAG ES IN LEARNING A FIELD LANGUAGE 1. First naming phase. Asking name after name of the on change around
us.
2. We are able to po se more complex questions and understand the
replies.
3. We begin to understand simple conversation between two villagers.
4. If our language expertise proceeds far enough, we eventually become
able to comprehend rapid -fire public discussion and group
conversati ons.
Liturgies , set formal sequences of words can record for later analysis with
a local expert involves an ethnographic survey that includes an interview
schedule.
Interview schedule and survey gather comparable quantifiable
information. This is for ass essing patterns and exceptions in village life.
Home visits also provided opportunities to do informal and follow -up
interviewing. Schedule includes a core set of questions posed to everyone.
Some interesting side issue often comes came up during the inter view.
“Well-informed informant” is the one who can be consulted later when
one wants detail information. That person also serves as the Candomble
expert.
Interview schedule service provided a structure that directed but does not
confine researches. It ena bles ethnography to be both quantitative and
qualitative. The quantitative part consisted of the basic information
gathered and later analyzed statistically. The qualitative dimension come
from our follow up questions, open the discussion, pause for gossip , and
work with well -informed informants.
4.8 THE GENEALOGICAL METHOD Another ethnographic technique is the genealogical method. Only
ethnographers developed genealogical notation to deal with principles of
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26 Anthropological Thought
26 contacts outside the home are with non -relatives. However, people in non -
industrial cultures spend their lives almost exclusively with relatives.
Anthropologist even classified such societies as kin-based everyone is
related to, and spen ds most of his or her time with, everyone else and rules
of behavior attached to particular can relationship are basic to everyday
life. Marriage is also crucial in organizing known industrial societies
because strategic marriages between villages, tribes and clans create
political alliances.
4.9 WELL -INFORMED INFORMANTS Every community has people who by accident, experience, talent, or
training can provide the most complete or useful information about
particular aspects of life. They are well informed abo ut the village history.
Sometimes they even facilitate for a person who knows more about the
subject and help in keeping track of everything.
4.10 LIFE HISTORIES In non -industrial societies individual personalities, interest, and abilities
vary. Some vill agers prove to be more interested in the ethnographers
work and are more helpful, interesting, and pleasant than others. Often
when anthropologist unusually interested they collect his or her life
history . This recollection of a lifetime of experiences pro vides a more
intimate and personal cultural portrait. Life histories reveal how specific
people perceive, react to, and contribute to change that affect their lives.
4.11 EMIC AND ETIC RESEARCH STRATEGIES To study cultures, anthropologist have used two app roaches
1. The Emic (actor -oriented) and the
2. Etic (observer -oriented)
 An Emic approach investigate how native think. How do they
perceive and categorize the world? What are their rules for behavior
and thought? What has meaning for them? How do they imagine a nd
explain things? The anthropologist seeks the “native viewpoint “and
relies on the culture bearers —the actors in a culture —to determine
whether something they do, say, or think is significant.
 The Etic (observer -oriented) approach shifts the focus of res earch
from native categories, expression explanation and interpretation to
those of the anthropologist. The etic approach realises that culture
bears are often too involved in what they are doing to interpret their
cultures impartially. The etic ethnograph er gives more way to what he
or she notices and consider important.
In practice, most anthropologist combine emic and etic strategies in their
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27 Fieldwork in Anthropology causes and consequences of their beh aviour. To describe and interpret
culture, ethnographers should recognise the biases that come from their
own culture as well as those of the people being studied.
4.12 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH Longitudinal research is the long -term study of a community, regi on,
society, culture or other unit usually based on repeated visits.
Example:
One of the example of such is the longitudinal study of the interplay of
social and economic forces of Gwembe District, Zambia. The study,
planned in 1956 as a longitudinal proje ct by Elizibeth Colson and Thyer
Scudder, continues with Colson, Scudder and their associates of various
nationalities. This research is both longitudinal and multisided
(considering several local field sites). Four villages in different areas have
been fo llowed over four decades. Periodic village censuses provided basic
data on population, economy and other variables which were chosen to
monitor the changes in kinship and religious behaviour. Censuses people
who have moved are traced and interviewed to see how their lives has
changed in comparison to those who have stayed in the village.
1. Information on labour migration, linkage between town and city etc.
shows the extent to which rural and urban belong to a single system.
2. Zambian assistants have kept record of local events and diaries of
food brought and eaten. From field notes it’s possible to reconstruct
the price of different periods.
3. Shift in preferences for products are documented by shopping lists
provided by the villagers.
4. Field notes also contain obs ervation from attendance at court, village
and district meetings, church services, funeral and ceremonies.
5. This information is supplemented by interviews with traders and
officials, technical workers, political leaders and foreigners who work
for religious mission and NGO’s.
6. The anthropologists have also consulted government and other
records both published and unpublished.
7. The Zambian social scientists working in the district also provided
their insights on changes.
Successively different questions have come to the fore, while basic data
also continue to be collected on individual and communities. The first
focus was the impact of large hydroelectric dam, which flooded much of
the Zambezi River plain and subjected the people for forced resettlement.
Howev er it also spurred road building and other activities which brought
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28 Anthropological Thought
28 By 1960s education had become major concern for Gwembe and was
playing an important role in changes taking place. Accordingly Scudden
and Colson (1980) designed research to examine the role of education. At
the same time alcohol consumption was a major problem.
A third major study then examined the role of changing markets,
transportation and exposure to town values in the transformation of
domestic brew ing and radical changes in drinking pattern.
4.13 SUMMARY Anthropology developed into a separate field as early S cholars worked on
Indian (N ative American) and travel to distant lands to study small groups.
This type of first hand personal study of Local setting is called
Ethnography. Ethnography does emerge as a research strategy in soc ieties
with greater cultural uniformity and less social differentiation than are
found in large modern industrial nation. Many ethnographers record their
impressions in a personal diary, later; this record of early impressions will
help point out some of the most basic aspects of cultural diversity.
Ethnographers don’t study animals in laboratory cage s. Their subjects are
not speechless animals but human beings. One of ethnography’s
characteristic procedures is participant observation, which means that we
take part in community life as we study it.
4.14 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the scope of fieldwork in Anthropology.
4.15 REFERENCES  Barnard,Alan. 2000. History and Theory in Anthroplogy.
UnitedKingdom. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
 Harris, Marvin, 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory : A
History of Theories of Culture, Jaipur, Rawat Publication.
 Kottak Conrad Phillip, 1997.Anthropology, The Exploration of
Human Diversity. New York The McGraw -Hill Companies Inc.
 MacGee R Jonand Warm Richard LAnthroplogical Theory and
Introductory Hist ory (4THed) 2008, McGrawHill New York.
 MairLucy, 1965. An Introduction to SocialAnthropology (2nded),
1965, New Delhi, India.
 Moore Jerry, 2009. Visions of Culture an introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom
.Rowen and L ittle Publishers. munotes.in

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29 Fieldwork in Anthropology  Thomas HyllandEriksen, 1988. What is Anthropology, Jaipur, Rawat
Publications.
 Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sivert Nielsen, A History of
Anthropology, 2008, Jaipur, Rawat Publications.


*****

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30 UNIT - II
5
EVOLUTION
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Definition
5.3 Types/faces of evolution
5.4 History of cultural evolution
5.5 Evolution
5.6 Contribution of Tylor
5.7 Contribution of Morgan (kinship and evolution)
5.8 Critical Eval uation
5.9 Summary
5.10 Questions
5.11 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES  To define and understand the history of cultural evolution
 To analyze various theories of cultural evolution
 To evaluate the contribution of Tylor and Morgan
 To critically evaluate the con cept of evolution in recent times
5.1 INTRODUCTION Cultural evolution although an unfashionable concept, has commanded
renowned in the last two decade. Evolution has been the guiding principal
of anthropology since its emergence is a science 1860s.Early 19th C
thinkers developed some ideas that could explain the panorama of human
‘progress’.
5.2 DEFINITION HERBERT SPENCER [1862] defined evolution as ‘a change from an
indefinite , incoherent homogeneity to a definite coherent heterogeneity,
through continu ous differentiations and integrations’. Later he modifies
his definition to means that evolution need not begin with absolute
homogeneity or heterogeneity.
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31 Evolution 5.3 TYPES/FACES OF EVOLUTION 1. Unilinear Evolution
2. Universal Evolution
3. Multilinear Evolution
4. Differen tial Evolution
5.4 HISTORY OF CULTURAL EVOLUTION The most influential evolution school of 19th C was called ‘universal
evolution’ associated with Tylor, Morgan and Spencer. According to this
approach, the whole human society was understood in terms of a se quence
of stages compromising of
1. First stage of hunting and gathering.
2. Development of agriculture.
3. Development of some form of govt. i.e. chiefdom, kingdoms and
primitive stages.
4. Finally the emergence of industrial culture.
The German scholar Klemn, made a compilation of customs to show how
man had passed through successive stages of ‘savagery’ a ‘tameness’ to
‘freedom’ .
Auguste Comte has shown man advancing from ‘theological stage’ to
‘metaphysical stage’ to the ‘positive or scientific stage’ .
Theorists l ike Montesquieu proposed an evolutionary scheme consisting
of three stages.
1. hunting or savagery.
2. herding or barbarism.
3. civilisation.
5.5 EVOLUTION Evolutionism proposed the "psychic unity of mankind", which argues that
all human beings share psychological traits that make them equally likely
to innovate. In the early years of anthropology, Darwinism had a strong
impact on its theory. The prevailing view was that culture generally
develops (or evolves) in a uniform and progressive manner, just as Darwin
argued species did. It was thought that most societies pass through the
same series of stages, to arrive ultimately at a common end. The sources
of culture change were generally assumed to be embedded within the
culture from the beginning, and therefore the ul timate course of
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32 Anthropological Thought
32 anthropologists whose writings exemplified the theory that culture
generally evolves uniformly and progressively were Edward B. Tylor
(1832 –1917) and Lewis Henry Morgan (1818 –1881).
5.6 CONTRIBUTION OF TYLOR Tylor and Morgan are known for tracing the origin of religion and
marriage respectively. They have tried to explain the beginning of these
institutions from the earliest to modern societies in sequence of stages.
Their studies are regarded as significant contribution to unlinear evolution.
Edward B. Tylor was an English scholar who was associate of Darwin,
Galton and other leading thinkers. He is often called as the ‘father of
ethnology’. H is outstanding work, Primiti ve Culture [1871] offered the
first full length explanation of evolutionary point of view. The
evolutionary view point may he appreciated by quoting Tylor [1871]
Tylor is considered as the founding father of British anthropology. He
maintained that cultur e evolved from the simple to the complex. Central to
Tylor’s contribution is his definition of culture. In his major work
Primitive Culture he defines culture as “ that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society”.
Tylor developed the theory of ‘animism’. He believed ‘animism’ to be a
dominated form of religion among the simplest of primitive society.
Polythetic religion implying belief in many god s characteristic of
agricultural societies and monotheistic religion[belief in one god]of the
most advanced societies.
[By] Simply placing [the European] nation at one end of the social series
and savage tribe at the other ,[and]arranging the rest of manki nd between
these limits……..ethnographers are able to set up at least a rough scale of
civilization…….[representing] a transition from the savage state to our
own.
As it is undeniable that human have existed in a state of savagery, other
portions in a state of barbarism, and still other portions in a state of
civilization, it seems equally so that these here distinct conditions are
connected with each other in a sequence of progress.
Tylor in his work Primitive Culture sets out to reconstruct the history of
human culture. He crafted his reconstruction on two principles:
uniformitarian’s and the concept of survivals . According to him, culture
was created by universally similar human minds and governed by the
same laws of cognition. Hence the condition of cultu re among the various
societies of mankind is capable of being investigated on general
principles. Tylor’s key point is that the processes of culture are similar for
all people regardless of where and when they lived because human minds
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33 Evolution This has three implication. Firstly race does not explain cultural
differences. Tylor believed there was a kind of psychic unity among all
peoples that explained parallel evolutionary sequences in different cultural
traditions. In other words, because of the basic similarities common to all
peoples, different societies often find the same solutions to the same
problems independently. If two societies have similar cultural traits, it
could be independent inv entions developed due to the similarly
constructed human minds encountering similar situations. But Tylor also
noted that cultural traits may spread from one society to another by simple
diffusion —the borrowing by one culture of a trait belonging to anothe r as
the result of contact between the two.
Secondly , it means that societies with similar cultural traits may represent
analogous stages in the development of human culture. “Progress” was
therefore possible for all. To account for cultural variation, Tyl or and
other early evolutionists postulated that different contemporary societies
were at different stages of evolution. According to this view, the “simpler”
peoples of the day had not yet reached “higher” stages.
Thirdly Tylor’s uniformitarianism allowed him to reconstruct the specific
processes leading to a set of cultural knowledge. This reconstruction of
evolution of human culture relied on the comparative method and the
doctrine of survivals . The comparative method is based on the logic that
similar objects are historically related. Tylor defines survivals as
processes, customs, opinions etc which have been carried by force of habit
into a new state of society different from that in which they had their
original home. They remain as proofs and examp les of an older condition
of culture out of which a newer one has evolved. For eg. saying God bless
you when someone sneezes even though we do not believe that the soul is
leaving the body. Thus survivals are not merely customs, but are the
vestiges of pre vious culture. It helps the ethnographer to reconstruct
earlier cultural patterns and ultimately define the evolution of culture.
Similar ly entire societies may reflect earlier stages of evolution.
5.7 CONTRIBUTION OF MORGAN (KINSHIP AND EVOLUTION) Another 19th-century proponent of uniform and progressive cultural
evolution was Lewis Henry Morgan. The American, Lewis Henry
Morgan, infuriated his British contemporaries, when his research
demonstrated that social change involved both independent invention and
diffusion. He agreed with British socio cultural anthropologists that human
progress was due to independent innovation, but his work on kinship
terminology showed that diffusion occurred among geographically
dispersed people
A lawyer in upstate New York, Morgan became interested in the local
Iroquois Indians and defended their reservation in a land -grant case. In
gratitude, the Iroquois adopted Morgan. In his best -known work, Ancient
Society, Morgan postulated several sequences in the evolution of human
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34 Anthropological Thought
34 began to explore the relationships between different societies as reflected
in shared systems of kinship. Morgan’s goal was to trace the connections
between the systems of kinship and to explore their progressive changes as
man developed through the ages of barbarism. Morgan argued that all
kinship systems can be divided into two large groups – descriptive
systems and classificatory system. Descriptive systems distinguish
between linea l relatives and collateral kin. In contrast, classificatory
system treat lineal and collateral kin as if they were the same. They use the
same kinship term to address both types of Kins. According to Morgan,
the difference between classificatory and descri ptive kinship system marks
the distinction between the uncivilized and civilized.
For example, he speculated that the family evolved through six stages.
Human society began as a “horde living in promiscuity,” with no sexual
prohibitions and no real family structure. Next was a stage in which a
group of brothers was married to a group of sisters and brother sister
mating were permitted. In the third stage, group marriage was practiced,
but brothers and sisters were not allowed to mate. The fourth stage was
characterized by a loosely paired male and female who still lived with
other. Then came the husband -dominant family, in which the husband
could have more than one wife simultaneously. Finally, the stage of
civilization was distinguished by the monogamous fa mily, with just one
wife and one husband who were relatively equal in status.
For Morgan, the terms savagery, barbarism and civilization represented
well defined stages of progress measured by four sets of cultural
achievements.
1. inventions and discoveries
2. the idea of government
3. the organisation of family and
4. the concept of private property.
Based on these factors M organ divided each stage into ‘Lower Status’,
‘Middle Status’ and ‘Upper Status’.
Morgans scheme places a lower stage of savagery as involving the
‘infancy’ of man. Middle savagery starts with acquisition of a fish
subsistence and knowledge of the use of fire, upper savagery with the bow
and arrow, lower barbarism with domestication of animals, upper
barbarism with smelting iron and civilization
Morgan, believed that there was no marriage in the earliest human society,
where people lived in animal -like promiscuity; then there emerged group -
marriages than polygamy [marriage of one man with more women] and
polyandry marriage of one woman with more than one man and finally
monogamy. Monogamy according to him was the highly involved form of
marriage, characteristic of modern societies. As a matter of fact, some of
the simplest societies like the Andamanes have had monogamy whereas munotes.in

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35 Evolution polygamy has existe d among the 60 -called ‘civilized or advanced
societies.
Evolutionism also influenced another branch of anthropological theory,
one that posited that the reason human cultures differed in their behaviors
was because they represented separate subspecies of h umans, or “races.”
This idea was also influenced by the fact that, by the 19th century at least,
it became clear that few cultures were being “civilized” in the way
Europeans expected. Rather than attribute this to the strength of cultural
tradition, some attributed it to the innate capabilities of the people -in other
words, to their “race.” Members of “un -civilized -races” were, by their
very nature, incapable of being “civilized.” Such ideas were widely held
and supported during the late 19th and early 20t h centuries and, as we
shall see, American anthropology played a large role in showing that
“race” theory was unsupported in a variety of contexts. Unfortunately,
“race” theory persists in some disciplines.
5.8 CRITICAL EVALUATION All evolutionary theories reflect the meaning of human history, growth
and progress. Cultural evolutionary theories have been criticized on the
ground of their ethnocentrism and their indifference to the cultural
diversity .Most evolutionary theories are antievolutionary, anti -historical,
anti-adaptive and are essentially teleological and represent the
continuation of 2000 years of western self -praise.
Evolution was seen by these scholars as single or unilinear thread
throughout history. It was rooted in the psychic unity by which all human
groups were supposed to have the same potential for evolutionary
development, though some were further ahead than others because of
climate, soil and other factors.
The evolutionism of Tylor, Morgan, and others of the 19th century is
largely re jected today. For one thing, their theories cannot satisfactorily
account for cultural variation.
The “psychic unity of mankind” or “germs of thought” that were
postulated to account for parallel evolution cannot also account for
cultural differences. Anot her weakness in the early evolutionist theories is
that they cannot explain why some societies have regressed or even
become extinct. Finally, although other societies may have progressed to
“civilization,” some of them have not passed through all the stag es. Thus,
early evolutionist theory cannot explain the details of cultural evolution
and variation as anthropology now knows them.
5.9 SUMMARY HERBERT SPENCER [1862] defined evolution as ‘a change from an
indefinite , incoherent homogeneity to a definite co herent heterogeneity,
through continuous differentiations and integrations’. Later he modifies
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36 homogeneity or heterogeneity. Tylor and Morgan are known for tracing
the origin of religion a nd marriage respectively. They have tried to explain
the beginning of these institutions from the earliest to modern societies in
sequence of stages. Their studies are regarded as significant contribution
to unlinear evolution.
5.10 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the concept of Evolution with reference to the
contribution of Tylor / Morgan.
5.11 REFERENCES  Barnard,Alan . 2000. History and Theory in Anthroplogy.
UnitedKingdom. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
 Harris, Marvin, 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory : A
History of Theories of Culture, Jaipur, Rawat Publication.
 Kottak Conrad Phillip, 1997.Anthropology, The Exploration of
Human Diversity. New York The McGraw -Hill Companies Inc.
 MacGee R Jonand Warm Richard LAnthroplogical Theory and
Introductory History (4THed) 2008, McGrawHill New York.
 MairLucy, 1965. An Introduction to SocialAnthropo logy (2nded),
1965, New Delhi, India.
 Moore Jerry, 2009. Visions of Culture an introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom
.Rowen and Little Publishers.
 Thomas HyllandEriksen, 1988. What is Anthropology, Jaipur, Rawat
Publi cations.
 Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Finn Sivert Nielsen, A History of
Anthropology, 2008, Jaipur, Rawat Publications.


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37 6
HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM
- FRANZ BOAS
Unit Structure
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Franz Boas
6.3 Meaning of Historical Particularism
6.4 Critique of Evolutionism
6.5 Cultural Relativism
6.6 Summary
6.7 Questions
6.8 References
6.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To und erstand about the contribution of Franz Boas
2. To learn about Historical Particularism
6.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter we are going to learn about one of the important topic
called Historical Particularism. This was popularized by Franz Boas. As a
critiqu e to the earlier approaches like that of Evolutionism. Historical
Particularism can be applied to everyday life too and Indian context too.
Hence, studying about this topic becomes useful to you as students of
Sociology, Anthropology. Often history has bee n used by several scholars
(except few like Durkheim, Marx) both in Sociology and Anthropology.
There is also a discipline called social history in the field of social
sciences. History provides a detail into the topic beyond the surface level
information. Historical particularism is one such approach which is unique
which focusses not only on the present but the location under study.
Historical particularism was created in the early twentieth century by
Franz Boas and his pupils.
6.2 FRANZ BOAS Franz Boa s was an American anthropologist who worked in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. He is also known as father of American
Anthropology. He founded the relativistic, culture -centred school of
American anthropology that came to dominate in the 20th centu ry. He was
born July 9, 1858, Minden, Westphalia, Prussia and died December 22,
1942, New York, U.S. He established one of the top anthropology
departments in the country while he was a professor at Columbia
University in New York City (1899 –1942). A.L. Kr oeber, Ruth Benedict, munotes.in

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38 Margaret Mead, Melville Herskovits, Edward Sapir, and other scientists
who contributed to the development of anthropology in the United States
studied under Boas . He was an expert in North American Indigenous
cultures and languages.
Boas radical works can be best understood historically. Although most
anthropologists have maintained that humans are a single species
throughout history, few academics in the early 20th century thought that
different races had comparable capacity for cultu ral evolution. From the
middle of the 20th century onward, anthropologists and other social
scientists came to conclude that race itself was a cultural construct and that
racial variations were the outcome of historically specific events rather
than physio logical destiny. One of the thinker who had such opinion was
Boas who emphasised on history to study race.
According to Boas, an anthropologist must be able to comprehend any
factor that could have an impact on a people's history. Therefore, to make
the a rgument that cultural differences are not the result of biological
differences, one must have a basic understanding of biology. Additionally,
in order to see how humans and their environment interact, an
anthropologist must be familiar with topics like mig ration, nutrition,
childrearing traditions, disease, as well as the movements and interactions
of different peoples and cultures. The study of anthropology then becomes
comprehensive and interdisciplinary, engaging with any branch of
knowledge that seems p ertinent to a given issue (Britannica).
6.3 MEANING OF HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM – Boas' method of anthropology is known as historical particularism since
he concentrated on the unique histories of many societies. Particularism,
also known as historical p articularism, is a school of anthropological
thought that emerged from the work of Franz Boas and his students,
including A.L. Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead. Particularism
opposed theories like cultural evolution, Kulturkreis, and geographic or
environmental determinism, all of which aimed to identify for the social
sciences through a number of general laws similar to those in the physical
sciences (Britannica).
Historical particularism holds that every culture has its own unique
historical journey and that each civilization has evolved in accordance
with its history. According to this method, each community, group has a
distinctive historical development that must be understood in light of the
specific cultural and environmental contexts that s urround it, especially
with regard to its historical process. The fundamental tenet of it was that
"culture" is a "collection of ideas or symbols held in common by a group
of people who view themselves as a social group" (Darnell 2013: 399).
An approach to comprehending the nature of culture and cultural shifts in
certain populations of people is known as historical particularism.
According to Boas, understanding a culture's history requires examining
how its distinctive characteristics developed within a c ertain geographical munotes.in

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39 Historical Particularism - Franz Boas area. According to Boas, the history of certain civilizations can be
recreated only when several diverse cultures within an area have been
examined in the same way. Individual cultural features can be identified as
being borrowed from o r invented by using comprehensive data from a
wide range of cultures as a common frame of reference. Reconstructing
the history of a given culture hence is needed for reference and better
understanding. (Bock 1996:299). Though in the process of understandi ng
history the individual should not be ignored. Individual stories, histories,
oral narratives can also be documented. As it would further help to
understand the larger group. Franz Boas believed that the fundamental
element of any community is each indiv idual. Individual informants
provided him with information, which he deemed valuable enough to
analyse from a cultural perspective. Hence, to understand the individuals
and groups fieldwork is needed.
Fieldwork and history were highly regarded by the Hist orical
Particularisms as vital tools for analysing culture. Fieldwork means where
the person who conducts research visits the field personally, resides in the
village and observes or participates in the village festivals and studies
them. Before making any generalisations or conclusions about a culture or
a change in a culture, Boas and his students emphasised the value of
acquiring as much information as one can about each specific culture. He
and his students went to considerable lengths to meticulously r ecord every
detail. This covered basic ethnographic techniques including participant
observation as well as the documentation of oral history and tradition . The
focus was on participant observation which closely resemble d the
fieldwork techniques which Malinowski used at the same period in
Europe. Like Malinowski emphasised on Functionalism and Boas on that
of Historical Particularism. The subjects of study and the overarching
theoretical objectives of these two schools, however, were very dissimilar.
Boas also emphasised the significance of all anthropology's subfields in
rewriting history. He said that Ethnographic proof is needed also with
languages, archaeological, physical and biological evidences. With time
the historical particularism theory got sprea d across US by Boas and his
students. Boas introduced the idea of historical particularism, but he did
not invent the phrase. The word Marvin Harris first used the term
"historical particularism" in 1968 ( Egyankosh). Boas was an active
anthropologist who w orked essentially in each of anthropology's four
subfields. He placed a lot of emphasis on the fieldwork approach. Boas
visited many fields during his lifetime, although he was afterwards
criticised for not spending much time there Diah, N. M., et.al. (201 4).
In the popular article called 'The Aims of Anthropological Study’ Boas,
notes anthropology's goal is to "understand the processes by which man
(human) has evolved into what he is, biologically, cognitively, and
culturally. It was previously stated that our content had to inevitably be
historical in the broadest sense. It must cover the evolution of the human
body, as well as his physiological processes, cognition, and culture. We
require an understanding of the conditions that lead to changes as well as
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40 Anthropological Thought
40 without such information, and the fundamental question of how to get
such information arises (Boas, 1932: 605).
Several Methodological Propositions :
"If we wish to advance down the chosen path, we must insist upon critical
approaches, based not on generalisations but on each specific example,"
said Franz Boas (Boas, as said by Harris 260).
Boas was adamantly a theoretic, rejecting the grand reconstructions of
both diffusionists like G. E. S mith and Fritz Graebner and evolutionists
like Lewis Henry Morgan a nd said that their hypotheses were not valid
(Winthrop 83 -84).
Marvin Harris notes that Boas' "goal" was to "get rid of anthropology's
amateurs and armchair specialists by making ethnograph ic fieldwork the
primary skill and essential requirement for professional rank" (Harris 250)
Paul Radin suggested that only "as much of the past and as much of the
links with other cultures as is required for the revelation of the particular
period" and it should be included in ethnography ’ (Radin, as quoted by
Hays 292).
According to Clark Wissler, "The construction of a chronology for man
and his civilization was based upon objective verifiable material" and it
will determine the field of anthropology's d estiny (Wissler, as quoted by
Hays 290).
Though different scholars had different opinions and views on Boas. For
contemporary scholars, the emphasis on the value of data collection has
paid off. Boas and his students extensive research yielded a wealth of data
that has served as the foundation for innumerable studies and
investigations that have since been conducted. If "oral cultures" had not
been documented, much of this data would have been lost to the passage
of time. Although fieldwork techniques have altered since Boas first
proposed his theories on participant observation, those theories served as
the cornerstone for American anthropologists' fieldwork procedures.
6.4 CRITIQUE OF EVOLUTIONISM Historical Particularism is associated with the work of Fr anz Boas and his
supporters, who emphasised the necessity to reconstruct the specific
histories of various cultural artefacts rather than trying to fit them into
broad theoretical frameworks, typically evolutionary or diffusionist.
Over the course of his c areer, Boas' beliefs changed, he was a big
opponent of the comparative technique and evolutionary theory.
Following three forms are undermined by comparative techniques by
Morgan and Tylor:
1. The idea that evolution is unilinear. munotes.in

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41 Historical Particularism - Franz Boas 2. The idea that conte mporary society is an evolutionary adaptation.
3. The classification of societies is based on evidence .
The evolutionary theory proposed by Morgan, Tylor, and others was
rejected by Boas as being unproven and untestable.
Boas undermined the entire tenet o f the development of culture in the 19th
century. Tylor and Morgan had some technological processes and have an
inherent evolutionary order —fire must come before pottery making,
flintlock rifles were created before automatic weapons —there is no
ethnograph ic evidence to support the idea that matrilineal kin systems
evolved before patrilineal kin systems or that animism -based religions
emerged before polytheistic religions. Boas stated that this unilinear
ordering is just an assumption and that there is no w ay to demonstrate a
historical relationship between them. Hence, evolutionary frameworks
were imposed on data as unproven assumptions.
According to Boas, the unilinear classification of various cultures
presupposed that those societies with comparable cult ural traits were at
comparable evolutionary levels. On the contrary, he thought that disparate
factors could lead to cultural traditions that are quite similar.
Hence p roviding "a comprehensive examination of distinct culture is
characterising in its form , and has a dynamic reaction of the individual to
culture, and of culture to the individual ." Early experiences on Baffin
Island convinced Boas to pursue a profession in anthropology. Boas was
informed by the study's findings that geography is simply a li miting factor.
The claim that certain cultures are more advanced than others was made
by evolutionists. For instance, compared to savage societies, civilised
societies are thought to be more advanced and intellectual. However, after
visiting Baffinland and meeting the locals, Boas' perspectives changed
(Stocking, 1965; 61):
"The more I learn about their traditions, the more I see that we have no
right to belittle them. Where would you find such genuine hospitality
among our people? In comparison, "highly ed ucated folks" like me are far
worse. This passage is taken from Boas' Baffinland journals.
Boas contends that the societies are neither "savage" nor "civilised." This
strategy is insulting in nature. Instead of adopting a "nomothetic" strategy
(taking into account multiple scenarios at once), he recommended
Anthropologists should adopt a "idiographic" method (which deals with
particular/specific cases) (Langness, 1974; 57).His concept of "historical
particularism" is based on this.
He asserts that each soci ety's culture is distinct from the others and that
each society has seen a particular historical evolution. For this reason, he
proposed the idea of "cultural relativism" and urged anthropologists to
reject the predominately ethnocentric viewpoints (Scupin and DeCorse,
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42 Anthropological Thought
42 Check Your Progress :
1. Which theories did Franz Boas criticise?
2. What is fieldwork?
The Eskimos of Alaska's changing economy :
The example of Eskimos can be used to understand the historical
particularism in an easier way. Eskimos in Alaska rely heavily on fishing
and hunting for interior caribou or sea wildlife. About 1850, European
whaling (hunting whales) started to play a significant role in the region.
Several Eskimos engaged in this activity from 1800 to 1900. The Eskimos'
cultu re developed as an auxiliary to the European whalebone coast
business during this so -called "Golden Period." Eskimos rifles destroyed
caribou herds when whaling declined. From 1892 to 1902, 1,300 Siberian
reindeer were introduced as a new source of income for the Inuit people.
Eskimo groups picked up the new skills rather quickly. Alaska had more
than a million reindeer by 1931. A government experiment that failed in
Herds were decimated as a result of making them "communal," when
Eskimos covertly resumed s hooting reindeer that they no longer
considered to be their property. Approximately 25,000 reindeer exist
today. The majority of the Eskimos' diet still consists of meat, and they
still hunt marine species The cultural transition of these Eskimos from
"hun ting" to "herding" is summed up by th is cultural sequence. Through
this example we can learn how to understand the present occupation one
has to grow through the history, local culture.
Boas did not deny the existence of universal rules governing behaviou r,
but he thought that knowledge of particular historical processes is required
to develop those laws. We all believe that there are some laws that control
how human civilization develops, and we work to identify these laws.
Finding the mechanisms by which successive stages of culture have
evolved is the goal of the inquiry. He said that one’s research does not aim
to investigate practises and convictions. We should be interested in finding
out the origins of such rituals and beliefs, or the reasons behind their
existence. A thorough examination of customs and their impact on the
whole culture of the tribe that practises them, as well as their geographical
dispersion among nearby tribes, that enables us to identify the historical
factors that contributed to their development as well as the psychological
factors , processes that influenced how they were created. Investigation
may have three possible outcomes.
Boas offers an alternative to the comparative method's generalisations.
Boas advised anthropologists to use an "idiographic" (working with
particular/specific issues) approach rather than a "nomothetic"
(generalised) one. (Langness 1974; 57). In his article "The Limits of the
Comparative Method in Anthropology," Boas argues that anthropologists
should resea rch practises in -depth in light of their relevance to the overall
culture of the tribe they are practised by. He asserts that further research
into these practises is necessary in order to comprehend their geographic
distribution across nearby tribes. This type of comprehensive approach to munotes.in

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43 Historical Particularism - Franz Boas examining culture and customs, as well as their proximity, could assist
identify with a high degree of precision the historical reasons leading to
the growth of any customs, traditions and their evolution. Studying factor s
are important as:
1. They might help to understand the conditions that gave rise to or
altered certain elements. (adaption).
2. They might shed light on the psychological forces that influence
culture.
(Psychological determinants ).
3. They might demo nstrate the impact historical ties have had on the
development of culture (Historical factors).
6.5 CULTURAL RELATIVISM The concept of "cultural relativism" holds that each individual's values,
knowledge, and conduct must be comprehended within the framew ork of
their own culture. As it acknowledges and affirms the linkages between
the larger social structure and trends and the ordinary lives of individual
people, this is one of the most essential sociological ideas.
Franz Boas, a German -American anthropolo gist, developed the idea of
cultural relativism as a tool for analysis around the beginning of the 20th
century. Cultural relativism played a significant role in early social science
to combat the ethnocentrism that frequently harmed research at the time,
which was primarily carried out by white, affluent, Western men and
frequently focused on people of colour, foreign indigenous populations,
and people from lower socioeconomic classes than the researcher.
The act of assessing and evaluating another person' s culture in light of
one's own values and views is known as ethnocentrism. This perspective
could lead us to frame other cultures as strange, exotic, fascinating, or
even as issues that need to be resolved. Contrarily, when we acknowledge
that various cul tures around the world each have their own beliefs, values,
and practises that have evolved in unique historical, political, social,
material, and ecological contexts, that this really makes more sense that
their values would vary from our own, and that ar e necessarily either
correct or incorrect or good or bad, we are actively involving the idea of
cultural relativism.
The concept of cultural relativism explains why, for instance, the
definition of breakfast differs greatly from place to place, a normal
breakfast in Turkey differs significantly from that of the United States and
Japan. In other countries, eating fish soup or stewed vegetables for
breakfast is commonplace, yet in the United States it could seem unusual.
On the other hand, some cultures would find our propensity for sweet milk
and cereals or our love of bacon - and cheese -stuffed egg sandwiches to be
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44 Anthropological Thought
44 Usefulness of Historical Particularism :
For contemporary scholars, the emphasis is on the value of data collection
has paid off. Their extensive research yielded a wealth of data that has
served as the foundation for innumerable studies and investigations that
have since been conducted. If "oral cultures" had not been documented,
much of this data would have been lost to the passag e of time. Although
fieldwork techniques have altered since Boas first proposed his theories on
participant observation, those theories served as the cornerstone for
American anthropologists' fieldwork procedures. Specially and the change
in the mass media and internet led to decline of the folk related live
performances. Hence, documenting the old practices has helped.
Criticism:
Boas has been criticised as someone who offered tools for examining
particular cultures while undermining the evolutionary fram ework.
Although he referred to the connection between the person and society,
cultural components and cultural wholes, he never provided an
explanation for how cultures come to be assimilated wholes. Boas
conducted an impressive study of human civilization , and his work
continued to have an impact decade later as many of his pupils focused on
one of his central themes: the interaction between the individual and
society.
Boas contends that generalisations in law may be based on psychological,
historical, or adaptational aspects, but only when they are supported by
well-researched ethnographic cases.
Franz Boas concluded that the historical method and comparative
technique have been striving for dominance for a while, but one may
expect that they will soon dis cover its proper position and purpose. It has
been observed that any place where there are cultural commonalities to
some extent the historical particularism approach has failed to prove to be
applicable for studying the people. The comparative method has produced
astonishingly few conclusive findings, and it will only start to pay off if
we provide a uniform, systematic history of the development of
culture. So, completely rejecting the evolutionism is not so helpful.
Check Your Progress :
1. Boas theory of historical particularism is helpful for the present,
comment.
2. List out the two concepts developed by Boas.
6.6 SUMMARY Boas' method of anthropology is known as historical particularism since
he concentrated on the unique histories of many societi es. Particularism,
also known as historical particularism, is a school of anthropological
thought that emerged from the work of Franz Boas and his students, munotes.in

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45 Historical Particularism - Franz Boas including A.L. Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead. In the first
half of the twentieth centur y, American anthropology was dominated by
the particularist approach thanks to Boas. Neo -evolutionism and
anarchism overshadowed it from World War II until the 1970s numerous
other theories. But as scholars realised that distinct historical processes
conti nue to distinguish peoples even in the age of globalisation, the
particularist method, if not the term itself, re -emerged in the 1980s. Boas
developed Historical particularism as a critique of Evolutionism. The
chapter also discusses another concept called cultural relativism which
talks about studying the culture from its own view point. The example of
Eskimos is also used in the chapter to explain the importance of historical
particularism as discussed by Boas.
6.7 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the meaning of Cultu ral Relativism
2. Write a note on Critique of Evolutionism by Boas
3. Explain the meaning of Historical Particularism
6.8 REFERENCES  Barnard, A., & Spencer, J. (Eds.). (2002). Encyclopaedia of social and cultural anthropology . Routledge.  https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/historicism/#:~:text=Historical%2
0particularism%20is%20an%20approach,in%20a% 20limited%20geo
graphical%20region .
 Diah, N. M., Hossain, D. M., Mustari, S., & Ramli, N. S. (2014). An
overview of the anthropological theories. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science , 4(1), 155 -164.  https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural -relativism -definition -3026122
 Tax, S. (2022, December 18). Franz Boas. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
https://www.britann ica.com/biography/Franz -Boas
 https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/76577/1/Unit -
4.pdf
 Bock, Phillip K (1996). “Culture Change.” Encyclopaedia of Cultural
Anthropo logy Vol. 1, pp. 299 -302. Edited by David Levinson and
Melvin Ember. Henry Holt & Co., New York.

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46 7
FUNCTIONALISM - MALINOWSKI'S
THEORY OF NEED
Unit Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Meaning of Functionalism
7.3 Bronislaw Malinowski
7.4 Theory of needs
7.5 Summary
7.6 Questions
7.7 References
7.0 OBJECTIVES  To learn about un derstand the theory of Functionalism
 To learn about the theory of needs as discussed by Malinowski.
7.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the discussion is about one of the important theories, i.e.,
Functionalism. Functionalism as a theory has been used bot h in Sociology
and Anthropology to a large extent. In terms of Anthropology, Malinowski
and Radcliffe Brown are connected mainly with these two scholars.
Studying these topics is useful for understanding anthropological as a
subject and even for competitiv e exams. Functionalism as such, is a
simple theory which can be even applied to understand our day -to-day life
situations too.
7.2 MEANING OF FUNCTIONALISM According to functionalists, society should be viewed as a system of
interconnected parts. Functio nalism is a theory in social sciences that
holds that all facets of a society —institutions, roles, norms, etc. —serve a
purpose and are necessary for the society's long -term existence. The
method rose to popularity in the writings of sociologists of the 19t h
century, particularly those who saw society as living entity like Émile
Durkheim, French sociologist. The foundation of Durkheim's sociology is
functionalism. Like other functionalists, he concentrated on the issue of
order and the advantages of social institutions, justifying their existence in
terms of the contributions they make that are functionally useful. He dealt
with many of the fundamental issues raised by this viewpoint as a pioneer.
He came up with several justifications that connected existen ce and
necessity. His implicit claim that society can maintain the social munotes.in

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47 Functionalism- Malinowski's Theory of Need conditions of its own existence as a strong, self -aware entity directing the
behaviour of each of its members is the most distinctive, though largely
disregarded, feature of his meth odology. Sociologists like Merton (Latent
and Manifest) and Talcott Parson have also discussed about functionalism.
Here we would focus more about Functionalism in terms of
Anthropology.
Functionalism and Anthropology:
Functionalism is a thought that a social system has a functional unity in
which all of its constituent elements cooperate with one another to some
extent. Functionalism also holds that every cultural or social phenomenon
serves a necessary purpose and is therefore unavoidable. The theoreti cal
implications of functionalism as a relationship between a social institution
and the "necessary conditions of existence" of a social system were
investigated by the British anthropologist A.R. Radcliffe -Brown. He
understood a unit's function to be its contribution to the upkeep of a social
structure, or the network of connections between social units. Malinowski
is also associated with the growth of functionalism in Anthropology which
we would look into in detail in the following sections of the chapter
(Britannica).
Functionalism was a reaction against earlier school of thought in
anthropology. It was an effort to depart from the evolutionism and
diffusionism that predominated anthropology in the United States and the
United Kingdom at the turn of the century. (Lesser 1935, Langness 1987).
With time the focus in Anthropology shifted from the hypothetically
historical or diachronic study of traditions and cultural characteristics as
"survivals" to the ahistorical, synchronic study of social "institution s"
within constrained, functional societies. (Young 1991:445).
Theoretically and methodologically, functionalists attempted to take
sociocultural research beyond the confines of the evolutionary
understanding of social history. The evolutionary perspective saw cultural
practices or characteristics as lingering leftovers of earlier times. In other
words, according to the evolutionist school, "a cultural fact was observed
not in terms of what it was at the time of observation but in terms of what
it must stan d for in reference to what had previously been the case."
(Lesser 1935:55). These earlier methods prioritized speculative theorizing
over the finding of facts from a functionalist point of view. According to
functionalists, events' current expressions in t he world are what drive
them. thus, in order to comprehend occurrences, it was necessary to
comprehend the functions and try to record as well as observe them
(Lesser 1935:55 -56). Let us understand Functionalism further through
function of magic.
The Func tion of Magic:
According to Malinowski magic was a crucial component because it was
essential to Trobriand culture. Magic was employed to assure a successful
crop, ease childbirth, improve the beauty of dancers, kill foes and stop one
from being slain, an d safeguard fishermen. When knowledge fails man, munotes.in

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48 magic was always used at those stages of human action. Malinowski
argued that magic plays a significant role in giving humans control over
dimensions that are otherwise beyond our capacity to influence. For
example -Weather cannot be controlled by people hence to bring rain
people practiced magic. Experience has shown man that, despite his best
efforts to imagine or see such phenomena, he cannot create rain, sunshine,
wind, heat, or cold. So, he uses magic t o deal with them.
He suggested that because of the lack of scientific understanding of illness
and disease, "primitive" man believed that sickness was brought on by
sorcery and could be cured by magic. Fishing is organized similarly to
magic. When it is po ssible to make a good catch in the favorable weather
under those circumstances, magic is not practiced. when no other type of
fishing is done. In contrast, because ocean fishing, sailing, and canoeing
involve higher risk and danger, its charm is more compl ex and extensive.
The village garden magician is either the headman, his heir, or the closest
male relative, making him either the most important or the second -most
important person in the community. Garden magic is open, direct, and
comprehensive. For a g arden's success unlike skilled and efficiency the
same way is the use of magic. It is crucial to the soil's fertility. People
believe that the magical virtue of the garden seeps into the earth as it
speaks magic. For them, magic is a component of the growt h of the
gardens that comes almost naturally. Malinowski thought that magic's
primary purpose was to try to exert more control over the aspects of nature
that were beyond human control. In this way, his examination of magic is
a reflection of his pragmatic view of culture.
Psychological Function – Kula Exchange:
Malinowski's ethnographic work named, Argonauts of the Western
Pacific, discusses the Kula observations which illustrates the
psychological functionalism (1922). Malinowski provides a description o f
the Kula exchange. Kula is the system in which ceremonial gifts are often
exchanged among the tribal societies living in various islands like in the
East of Papua New Guinea. The exchange of sacred object is referred to
as "Kula" because according to Ma linowski it is surrounded by complex
social and magical rituals of traditional type. The essential feature of Kula
is the ceremonial exchange of items such arm shells and necklaces, but
side by side, the locals engage in regular trade through bartering fro m
island to island. As a result, the "Kula ring" links all of these individuals
together through a system of reciprocal bonds between neighbors.
All facets of their lives are influenced by kula activities, including visits,
feasts, religious practices, the standing of kin groups, artistic expression,
public displays of persons, and trading opportunities. So, a study of the
Kula's purpose, or what it does, necessitates a review of its overall
significance and content in connection to each of the cultures inv olved as
well as the intellectual relationships at play.
This chapter both demonstrates Malinowski's prowess as an ethnographer
and serves to clarify many of his core ideas. The traditional Kula example munotes.in

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49 Functionalism- Malinowski's Theory of Need by Malinowski concerns the trade of ceremonial items between a number
of ethnically diverse populations in the eastern end of New Guinea and on
nearby island groups. Geographically, this creates a loose "ring." A more
or less small number of men participate in the Kula on each island and in
each community, w hich entails receiving the commodities, holding them
for a brief period of time, and then passing them on. Hence, every male in
Kula got one or more Ynawli (arm -shells) or a Soulava (necklace of red
shell discs) on occasion but not consistently. He then ha d to pass it on to
one of his partners, from whom he obtains another commodity through
that of exchange.
As a result, no man ever keeps any of his possessions for an extended
period of time. The two men are engaged in a committed, lifetime
relationship. F urthermore, there is no question that any given Ynawli and
Soulava will never settle down because they are constantly on the move
and trading places. Since the objects are seen as precious themselves and
valuable, the saying "once in a Kula, always in a Ku la" also holds true. In
the Southeast New Guinea's Kula exchange, Armlets fashioned of spiral
trochus shell and necklaces mostly composed of pink spondylus shell discs
are items that are ceremonially shared.


Examples of Kula ring – source Wikipedia munotes.in

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50 Criticism of Functionalism:
In the 1950s and 1960s, functionali sm gained popularity but later on it was
criticized heavily. Its decline began in the early 1970s as a result of a new
theories. Social scientists criticized the functionalism to account for the
complex nature of interconnectedness. Functional theory has a lso been
criticized for ignoring the historical process and for presuming that
societies' internal mechanisms is what keep them in an equilibrium.
Functionalism believes that functions should satisfy its needs, but it did
not seem to work in every case. Th ey fail to investigate the issue of how
and why these needs developed. Criticism was also made that the social
processes was ignored in functionalism. In addition, the Ecological factors
were also ignored in functional approach.
7.3 BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI (1 884 – 1942) One of the founders of British social anthropology is regarded as
Malinowski. He got a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics in 1908 after
receiving training in the physical sciences. In Leipzig, Wilhelm Wundt
and Durkheim had an impact on him. Foll owing the reading of Frazier's
The Golden Bough, Malinowski's focus switched to anthropology. In
1910, he applied to the London School of Economics to seek a degree in
anthropology. Some of the best English anthropologists, such as E.E.
Evans -Pritchard, Is aac Schapera, Raymond Firth, Fortes and Nadel, etc.,
were trained by him later at LSE. Also, he also established the
anthropology programs at Cambridge and LSE.
Malinowski and Radcliffe -Brown believed that British anthropology
should adopt a historical per spective rather than speculatively and
historically examining social systems. This theoretical shift, which also
gave rise to functionalism, made fieldwork the defining experience in
social anthropology. (1973 by Kuper; 1991 by Young). Throughout the
1920s and 1930s, Malinowski and functionalism had a big influence. With
the exception of situations involving social or cultural revolution, this
method proved effective when used. Malinowski's thesis still has some
relevance in contemporary anthropological the ory, even though it has
evolved from its original formulation due to new and changing paradigms.
(Young 1991:445).
Malinowski did, however, contribute much as an ethnographer. He
emphasised the need of examining social behaviour and social connections
in their genuine cultural contexts through participant observation. He
believed that observable differences between norms and behavior —
between what people claim to do and what they actually do —were
important. One of the most extensively read anthropology books ever
written, his Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922) provides one of the
most in -depth analyses of Trobriand social life and ideas. Malinowski
made significant conceptual contributions to the study of family and
marriage, magic, ritual language, and myth (such as the concept of "myth
as social charter"), and economic anthropology (especially the concept of
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51 Functionalism- Malinowski's Theory of Need Malinowski was deeply interested in both myth and religion. He breached
the border separating them as his fieldwork prog ressed. Sex and
Repression in Primitive Society and Argonauts of the Western Pacific
(1922) are two of his best -known works (1927). Malinowski's concept of
culture produced the most intriguing contribution to anthropological
thought, albeit his work has no t received due credit. His anthropological
research centred on the ways in which culture met individual needs. It
contradicted the viewpoint of A.R. Radcliffe Brown, who emphasised how
culture met society needs. To understand this distinction and evaluate
Malinowski's contribution, one must first understand Malinowski's theory
of needs.
Check Your Progress :
1. Discuss the meaning of Functionalism in few words.
2. How does Malinowski example the function of magic, explain in few
lines.
7.4 THEORY OF NEEDS Malinowski saw that a need is an human condition which is necessary for
the existence, survival of any group or society at large. There are needs
like physiological (reproduction, food, shelter) or that like Instrumental
like Economy, social control, pol itical groups, education existing in every
society.
Malinowski's conception of need serves as the cornerstone of his
functional approach to culture. By his idea, he sought to link the individual
and society. He argues that in order to meet a person's basi c biological,
psychological, and social needs, culture is required.
Malinowski developed a distinctive approach to illuminating social
phenomena as a result of his search for theories to analyse primitive
civilization. This approach is referred to as his n otion of needs. It was
explained by Malinowski in A Scientific Theory of Culture. The
individual's and society's requirements, in his view, are two distinct
categories.
Malinowski interpreted physiology in terms of function. He defined
function as the appr opriate action that fulfils an innate want. His
physiological allegory was developed. Malinowski used a modified
version of his synoptic chart to explain needs and claimed that cultural
institutions are comprehensive answers to a variety of needs. A colle ction
of universally applicable permanent life sequences were provided by
Malinowksi. These patterns show how a person satisfies their urges.
Malinowski also discusses about Biological impulses in a human being
like:
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52 Impulse Act Satisfaction Pain Avoiding it Normal state Fear Escaping it Relaxed mind Lack of sleep Activity Reason being fatigue Thirst Liquid thirst being quenched. Less air oxygen Less carbon dioxide within tissues
Basic Needs : Basic needs Cultural responses Metabolism Commissarial Reproduction Kinship Bodily comfort Shelter Safety Protection Movement Activities Growth Training Health Hygiene
Malinowski went into great detail to illus trate each of these demands and
cultural reactions, but here are a few examples: The term "metabolism,"
which refers to the basic requirement of humans, encompasses (a) the
process of ingesting food, (b) digestion, (c) collateral secretions, (d) the
absorp tion of nutrients, and (e) the rejection of waste material.
The "commissarial" (the military unit that provides food to an army)
cultural reaction consists of.
1. How is the production, preparation, and consumption of food takes
place?
2. Where does the social group and location of meals was consumed?
3. The social and economic structure of food distribution.
4. The distribution of food is governed by both the law and custom.
5. The person in charge of applying those laws.
Safety is a basic need that simply "refers to the prevention of bodily
injuries by mechanical accident, attack from animals, or attack from other
humans," but protection is a cultural response that can take many different
forms, such as building homes on piles to protect them from po tential tidal
waves, planning armed defenses against aggression, or using magic to
summon supernatural forces.
Growth —which in humans is shaped by newborns' prolonged
dependence —leads to the cultural reaction of training, in which people are
taught languag e, other symbols, and appropriate behavior for various
circumstances until they are fully developed. Culture values have
biological survival in terms of the hierarchy of requirements. Primary
determinism could be used to characterize this. munotes.in

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53 Functionalism- Malinowski's Theory of Need Derived needs :
The existence of humans as social creatures results in a secondary
determinism. You may also argue that culture produces its own demands
in order to satisfy basic needs these are derived needs. These needs are
created for a sense of safety and comfort at l arge. Need Response 1. Requirements of maintenance of cultural apparatus economics 2. Regulation of human behavioral social control 3. Socialization education 4. Exercise of authority political organization However, not all of the rules developed a mong humans are included in
these derived demands or imperatives. These guidelines can also be taught
to many animals' offspring. However, none have the capacity to pass them
on to their offspring besides humans. Apes can undoubtedly instruct their
young i n appropriate behavior, thus in this regard, they have rules. But it's
difficult to picture the mother chimpanzee criticizing another mother -baby
pair for breaking all the rules. Only when habit becomes custom does this
happen.
Integrative needs:
The inte grative imperatives, as defined by Malinowski, are what shape
human social life. Integrative imperatives transform impulses into ideals,
child care into educating the next generation, and habit into custom.
According to Malinowski, things like tradition, n ormative standards or
ideals, religion, art, language, and other types of symbolism fall under the
purview of integrative imperatives. In other words, we discover that
Malinowski believed symbolism or ideals to be the essence of human
society.
This demons trates how Malinowski's theory of needs may be used to
describe and contrast cultural behavior from various regions of the world
since it acknowledges the biological underpinnings of cultural activity. He
sees social structure as one of the cultural tools used to meet the
fundamental, derived, and integrative needs of people. This conceptual
framework provided Malinowski with an explanatory tool to create high -
quality field records. Ralph Piddington an famous psychologist noted that
the idea of wants could help psychologists and anthropologists work
together. Study of The Sexual Life of Savages in NW by Malinowksi
(1929) Hunger and work in a Savage Tribe, written by Melanesia and his
student Audrey Richard, in 1932, serves as a powerful example of how
diffe rent societies can both fulfill and control biological drives. munotes.in

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54 Anthropological Thought
54 In other words, the main notion behind Malinowski's theory of needs is
how biological and societal influences on behaviour affect people. He
never stopped looking for ideas that weren't just p ure speculation and
weren't either so specific that they could be generalized. We discover
Malinowski's concept of describing societies as well as harmonious
cultural wholes and institutions in this process. He was able to connect the
political with the re ligious, political with the economic, or the political
with the technological through the idea of needs. Institutions, in his
opinion, differ from one another in that they are structured around various
purposes.
Two arguments serve as the crux of Malinowsk i's theory of need.
1. Every culture must fulfil the needs of the biological systems.
2. Any cultural accomplishment that uses artefacts and symbols to
improve human anatomy and, in turn, directly or indirectly, meets
bodily wants.
Briefly put, culture i s functionally integrated, adaptable, and utilitarian,
and defining its function is essential to understanding it. a prime
illustration of Malinowski's method of magic.
Critiques of Malinowski's work have been made for a variety of reasons.
His theory is v iewed as a rude theory since it reduces all behavior to a
crude idea of utility.
Check Your Progress :
1. List out some of the basic needs and the cultural response for them.
2. List out derived needs and the response for them.
7.5 SUMMARY In this chapte r we discussed about two topics mainly, functionalism and
Malinowski theory of need. The functionalists attempted to take
sociocultural research beyond the confines of the evolutionary
understanding of social history. The evolutionary perspective saw cultu ral
practises or characteristics as lingering relics of earlier times. In other
words, according to the evolutionist school, "a cultural fact was observed
not in terms of what it was at the time of observation but in terms of what
it must stand for in refe rence to what had previously been the case."
(Lesser 1935:55). These earlier methods prioritized speculative theorizing
over the finding of facts from a functionalist point of view. According to
functionalists, events' current expressions in the world are what drive
them. thus, in order to comprehend occurrences, it was necessary to
comprehend the functions and try to record as well as observe them. We
also learnt about Malinowski who practiced fieldwork and emphasized on
fieldwork. The chapter also discuss es about Theory of needs as given by
Malinowski. He relates the needs to the institutions formed to fulfill the
human needs like market for biological need of hunger. For Malinowski munotes.in

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55 Functionalism- Malinowski's Theory of Need the needs many a times can be viewed from two -fold angle needs of
society and needs of individual. Malinowski saw that a need is an human
condition which is necessary for the existence, survival of any group or
society at large. There are needs like physiological (reproduction, food,
shelter) or that like Instrumental like Econo my, social control, political
groups, education existing in every society. Malinowski's conception of
need serves as the cornerstone of his functional approach to culture. By his
idea, he sought to link the individual and society. He argues that in order
to meet a person's basic biological, psychological, and social needs,
culture is required.
7.6 QUESTIONS 1. Write a note on Functionalism in Anthropology
2. Explain in brief the theory of needs.
3. Discuss the basic needs in detail.
4. Discuss Biological impulses a nd Integrative needs.
7.7 REFERENCES  Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, January 27).
functionalism. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/functio nalism -social -science
 https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/functionalism/ Eric Porth,
Kimberley Neutzling and Jessica Edwards.
 Young, Michael W. 1991. Bronislaw Malinowski. In International
Dictionary of Anthropologists. Christopher Winters, ed. New York:
Garland Publishing.
 Young, Michael W. 1998. Malinowski's Kiriwina: Fieldwork
Photography, 1915 -1918. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
 Jarvie, I. C., & Jarvie, I. C. (1986). Limits to fun ctionalism and
alternatives to it in anthropology (pp. 127 -143). Springer Netherlands.
 Holmwood, J. (2005). Functionalism and its critics. Modern social
theory: An introduction , 2, 87-110.
 https://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring

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56 8
COLONIAL ANTHROPOLOGY -
VERRIER ELWIN’S METHODS OF A
FREELANCE ANTHROPOLOGIST
Unit Structure
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 About Verrier Elwin
8.3 Elwin’s Method as a Freelancer Anthropologist
8.4 Summary
8.5 Questions
8.6 References
8.0 OBJEC TIVES 1. To learn about Verrier Elwin contribution
2. To understand the Fieldwork technique used by Verrier Elwin.
8.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter we are going to learn about Verrier Elwin. We will learn
about his contribution to Anthropology and especially tribal studies.
Traditionally it is the Western scholars who wrote about other countries
specially the Asian countries. These writers many a time viewed society
from a dominant perspective. Here Verrier was different where he became
one of the people whom he was studying lived a life like the tribals and
then documented it. Verrier Elwin was not just a visiting researcher,
Anthropologist but he stayed back in India and wrote about India.
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57 Colonial Anthropology- Verrier Elwin’s Methods of a Freelance Anthropologist 8.2 ABOUT VERRIER ELWIN Verrier Elwin was an anthropologist, ethn ologist, and tribal activist who
was born in England and raised in India. He started his career there as a
Christian missionary. Elwin was an Anglican priest at Oxford and was the
son of a young Anglican bishop. While Elwin's life was distinguished by a
number of changes, his time in Oxford had a significant impact on the
pattern of his literary career. He was influenced by two mentors at his
college, Merton, who had quite different opinions (cf. Elwin 1964: 19 –
24). The first was H.W. Garrod, his English instructor, who was an expert
on Wordsworth and Keats. The second was F.W. Green, his theology
instructor and a former slum priest in London's east end. After spending
time in a Gandhian ashram and working along with Mohandas Gandhi and
the Indian National Congress, he converted to Hinduism in 1935. Elwin
traveled to India and joined a tiny Anglican group in Poona. With time he
was inspired by Gandhiji and joined the fight for Indian freedom. Elwin's
religious leaders and the temporal authorities were not p articularly fond of
him as a result of his actions. He also researched on the tribals of
numerous North East Indian states especially North -East Frontier Agency
(NEFA) and settled in Shillong, the hill city of Meghalaya. He eventually
rose to prominence as an expert on tribal Indian life and culture,
particularly that of the Gondi people. When it was founded in 1945, he
served as the Anthropological Survey of India's Deputy Director.
Post-independence he took the Indian citizenship. He was selected by
Prim e Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as a tribal affairs advisor for north -
eastern India, and later served as the government of NEFA (now
Arunachal Pradesh)'s anthropological adviser. He also wrote about tribal
assimilation and tribal transformation. His autobiogra phy, The Tribal
World of Verrier Elwin won him the 1965 Sahitya Akademie Prize in
English Language, granted by the Sahitya Akademie, India's National
Academy of Letters (Near archives). Verrier Elwin has written about
twenty -six books, on tribal population in India, out of these fourteen of
them are monographs. Understanding about Verrier Elwin as a person will
help us understanding his nature of work and that of his fieldwork. He
lived in India and post his citizenship even got married and divorced with
a tribal women and later remarried another tribal women. This was very
much different at that period where scholars came like colonizers studied
and went back and wrote about negatively or had objective view point.
When he was visiting England, the latter t ightened its grip; government
authorities wouldn't let him travel back to India, but they eventually gave
up and let him depart as long as he made a pledge not to engage in any
political activity there. After signing the document, he returned to the
Gond t ribe's isolated village and along with Hivale (name of a person)
established a school and a pharmacy. The area's Anglican bishop had
suggested the location to him and added the fact that four of the last five
Europeans to live there had passed away within a year. A very different
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58 Elwin sought advice from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the leaders of
the nationalist movement, regarding dealing with untouchables because he
had come to the conclusion that h e needed to be in closer contact with the
people than he could be in the Order at Poona. Patel dissuaded him, saying
that numerous social workers and missionaries were already making
amends for the untouchables on behalf of Hindus. Elwin was instructed by
him to interact with indigenous people. He continued to do this for the
remainder of his life. Elwin quickly added the need to portray tribal
peoples as actual people rather than annoying savages and their customs as
deserving of respect to the religious m otivation to make amends.
Check Your Progress :
1. Did Elwin played a role in the Panchsheel for tribes. Comment.
2. List out two books written by Verrier Elwin.
Elwin’s Writings :
Each year between 1936 and 1939, a book by Elwin was published by the
London publisher John Murray. Phulmat of the Hills (Elwin 1937) is a
book about a tribal individual who has leprosy and was left by her lover.
His book had straightforward conversation, the story was filled with
poetry, puzzles, and anecdotes from tribal tra dition. His ethnographic
novel format writing is different earlier Anthropologists and even the
Anthropological tradition.
While finishing The Baiga in July 1938, Elwin wrote to an Italian
acquaintance, "The pen is the principal weapon with which I battle for my
impoverished." Elwin campaigned for the voiceless tribe in a number of
ethnographies and essays. Elwin performed fieldwork in several parts of
the modern Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa while his
colleague Shamrao Hivale concentrated on social work (cf. Elwin 1964:
105–6). He resided in Bastar, a large, remote, and highly with a mostly
tribal populace, between 1940 and 1942. He also stayed in the Orissa
uplands for several months every year between 1943 and 1948. He was a
free-ranging ant hropologist exploring the woodlands Elwin was a
traveling anthropologist who roamed the woodlands looking for tribes to
study and preserve. He gathered a vast collection of information that was
eventually compiled into a number of dense yet always comprehe nsible
monographs.
Several scholars have discussed about the contribution of Elwin like
Indian anthropologist Sarat Chandra Roy wrote a kind homage to Elwin's
tribal diaries and novels in the journal Man. Roy claimed that the Phulmat
of the hills and leav es from the bush offered "vivid views of Gond
existence." They demonstrated how well the author had aimed to "connect
himself in spirit with the individuals he examines." They were written
with "intimate understanding and genuine affection." The same kind of
attitude may be seen in Elwin's first ethnographic study. This was The
Bagia, a lengthy monograph written in 1939 about a small tribe of munotes.in

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59 Colonial Anthropology- Verrier Elwin’s Methods of a Freelance Anthropologist impoverished farmers who were being compelled, mostly against their
will, to take part in the destruction of the sta te's economy.
The texts like the Baiga and the Muria became well known. Both studies
drew on the intimacy that came from a stay with the tribe. The book
described the vivid life histories as a result of the novelist's interest in the
character over social structure, —each book had more than 600 pages —
and both were made more enjoyable by literary allusions.
This served as the catalyst for his rich stream of ethnological literature
(there was an earlier, not inconsiderable, output of theological and
national ist writings). He lost comfort with his position as a clergyman and
his official beliefs as he grew more and more immersed in his work with
tribal communities. In reversal, he experienced "a tremendous
conversion." He rejected his priestly and communicant affiliation with the
Church of England. From that point on, he worked independently while
maintaining a basic standard of sustenance in his community and investing
the majority of donations in his charitable work.
Elwin served as the Deputy Director of the Anthropological Survey of
India for a short time after its establishment in 1946. The final phase of his
work with tribal peoples, which began in 1953 when he relocated to
Shillong to serve as the government of India's North East Frontier Area's
advisor f or tribal affairs, was perhaps the most fulfilling. Honors came to
him there as well as in his isolated little settlement. A D.Sc. from Oxford,
five medals and from Western society, and the Padma Bhushan, one of the
highest honors bestowed by the Indian go vernment, were among these
distinctions for Elwin. These were given to him primarily for his job as an
anthropologist, although his autobiography implies that once he
understood the foundations of their field and philosophy.
8.3 ELWIN METHOD AS A FREELANCE R ANTHROPOLOGIST There is no replacement for fieldwork, Elwin writes in the introduction of
one of his early works, "You cannot see humans from the howdah of an
elephant." There is no replacement for living in a village, interacting with
the locals, stayi ng in village homes, and putting up with the discomfort
and the misunderstandings that may develop. He adopts the tone of
Malinowski, whose extensive fieldwork became the special characteristic
of social anthropology, advancing the science beyond the ad ho c
investigations of colonial officials or missionaries and the bibliographical
theories of Frazer.
The statement that was just quoted is actually preceded by a sense of
anger, directed at some younger Indian scholars, who Elwin claimed had a
"tendency to s camp personal investigation on the spot, to make brief visits
of a fortnight or less to a district and then write about it, to conduct
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60 The Mandla Gonds, his neighbors, were prominently featured in his early
ethnographies on the Baiga and adjacent towns. He lived among the locals
while studying in Bastar and Orrisa, but his preparation for both locations
was extensive. He wrote in his autobiography: "Anthropology was the
center of my existence. It inclu ded more than just conducting fieldwork."
My strategy was to integrate myself into the community, collaborate on
many books with the residents, and generally share as much of their life as
an outsider could. To put it another way, I didn't only rely on ask ing
questions; instead, I gradually learned about the people until it was one.
Elwin methods were different than others.
While his writings on Bastar and Orrisa researches were based on careful
prior planning there too, he lived with the tribals. He wrote in his
memoirs: that anthropology did not mean just field work, it meant my
whole life. My method was to settle down among the people, live with
them, share their life as far as an outsider could and generally do several
books together…. ‘This meant that I did not depend merely on asking
questions, but knowledge of the people gradually sank in till it was a part
of me’. However, Elwin’s research methods are to be distinguished from
those of his professional peers in several ways as a local.
The only India n language he was familiar with was the Chhattisgarhi
dialect of Hindi, which was spoken by the Baiga and the Agaria. However,
in other places, such as Orissa, he occasionally needed to employ two sets
of interpreters: one to translate from the tribal tong ue into Oriya, and the
other to do the same for Oriya into English or Hindi. During this process,
meaning and subtlety would have been lost in translation. While it is true
that he traveled across a wide area and came into contact with several
distinct gro ups, it is equally important to note that he had a limited
command of several languages.
The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin and Leaves from the Jungle are some
of his finest books (1936). Both of these stories center on him. His
anthropological writings, ho wever, have always focused on various
individuals and situations contrarily, to his ethnographic essays.
There is a ton of original material about tribal locations and tribal people,
but it isn't always presented logically or persuading. Again, Elwin liked to
study a tribe in a series of quick journeys across a number of years and
villages, as opposed to the longer -term fieldwork at a single location that
is more typical among professional anthropologists.
His monographs has incisive writer characterization s, as seen in the vivid
personal histories and the profusion of songs, riddles, and poems. Elwin
preferred to focus on a single important characteristic or institution that, in
his opinion, defined the essence of a culture —be it bewar (name of a
place) or swidden cultivation for the Baiga or the Ghotul (dormitory
system for umarried) of the Muria —in contrast to other anthropologists
who preferred to emphasize the functional interrelatedness of all parts of a
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61 Colonial Anthropology- Verrier Elwin’s Methods of a Freelance Anthropologist Elwin mostly found intellectual s ustenance in reading, particularly poetry.
A few portions in the book are made better by poetry quotes, both his own
and others'. He identifies as a humanist anthropologist who was drawn to
the field by poetry. He describes himself as a romantic in another line, and
his writing style supports that.
He picked "The Philosophy of Love" as his topic for the Patel Memorial
Lectures, which were broadcast on All -India Radio in honor of the same
Patel who guided Elwin to indigenous peoples. Elwin expresses his
conv iction that love is supreme with power and intelligence in his lectures,
and book, and other publications. The tribes number over 25 million,
which is much greater than the population of several countries in the
globe, but in India they have been mostly hi dden, socially buried,
geographically secluded, and unheard of. People who did business with
them frequently took advantage of them. Sometimes, the assistance
received made the situation worse than it already was. Elwin fought
tirelessly to bring indigen o us peoples to the notice of the nation's
authorities and to establish their deservingness of respect and particular
welfare consideration.
"Dr. Elwin's outstanding work raised the stature of tribal people in the
eyes of the general public across India. He has demonstrated to us that
they are not only backward people but also possess their own art and
culture, which has had an impact on the national policy. He noted that
policy must deal with the tremendous economic, medical, educational, and
social challeng es of the indigenous peoples. He also made another
contribution to India that is hard to measure but might ultimately be much
more important than his influence on tribal policy. It has an impact on how
Indians perceive their society and themselves as indiv iduals. He often and
persuasively argued against dominant religions who were attempting to
change tribal society in their austere way in the name of saving the tribal
peoples.
Elwin vehemently refuted the idea that this particular form of puritanism
embodi ed the actual spirit village of India. He said that the majority of
tribal people were true representative of the real India since they valued
life and enjoyed the senses. Thus, he has this to say (pp. 168 –169) about
the ghotul, a facility for boys and gir ls of the Muria tribe on which he
authored an in -depth book. "The ghotul message —that youth must be
served, that freedom and happiness are more valuable than any material
gain, that friendliness and sympathy, hospitality, and unity are of the
utmost import ance, and above all that human love —and its physical
expression —is beautiful, clean, and precious —is typically Indian"
Elwin saw the tribal culture as unique with their customs, traditions,
languages who lived in isolation. However, for Ghurye he viewed tr ibes as
a part of the large dominant religion which often Elwin did not agree too.
Elwin argued that because there was no caste system in place, tribal
communities always maintained a strong sense of communal identity.
They had a close and communicative tr adition with nature and relatively
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62 Elwin assisted in the creation of policy documents for protecting the
interest of the tribal communities. During his stay in the north -east region,
Elwin wrote two novels’ titles, ‘A philosophy for NEFA’ (1957) and ‘A
new bargain for tribal India’ (1963), which garnered great attention among
the reading publics. Nehru's famous "tribal panchsheel" carries Verrier
Elwin's stamp. He was a key person in the post -independence tribal
welfare programs by c reating awareness through his writings.
Elwin never attempted to portray tribal cultures solely in terms of religion
and ritual, which was a reductionist perspective shared by many of his
contemporaries. His writings, however, showed an unusual concern in
conveying the tribal life's material culture. He discussed about several
important day to day things of tribal life like attire, housing, utensils,
agricultural tools, food and cuisine, hunting and fishing equipment, and
more. By focusing on the subject s of clothes, food, and sexuality, Verrier
Elwin, was the one who for the first time in Indian anthropology made
women's lives visible. Elwin also focused on women and nature, but he
also looked at crime, illness, and art, all hitherto unresearched areas i n
Indian anthropology (Elwin, 1964; Guha 1994).
Verrier Elwin's two best -known works are The Tribal World and Leaves
from the Jungle, both published in 1936. The author's experience is
highlighted in both of these works, and he develops into a character i n the
narratives. On the other hand, his ethnographic reports, representing
various cultures and circumstances, carry a great store of information and
description, delivered with less consistency and scientific rigour.
Elwin once claimed that he is a 'devo ted disciple' of the Malinowski
school of functionalism, nevertheless, the application of the conceptual
framework was half -hearted as the author carried his disguised literary
desires. He was a novelist and poet before he became an anthropologist.
In a ne wspaper report, Elwin figures as 'not an anthropologist in the
theoretical sense of the term' but a 'man of letters who is primarily
interested in human beings' Guha points out that Elwin visited many
places over multiple weeks and during different years a nd also in different
villages than the earlier traditions of studying single site. This made in
unique too. During his time as a director too he was carried out fieldwork
in different tribal societies and recorded them in the Archaeological
Institute.
During one of his fieldworks, he had to climb the mountain half way and
his leg was hurt, yet he climbed however he couldn’t witness the event.
There were instances where he drank with the tribe but still completed his
work. All these things have been differe nt from the earlier traditions of
anthropologist method who never looked back on the society they studied,
neither worked for the development of the population. The anthropologists
of that period didn’t even inform what they were writing to the subject. In
a way, there was a major gap between what was written and the researched
participants. Here he worked for the Welfare of the population. Though he
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63 Colonial Anthropology- Verrier Elwin’s Methods of a Freelance Anthropologist showed that tribal stories and lives can be written from the view point of a
literature too.
Elwin criticised the people who tried to impose their ethnocentric values
whether they were from within the nation or from outside the nation. He
spoke in praise about the collective culture of trib al population and the
abuses created by the non -tribal one the tribes. He discussed about the
simple life of the tribes, their position and opposed the mono culture
concept. He was a key person to influence Nehru to make the tribal
panchsheel.
Check Your Progress :
1. Did Elwin use fieldwork, Comment.
2. Did Elwin focus on the literary side of tribal life and did he use
literature and anthropology. Comment.
8.4 SUMMARY This chapter discusses about Verrier Elwin a prominent Anthropologist
who came to I ndia as a missionary but later ended up as man who spoke
for the Tribals rights and protection of them. He documented tribes’
practices, food, stories, cultures, day to day lives which very few writers
of his tribe focussed upon. This led to the way people looking at the tribes,
in a way bringing an attitude change among the readers and the policy
makers. He spoke about the alienation the tribal population felt and the
lack of resources , anxiety of the tribes. In a way, becoming voice for the
voiceless. Elwin traveled to India and joined a tiny Anglican group in
Poona. With time he was inspired by Gandhiji and joined the fight for
Indian freedom. Elwin's religious leaders and the temporal authorities
were not particularly fond of him as a result of his acti ons. He also
researched on the tribals of numerous North East Indian states especially
North -East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and settled in Shillong, the hill city
of Meghalaya. He eventually rose to prominence as an expert on tribal
Indian life and culture, p articularly that of the Gondi people. When it was
founded in 1945, he served as the Anthropological Survey of India's
Deputy Director. Post -independence he took the Indian citizenship. He
was selected by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as a tribal affairs advisor
for north -eastern India, and later served as the government of NEFA (now
Arunachal Pradesh)'s anthropological adviser. He also wrote about tribal
assimilation and tribal transformation.
8.5 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss some of the works of Elwin
2. Write a note on the methodology of Elwin
3. Discuss about the issues that Elwin raises about the tribes. munotes.in

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64 Anthropological Thought
64 4. Write a note about Elwin academic journey and his influences and
how it shaped his writing.
1.6 REFERENCES  https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1965.
67.2.02a00140
 https://nearchive.in/view -video&content=5da02 0019497e
 Guha, R. (1998). Between anthropology and literature: The
ethnographies of Verrier Elwin. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute , 325 -343.  Subba, T. B. (2020). Verrier Elwin and His Fieldwork
Method. Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India , 69(1), 7 -14.  Ralte, R. (2012). Ethnographic Narrative: Representing the Tribal in the Selected Works of Verrier Elwin, Gopinath Mohanty, Pratibha Ray and Mahasweta Devi (Doctoral dissertation, Mizoram University).
 Sinha, A. C. (2009). Culture cha nge among the tribes of Northeast
India: Some conceptual and methodological issues. Christianity and Change in Northeast India , 15-32.  Photograph of Elwin taken from Guha, R. (1996). Savaging the
civilised: Verrier Elwin his tribals and India, book cover. OUP.

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65 UNIT - III
9
CULTURE AND PERSONALITY -
MARGARET MEAD COMING OF AGE IN
SAMOA
Unit Structure
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Culture and Personality
9.3 Margaret Mead
9.4 Coming of Age in Samoa
9.5 Summary
9.6 Questions
9.6 References
9.1 INTRODUCT ION In this chapter, we are going to learn Culture and Personality school and
about Margaret Mead, one of the prominent female anthropologists. She
was a student of Franz Boas but later on became an established
Anthropologist. Margaret Mead (1901 –1978) w as a writer and cultural
anthropologist and her place of is Philadelphia. She completed
her graduation from Barnard College in 1923. As the American Museum
of Natural History's assistant curator of ethnology, she made twenty
journeys to the South Pacific t o research Indigenous cultures. Mead
developed her theories regarding the strong influences of social
convention on behavior, particularly in adolescent girls, in her writings,
such as Coming of Age in Samoa (1928). When Mead was appointed an
anthropology professor at Columbia University , she continued to speak
out against the rigid gender and sexual norms through her writing and
lectures.
9.2 CULTURE AND PERSONALITY In the early part of the 20th century, the Culture and Personality
movement was a t the center of anthropology. It looked at how
psychological and cultural influences interact to shape the human
experience. Culture and Personality was one of the responses against
social evolutionism and diffusionism in the 19th century, along with the
functionalist schools of Radcliffe -Brown and Malinowski. The early
evolutionists, such as Louis Henry Morgan and Edward Tylor, who
believed that each civilization went through the same hierarchical
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66 students (including Ruth Benedict). There are several scholars associated
with the culture and personality school like Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson,
Edward Sapir, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, Abram Kardiner, Ralph
Linton, Cora Dubois, Clyde Kluckhoh n, Robert LeVine
The majority of well -known culture -and-personality theorists contended
that socialization techniques directly influenced the personality traits.
When socialization is successful, it shapes a person's emotions, attitudes,
behaviors, cultur al values, and norms, enabling them to blend in and be
useful members of the surrounding human community. The relationship
between culture and personality looked at how various socialization
techniques led to various personality types.
America was engulfed in World War I at the time Mead conducted her
research, which had an impact on families by uprooting them and, in some
cases, causing their dissolution. Anthropology was a new field that was
involved in an ongoing discussion regarding the relative importa nce of
biological predisposition and the behavioural features of individuals and
the nature vs. nurture debate. The discussions mostly centered on the
debate over how biology and culture influence human personality
(Congress Library, 2021). As a result, th e discussion had a big impact on
the then social issues in America after World War I. At the same time,
academics began to take an interest in the views of psychoanalyst
Sigmund Freud like “Oedipus complex".
In Culture, Behavior and Personality (1982), Ro bert LeVine makes the
case that there are five distinct perspectives that characterize the area in
an effort to explain why the study of culture and personality lacks
consistency.
Ruth Benedict, Margret Mead, and Geoffrey Gore adopted a perspective
that is possibly the most well -known. The Boasian concept of cultural
relativism was linked with psychological principles in what was known as
the configuration method . (LeVine 1982:53). It took the perspective that
culture and personality could not be seen in is olation since they were so
intertwined. This point of view is frequently criticized for emphasizing
cultural uniformity and ignoring intra -cultural variance. Particularly
Benedict was criticized for being too humanitarian and not using enough
statistical evidence.
That anti-culture/anti -personality relationship was a second viewpoint.
According to this perspective, it is unnecessary to talk about someone's
psyche. According to this theory, in order to survive in a society, people
have created appropriate r esponses to the environment. Every human
community replicates the same normal distribution of personality types or
attributes. (LeVine 1982:45). The psychological reductionist viewpoint
is a third. This entailed investigating the psychology of the person a s the
root of social behaviour. For this perspective, Freud and those who came
after him were competitors. In the Culture and Personality school, it
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67 Culture and Personality- Margaret Mead Coming of Age in Samoa Personality mediating with the two -syste ms perspective are the only two
theories, according to LeVine (1982:59), that made it through the 1980s.
Abram Kardiner, a psychoanalyst, and Ralph Linton, an anthropological,
created personality mediation. It asserts that a society's core institutions,
such as its subsistence and settlement patterns, are influenced by the
environment. These in turn have an impact on fundamental personality
traits, which have an impact on ancillary institutions like religion.
Personality starts to have a role in the process . This perspective brought
psychological reductionism into harmony with sociological and cultural
perspectives.
Melford Spiro, Inkeles, and Levinson created the two-systems view.
According to this theory, personality and culture interact and balance one
another. Spiro was particularly interested in "how personality influences
the functioning of the sociocultural system." (LeVine 1981:59). Instead of
being seen as discrete systems or even as appropriate analytical
abstractions from data of the same order, cu lture and personality are seen
as components of a larger field. (Kluckhohn 1954: 685). In other words,
culture and personality are linked and follow a similar trajectory.
Socialization patterns are influenced by culture, which in turn affects some
personal ity variations. (Maccoby 2000). Hofstede and McCrae (2004)
point out that each society has its own culture and history since diverse
socialization practises exist in various communities. In light of this
viewpoint, one should not believe that culture devel ops according to
universal laws. Some psychological anthropologists have recently
rekindled their interest in the relationship between culture and personality
(2).
Thus, the culture and personality school lacked a rigid point of view,
centralised leadershi p, or comprehensive training programme (LeVine
2001). However, it did have some fundamental principles that the majority
of practitioners would agree upon. This school pointed out that Adult
behaviour is "culturally patterned," and early experiences shaped a
person's identity. Yet as the individual get older cultural practices and
social institutions, such as religion, had also an impact on the adult
personality traits. (LeVine 2001).
9.3 MARGRET MEAD Margret Mead’s mother Emily Mead, was a sociologist an d a feminist, and
her father Edward Mead, a Wharton School economist, had commitment
to academic success and democratic principles. Franz Boas, the father of
American anthropology, taught Mead at Barnard College in the early
1920s. Mead also had discussion s with Ruth Benedict, who was Boas's
assistant. She discovered that studying early cultures provided a special
laboratory for examining a crucial issue in American life: What proportion
of human behaviour is universal, hence apparently innate and
unchangea ble, and what proportion is socially induced? Clear responses to
this query could have helped a populace that was mostly convinced of the
inferiority of women and the rigidity of gender norms might have some
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68 With time Margaret Mead turned out to be one of the most popular
anthropologists in America. The best -selling anthropology book is still her
work is "Coming of Age in Samoa" (1982). She has written for several
different magazines. She had more than 1400 p rinted pieces by 1976. In
Male and Female (1949), Mead examined the ways that parenthood
reinforces male and female roles in all communities, tempering her nature
vs. nurture stance slightly. She played an important role in highlighting the
benefits and co nventional gender stereotypes. Mead's observations on
child rearing had a significant impact on American society. She keeps
track of her infant's feeding requirements like an anthropologist, identifies
trends in the times, and then plans her teaching and w riting obligations
around those times. Dr. Spock's writings on infant care and, in turn, the
upbringing of the post -World War II baby boomers was somewhat
influenced by this. Despite writing a lot, she has a little impact on
anthropology. Margaret Mead adv ocated for combining of progressive
ideas and a respect for traditions in an endeavor to better the lot of people.
Her life and work have had profound impact. She also started the Institute
for Intercultural Studies in 1944 after financing for her fieldwor k in the
South Pacific was discontinued during World War II. Mead's field
research directly influenced her theoretical concepts. She took part in five
field excursions and researched eight various communities between 1925
and 1939.
Check Your Progress :
1. List out some of the books of Margaret Mead.
2. What is expected from the females of the family as discussed in the
movie/ as discussed in the article and how can you connect it with day
to day real life situation?
Fieldwork :
1. Her book Coming of Age in Samoa. Was written out of the eight -
month stay in Samoa in the year 1925.
2. A exploration of Omaha native American people in the 1930 summer.
3. A cross -cultural comparative research in New Guinea that lasted
much longer, from 1931 to 1933, is doc umented in her book. Three
Prehistoric Cultures' Sex and Temperament (1963).
4. Research in Bali from 1936 to 1938 and once more in 1939.
5. In 1938, Iatmul of New Guinea.
The ethnographic foundation of Mead's primary contribution is also in
child rearin g practices that shapes personalities and in that, gives
particular societies their fundamental characteristics and this is used in
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69 Culture and Personality- Margaret Mead Coming of Age in Samoa

9.4 COMING OF AGE IN SAMOA In the first phase of fieldwork. Mead's researched around sixty -eighty
females between the ages of eight and twenty in three close -knit villages
on the island of Tau served as the basis for his picture of Samoan
childhood. She conducted a series of fundamental psychological tests,
such as rote memory for numbers, and gathered a variety of person al and
familial data on how Samoans judged one another (The most beautiful
girl, The smartest guy, The worst boy).
The main finding was that females' adolescence in Samoa was not
stressful since Samoan culture as a whole absorbed pressure. Samoan
babies ar e breastfed on demand until they are two or three years old, but
within the first week of life, they also receive other foods such mashed
papaya and coconut milk. A girl between the ages of six and seven is
given custody of the toddlers; these older kids s upervise and are held
accountable for their charges' disobedience. The Samoan family is both
bidirectional and large. The group's members were related through
friendship, marriage, blood, or adoption. the freedom to live with other
family members when ther e is tension at home.
Mead claimed that sexual relations among Samoans were common and
unproblematic. Both heterosexual and homosexual relationships were
accepted and widespread. The inclusion of "illegitimate" children into the
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70 Mead argued that Samoan society and children were characterised by easy
transitions and fluid status adjustments. It involved both childhood and
society, not just one or the other. The implications of this study made
Mead's work extremely important.
Additionally, according to Margaret Mead, psychologists who conducted
all of the studies on adolescent behaviour failed to take into account the
natural environment and social context. Anthropologists tended to
concentrate on ideal lab -like settings when test ing their theories since they
had an inclination to do so. As a result, according to Margaret Mead, an
anthropological analysis of teenage behaviour utilising ethnographic
methods was required. Because it initiates the paradigmatic shift from
strictly quan titative data collection methods to qualitative assessment
without losing scientific evidence, Coming of Age in Samoa is a
foundational classic in anthropological studies. (CEC, 2019).
Mead contends in Coming of Age in Samoa that the lack of conflicting
social values in Samoan society at the time of her investigation
contributed to the absence of the adolescent worries that are widespread in
the United States and elsewhere. She also points out that young Samoan
women regularly engage in physical relations b efore having a husband and
children, as opposed to suppressing their desires. Mead contends that
these elements, along with the openness of Samoan society —where
information about birth, death, and procreation is not kept private from
children —contributed to an effortless transition into becoming an adult
rather than the psychologically trying adolescence that is thought to be the
norm in the United States. Hence, the behavior of adult Samoans was
pleasant, without aggressiveness or violent feelings (Kuper, 1989; Library
of Congress, 2021). Mead therefore came to the conclusion that American
Teenagers had no physiological foundation and was culturally peculiar.
She also thought that because of the homogeneous structure of the
community, Samoan females were s pared from the stress of having to
make difficult social decisions regarding their partner and peer groups.
She advised American education experts to concentrate on a system of
instruction that equipped the country's adolescent population to make
moral dec isions in a heterogeneous culture like America where young
people had a variety of possibilities. Mead discovered the Coming of Age
in Samoa transition between the Samoans felt very at ease since they were
spared the "strum and dang" of adolescence in west ern societies. Only
until the Samoan youth reached the age of 15 or 16 were they recognized
for their economic and domestic tasks. Mead used an example from
Samoa to further illustrate the lack of tight parental supervision in that
country, particularly wi th regard to young people's sexual behaviors.
Contrary to this more permissive approach to parenting, American parents
imposed severe rules on their children, which led to disputes between
them and their offspring. (Mead, 1928).
Mead attempted to persuade Americans in books like Culture and
Commitment (1970) and her autobiographical Blackberry Winter (1972),
in Redbook magazine articles, and in her lectures that understanding the
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71 Culture and Personality- Margaret Mead Coming of Age in Samoa deal with sexuality (homosexual as well as heterosexual), that motherhood
and careers could and should go together, that building support networks
for the overloaded new mothers.
Second phase :
The findings of Mead's 1931 –1933 research among three New Guinea
communities is presented in "Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive
Societies ." Her study focused on the fundamental issue of "The
conditioning of social personalities of the two sexes." On the Northern
Shore of Papua New Guinea, these three clans were onl y a hundred miles
apart from one another, yet they had radically different personalities.
Arapesh :
In Arapesh the mother and father shared equally in the responsibility of
raising the child. Young males and even middle -aged men were frequently
complimented on their attractive thinness. Growing food and having
children were Arapesh's greatest adventures.
The Mundugumor culture was built upon the idea that people of the same
sex are inherently hostile to one another. Mother and daughters as well as
the father of the Mundugumor were rivals. The world is hostile when the
Mundugumor child is born. "A world in which the majority of his own sex
will be his foes," Mead wrote. They would find more fulfilment in
physical combat and aggressively pursuing women.
Tchambu li:
Tchambuli males were very interested in art. Every man is an artist, and
the majority of them are talented not just in one art form but in several,
including dance, sculpting, painting, braiding, weaving and other crafts.
The true power was held by Tch ambuli women, who oversaw fishing and
the most significant industries while treating their male population with
"kindly tolerance and appreciation."
Third Phase :
(Fieldwork in Bali 1936 – 1938) :
She and Gregory Bateson investigated the cultural foundations of
personality during this time. The Balinese research is significant because it
produced a Balinese character and used photography as a research
instrument. She blended conventional ethnography with a photographic
record in order to capture and share the observations.
They recorded an orientation -based style of living based on their work in
the mountain community of Bajoeng Gede. She noticed that status and
space -time were necessary for social existence. Each guy knew his
position in the village's social structure. The superior person should sleep
on the eastern or in and side of the lesser person, and the vertical lift
(higher chair for higher status) posture, among other things, indicated the
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72 condition of the soul with little fuss. Their orientation was perceived as a
shield rather than a prison. This cultural information was passed on at
birth. The child gradually adopts these speech and behaviour habits.
In total, she captured 22, 000 feet of 16mm film and 25,000 still images in
addition to thorough ethnographic documentation. It continues to be a
masterwork of documentation and research.
Some Mead detractors have criticised her choice of accommodation on the
island of Ta'u, where she conducted her study of adolescent females, from
a methodological standpoint. She selected to reside in the naval dispensary
rather than a Polynesian home, but with an locals family. Mead discusses
her decision and expresses fear that she would be "patr onising" herself by
not residing in a Samoan household in this previously unpublished letter to
Ruth Benedict. (Congress's Library, 2021)
Criticism :
Mead received a lot of media coverage and the anthropological
community's attention after the publication o f Coming of Age in Samoa.
The book's portrayal of Samoan sexuality was criticized by several
academics, groups, and people of Samoan heritage, and Mead was charged
with bias in this regard. It was felt that the young ladies Mead interviewed,
who might hav e exaggerated or lied about their experiences, were also
accused of misleading her. Derek Freeman, an anthropologist who spent a
significant portion of his career challenging Mead's findings, issued a
critique of her study in the 1980s. The majority of Mea d's conclusions
were upheld by other anthropologists, such as Lowell D. Holmes and
Ellen Rhoads Holmes. Coming of Age in Samoa's results' applicability
remained debatable.
Balinese character exemplifies a central theme in Mead’s work – The
relationship bet ween individual and cultural pattern. This approach is
known as “Culture and Personality”. Mead argued that culture is not just
the individual writ large. The individual is a product of cultural behaviour
that shapes the persons in common but unique manner s. This is later
reinterpreted and re -expressed, relieved as the infant becomes an adult, as
the child becomes a parent. This interaction between individual and
culture is the dynamic, complex process by which humans learn to be
humans, but humans of very distinctive sorts. The processes of human
development can be seen in the way an infant is bathed, the shared
intimacies of husband and wife, or the small gestures that teach a child its
place in the world and so on explain the coherency of culture.
Check Y our Progress :
1. Discuss Criticism on Margaret Mead’s work
2. Discuss Margaret Mead work on Children and Motherhood.
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73 Culture and Personality- Margaret Mead Coming of Age in Samoa 9.5 SUMMARY Margaret Mead was born into a family that was socially well -established,
upper middle class, and well -educated. Her mother was a college -educated
woman involved in a number of social issues, while her father was a
professor of economics. Mead, who had double -majored in English and
Psychology, took a course from Franz Boas during her final year. Ruth
Benedict, who worked as Boa s's teaching assistant and persuaded her to
enroll in graduate school for anthropology. Mead explored the connections
between gender, childhood, and society in both her personal and
professional work. Mead chose the South Pacific peoples as her research
subjects, and she spent the remainder of her life examining the adaptability
of human nature and the diversity of social norms. In her book, Coming of
Age in Samoa, she observed that Samoan children transitioned relatively
smoothly into the adult world of se xuality and this contrasted to children
in the United States, where continuing with the Victorian restrictions on
sexual behaviour and the growing distance between children and the
productive world made youth an unnecessary challenge.
Mead’s work was crit icized by Derek Freeman. He published Margaret
Mead and Samoa. In the work Making and unmasking of anthropological
myth in which he blamed Mead for distorting Samoan society. He argued
that Mead underestimated the Samoan society by assuming them to be
“very simple”. He attributed it to Mead’s lack of command of Samoan
language. Freeman critique that Mead went to Samoa with the
preconceived intension of showing that culture, not biology, determined
human responses to life’s transitions like adolescence. Thou gh later
Freeman was also criticized.
9.6 QUESTIONS 1. Write a note on Mead’s book Coming of Age in Samoa
2. Explain Culture and Personality perspective
3. Discuss the contribution of Margret Mead to the discipline of
Anthropology.
4. Discuss the five perspectives on Culture and Personality
9.7 REFERENCES  https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/83675/1/Unit -7.pdf
 https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/culture -and-personality/ written by
Petrina Kelly, Xia Chao, Andrew Scruggs, Lucy Lawrence and
Katherine Mcghee -Snow.
 LeVine, Robert A. 1982 Culture, Behavior, and Personality. New York: Aldine Publishing. munotes.in

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74  LeVine, R.A. 2001 Culture and Personality Studies 1918 -1960. Journal of Personality. 69:6, 803 -818.  Hofstede and McCrae 2004 Personality and Culture Revisited. Cross -Cultural Research. 38:1, 52 -88.  https://www.history.com/topics/womens -history/margaret -mead
 CEC. (2019, December 3). Margaret Mead - Coming of Age in
Samoa. Retrieved from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTSI_ ueqNqQ&t=341s
 Mead, M. (1961). Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study
of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization. 1928. New York:
Morrow.
 Wurtzburg, Susan. (2012). Coming of Age in Samoa.
https://www.researchgate.net /publication/322277504_Coming_of_Ag
e_in_Samoa

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75 10
PATTERNS OF CULTURE – RUTH
BENEDICT
Unit Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Ruth Benedict – An Anthropologist
10.3 Patterns of Culture
10.4 Summary
10.5 Questions
10.6 References
10.0 OBJECTIVES  To und erstand the context of Ruth Benedict’s contribution to
anthropology
 To familiarize students with the Patterns of Culture in the realm of
cultural relativism
10.1 INTRODUCTION Patterns of Culture, originally published in 1934, is an anthropological text
by Ruth Benedict. Translated into 14 languages and with three updated
English editions, the book is considered a classic in American
anthropology. Benedict popularized the idea of cultural relativism —that
we should not judge other cultures by our standards b ut view them on their
own terms. Just as significantly, she helped establish the “Culture and
Personality” school of anthropological thought, which was a dominant
academic paradigm in the United States until World War II and defined
the field of psychologi cal anthropology as we know it today.
Patterns of Culture set the groundwork for thinking about the relationship
between culture and personality. Following in the tradition of Franz Boas,
Benedict treats culture as a mental phenomenon that is learned, inte grated,
and shared. She takes Boas’s approach a step further, however, asking
what brings coherence to a culture. The structure of the book has three
foci. The first three chapters explain the premise of cultural anthropology
and delve into definitions and case examples of what constitutes culture.
Benedict argues against the idea that culture is based in biology.
The second focus spans three chapters, each one dedicated to an in -depth
case study of a particular culture: the Zuñi of New Mexico, the Dobuans
of Papua New Guinea, and the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island. The final
two chapters include an impassioned argument for social justice and place
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76 examines the ideas of deviance and abno rmality as they relate to society,
asking the question: What does a society do with individuals who do not
conform to mainstream norms? She notes that a characteristic that is
abnormal in one society might be accepted or even praised in another.
Homosexual ity, for example, is seen as abnormal in Western society but
not in many Native American societies. She argues that cultural relativity
is needed to challenge paradigms and thus arrive at a more tolerant,
inclusive, and self -aware existence.
10.2 RUTH BENE DICT – AN ANTHROPOLOGIST Ruth Fulton Benedict (June 5, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an
American anthropologist and folklorist, whose theories had a profound
influence on cultural anthropology, especially in the area of culture and
personality. She was b orn in New York City, attended Vassar College and
graduated in 1909. She entered graduate studies at Columbia University in
1919, where she studied under Franz Boas. She received her Ph.D and
joined the faculty in 1923.
Franz Boas, her teacher and mentor, has been called the father of
American anthropology and his teachings and point of view are clearly
evident in Benedict's work. Ruth Benedict was affected by the passionate
humanism of Boas, her mentor, and continued it in her research and
writing. From t he outset of her career in social science she conceived of
cultures as total constructs of intellectual, religious, and aesthetic
elements.
Benedict held the post of President of the American Anthropological
Association and was also a prominent member of the American Folklore
Society. She became the first woman to be recognized as a prominent
leader of a learned profession. She can be viewed as a transitional figure in
her field, redirecting both anthropology and folklore away from the
limited confines of culture -trait diffusion studies and towards theories of
performance as integral to the interpretation of culture. She studied the
relationships between personality, art, language and culture, insisting that
no trait existed in isolation or self -sufficiency , a theory which she
championed in her 1934 Patterns of Culture.
Patterns of Culture (1934), Benedict’s major contribution to anthropology,
compares Zuñi, Dobu, and Kwakiutl cultures in order to demonstrate how
small a portion of the possible range of huma n behaviour is incorporated
into any one culture; she argues that it is the "personality," the complex of
traits and attitudes, of a culture that defines the individuals within it as
successes, misfits, or outcasts. Six years later, with the publication of
Race: Science and Politics, she refuted racist theory.
Thus, Ruth Benedict focused much of her work on culture and personality.
She entered the field of anthropology from a strong humanistic
background and continued that throughout her work.
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77 Patterns of Culture – Ruth Benedict Check Your Progress:
1. Write a brief note on Ruth Benedict.
10.3 PATTERNS OF CULTURE Ruth Benedict focused much of her work on culture and personality. She
entered the field of anthropology from a strong humanistic background
and continued that throughout her work. In 1929 Benedict presented Boas
with three papers, The Science of Custom, Psychological Types in the
Cultures of the Southwest, and Animism. Benedict used these three
papers, along with Configurations of Culture in North America, and her
notes on the abno rmal in cross -cultural perspective to construct her first
book, Patterns of Culture . According to Ruth Benedict the integration in a
culture is brought about by its content being arranged into a permanent or
semi -permanent design or style. Such a design sh e called pattern.
The primary message of Patterns of Culture is the paramount importance
of learned behavior in human existence. In contrast to prevalent notions of
racial or biological determinism, or of human life as determined by the
surrounding physica l environment, or of humans confined by their place
on an evolutionary hierarchy, Benedict posits that culture provides the
patterning. On the issue of race, or ideas of biological determinism,
Benedict is succinct: “Not one item of his tribal social organ ization, of his
language, of his local religion, is carried in his germ -cell. . . . Man is not
committed in detail by his biological constitution to any particular variety
of behavior. . . . Culture is not a biologically transmitted complex”
(1934:12,14).
Benedict’s final points outline the idea of cultural relativism. Benedict
believed this new understanding could make a difference:
“The recognition of cultural relativity carries with it its own values . . . It
challenges customary opinions and causes thos e who have been bred to
them acute discomfort. . . . As soon as the new opinion is embraced as
customary belief, it will be another trusted bulwark of the good life. We
shall arrive then at a more realistic social faith, accepting as grounds of
hope and as new bases for tolerance the coexisting and equally valid
patterns of life which mankind has created for itself from the raw materials
of existence”. (1934:278)
As Patterns of Culture was re -printed and re -issued, it was almost always
promoted as a gateway to tolerance. Finally, Benedict’s work was among
the first to raise fundamental questions about cultural relativism. Her work
focuses upon the diversity and incommensurability of moral and political
values, and she claims in her conclusion that all patte rns of human life are
‘equally valid’. In practice she does judge some societies as better or
worse than others (for example, by commenting upon the impoverishment
of British Columbian cultures), but more importantly, she sees the
founding moral values of anthropology to be strongly anti -discriminatory.
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78 unconditional rejection of racism, an imperative to understand others and a
recognition that one’s own cultural values are in no sense natural or
absolute.
Check Your Progress :
1. What is ‘Patterns of Culture’?
10.4 SUMMARY Scholars generally agree that Benedict was a woman before her time,
politically and professionally. Deeply critical of ethnocentric perspectives,
Benedict calls for a comparative and informed understanding of all
cultures and peoples. Patterns of Culture also lays the groundwork for
current methods of anthropological investigation and interpretation.
Finally, Benedict’s sustained attention to cultural relativism has be en
adopted in many fields, from multicultural studies to more applied fields,
like education and health, that seek to connect with and be sensitive to the
needs of all segments of a population.
10.5 QUESTIONS  Elaborate on cultural relativism from the pers pective of Ruth
Benedict.
 Who was Ruth Benedict? Elaborate on her contribution to cultural
anthropology.
 Explain Patterns of Culture .
10.6 REFERENCES  Babcock, Barbara A. ""Not in the Absolute Singular": Rereading Ruth
Benedict." In Women Writing Culture, by Ruth Behar and Deborah A
Gordon, 104 -130. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
 Benedict, R. (1934). Patterns of Culture : Houghton Mifflin.
 Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, September 13). Ruth
Benedict . Encyclopedia Britannica .
 Columbia Department of Anthropology:
www.columbia.edu/cu/anthropology/about/main/one/benedict.html

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79 11
MARXIAN FEMINISM - ELEANOR
BURKE LEACOCK
Unit Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Marxist Feminism
11.3 Eleanor Burke Leacock’s Approach
11.4 Summary
11.5 Questions
11.6 References and Further Readings
11.0 OBJECTIVES  To under stand the arguments of Marxist Feminism
 To familiarize students with the contribution of Eleanor B. Leacock
11.1 INTRODUCTION Marxist feminism refers to a set of theoretical frameworks that have
emerged out of the intersection of Marxism and feminism. Mar xism and
feminism examine forms of systematic inequalities that lead to the
experiences of oppression for marginalized individuals. Marxism deals
with a form of inequality that arises from the class dynamics of capitalism.
It understands the class inequali ty as the primary axis of oppression in
capitalist societies. Feminism deals with another form of inequality which
is the inequality between the sexes. Feminism understands gender
inequality as the primary axis of oppression in patriarchic societies. The
goal of the Marxist feminist framework is to liberate women by
transforming the conditions of their oppression and exploitation.
Marxist feminism is an emancipatory, critical framework that aims at
understanding and explaining gender oppression in a system atic way.
Eleanor Burke Leacock (1922 -1987) was a foundational theorist in
Marxist feminist anthropology. Her concern throughout her prolific
scholarly life was with the dynamics of social hierarchies in historical
context, and how outcomes are not predete rmined, but are results of
resistance and whatever emancipatory practices emerge in that context.
For Leacock these struggles were not only structural, but were also
grounded in everyday practices.
11.2 MARXIST FEMINISM Beginning in the 1840s, Marxism ha s analyzed unpaid, reproductive
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80 historicizes reproduction in relation to production to better understand
women's exploitation and oppression in capitalism. Marxist feminism also
theorizes r evolutionary subjectivity and possibilities for an anti -capitalist
future. Particularly important to Marxist feminism are its theories of
imperialism and primitive accumulation, or theft, of land, resources, and
women's unpaid labor to the reproduction of lives and generations.
From the 1930s, Marxist feminism in the US demanded greater attention
to the political and economic dimensions of systemic racism alongside
sexism and class exploitation. Marxist feminism in anticolonial
movements centered imperiali sm and its mobilization of feudal relations
of gender oppression to capture populations, land, and markets.
The Marxist feminist theory was focused on the exploitation women were
subjected to under the Capitalist System with the amount of work they had
to put in. They were forced to work in the industries for longer periods and
were paid extremely low wages as compared to men. Even the working
conditions were extremely dismal for them. Its main idea was that the
women could be liberated only by eliminating the Capitalist System
wherein the women were not paid sufficient wages for their labour. There
are several aspects which Marxist feminism focuses on which are as
follows:
Classless society :
The primary objective of Marxist theory was to create a classless society
wherein both the upper class and the lower class people are treated
equally. At that point in time, women were inferior to men and didn’t
enjoy equal rights. Further, the women in poor households were
discriminated against in the field of labour a nd employment. On the other
hand, the upper -class women or the Bourgeoisie enjoyed certain privileges
without putting in any labor.
Equal pay :
Karl Marx’s theory focused on providing equal wages to both men and
women for the equal amount of work they were putting in. There shall be
no gender -based discrimination in terms of wage payment. In several
books introduced in the 1970s, women were stated as the reserve army of
labour which was however unrecognized many a times. As a result, they
were not provided with equivalent wages for their efforts. Hence, they
should also be provided with adequate protection for their labour.
Reproductive labour :
Marx and Friedrich Engels under this theory also focused on the unpaid
reproductive labour in which the women were involved. Women
performed a very important role of bearing children or procreation which
helped in carrying forward the future generations, but for which they
weren’t paid anything. They also didn’t have an equal opportunity for
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81 Marxian Feminism- Eleanor Burke Leacock where the women were oppressed and were considered to be subordinate
to men thereby creating this gender gap in wages and status in society.
Social wages :
Social wages essentially refer to the amenities that are pr ovided to the
persons in the society. At that point of time, a large number of women all
over the world were landless and were not allowed any social
participation. Hence the focus of the Marxist Feminists was to shift the
attention to the rural women who despite working on the lands were
landless because of male domination and the erasure of the work carried
out by them on the family farms for self -production or self -subsistence.
Wages for household work :
As stated before, the women were not encouraged to engage in productive
labour in the industries and were largely subjected to housework. Hence
under Marxist feminism, there was a demand for the inclusion of the
household work as well as for the determination of the wages. Further,
there was also an opinio n that private property was the main reason for
such an exploitation of the women and there was a dire need to improve
their working conditions be it their own house or their workplace.
Check Your Progress:
1. What is Marxist Feminism?
11.3 ELEANOR BURKE L EACOCK’S APPROACH Eleanor Leacock was born in Greenwich Village to literary critic Kenneth
Burke and mathematician Lily Batterham. Her parents encouraged
education and expected their daughters to have careers. In 1939, she
received a scholarship to Radcli ffe and joined a group of student radicals
who excelled in coursework, but were deemed socially unacceptable to
other students because they were not affluent, held socialist or communist
politics, or were Jewish.
Eleanor Leacock was a unique individual wh ose political life spanned both
academics and the world of struggle. She was an anthropologist who was
also a Communist Party sympathizer, blacklisted from tenured faculty
positions for a number of years until she was finally hired full -time in the
City Un iversity of New York system in 1972. Leacock always saw her
extensive theoretical writing as work in the service of social justice.
As a Marxist, her vision of social change rested on the centrality of
working -class unity and the theoretical tools to under stand the basis of that
unity, namely, a dialectical and materialist understanding of history.
Building on the work of Friedrich Engels’ Origin of the Family, Private
Property and the State , she argued strenuously that understanding the rise
of the nuclear family and women’s oppression historically was central to
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82 For her, it is not possible to understand how class society came into being
without appreciating the nature of the egalitarian soc ieties that preceded it
and how they were transformed. This is where the immense contribution
to Marxist theory of the newly -reissued Myths of Male Dominance lies:
Leacock’s vast research to extend Engels’ theory shows how women’s
oppression is rooted in t he rise of class society and can only be ended with
its overthrow.
Throughout a work life that ran from the 1950s into the 1980s, Leacock
saw her main project as arguing for a materialist framework for history in
opposition to feminists and scholars who in sisted that women’s oppression
is an eternal feature of all societies, rooted in biology, culture, or
psychology. She wrote many of the essays in Myths at the height of the
women’s movement, when feminists were grappling with explanations for
inequality an d oppression, from discrimination on the job to domestic
violence and rape. Many argued that male violence and aggression were
biological, and that conversely, women’s innate maternal instincts led
historically to matriarchal, female -dominated societies.
Her historical and anthropological evidence for egalitarian societies is
invaluable, based on her fieldwork among the Native American
Montsagnais -Naskapi, and the diaries of Jesuit missionaries who provided
first-hand documentation these “collective societi es.” The Naskapi were
migrating hunter -gatherers in Canada who lived in multiple -family bands.
Whether it was hunting or tent -making, men and women shared a range of
tasks, and although there was some gender division of labor, the different
areas were equa l in status. In fact, men had no authority over women,
sexual or otherwise. Fundamentally, decision -making rested equally in the
hands of both men and women.
Check Your Progress:
1. What were Leacock’s main arguments in favour of a classless society?
11.4 SUMMARY The very philosophy of Marxist Feminism is that there should be no
private property or private ownership because it causes greater
discrimination against the women and reduces their role in society. Both
men and women should be treated equally in society and for achieving this
there was a need for revolution. At that point in time, there were gender -
specific roles that were assigned to both men and women. While men
worked outside, women used to work at home and raise their children for
which the y weren’t provided any wages. As a result, the males were
considered superior and had the power to redistribute the income among
family members. This was clearly disregarding the labour a woman
carried out at her home and also led to a distinction between the
bourgeoisie (Males) and the Proletariats (women).
Leacock remained committed to feminist scholarship as a collective
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83 Marxian Feminism- Eleanor Burke Leacock late 1970s and early 1980s. She and June Nash critiqued Lévi -Strauss and
structuralism’s assertion that logical, binary oppositions formed an
underlying universal linguistic code that presumed a hierarchy of terms.
For structuralists, it followed that maleness, representing culture, was
superior to femaleness, represe nting nature. Empirical societies varied, but
all was based on that underlying code. Leacock and Nash provided an
empirical critique of assuming binary opposition, ranking of terms where
binaries existed, and other ahistorical formulations of gender hierar chies.
In sum, Eleanor Burke Leacock remains a foundational theoretician in
feminist and especially Marxist feminist anthropology. From her first field
and ethnohistorical research in Labrador to the field research on youth
suicide in Samoa that she was c onducting at the time of her death, she
practiced intersectionality in her theory and social engagements. Her
career trajectory embodied the struggles so many women scholars have
confronted, her cooperation and collaboration with others was aimed at
produc ing scholarship that situated gender in the context of class and race,
and her commitment to more equitable conditions of life for those
struggling with enmeshed hierarchies and oppressions.
11.5 QUESTIONS 1. What are the main aspects of Marxist feminism ?
2. Elaborate on Leacock’s contribution to Marxist feminism.
11.6 REFERENCES  Armstrong, P., & Armstrong, H. (1985). Beyond sexless class and
classless sex: Towards feminist marxism. In P. Armstrong, H.
Armstrong, P. Connelly, & A. Miles (Eds.), Feminist marxism or
marxist feminism: A debate (pp. 1 –37). Toronto, ON: Garamond
Press.
 Ehrenreich, B. (1976). What is socialist feminism. In R. Hennessy &
C. Ingraham (Eds.), Materialist feminism: A reader in class,
difference, and women’s lives (pp. 65 –70). Lond on: Routledge.
 Gailey, Christine Ward. 2021. “Eleanor Burke Leacock and Historical
Transformations of Gender: Beyond Timeless Patriarchy.” In
“Genealogies of the Feminist Present: Lineages and Connections in
Feminist Anthropology,” edited by Lynn Bolles an d Mary H.
Moran, American Ethnologist website.
 Leacock, Eleanor Burke and June Nash. 1977. I deologies of Sex:
Archetypes and Stereotypes . New York Academy of Sciences Annals
285.
 Sheivari, R. (2014). Marxist Feminism. In: Teo, T. (eds)
Encyclopedia of Crit ical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY.
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84 12
INTERPRETATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY -
CLIFFORD GEERTZ ‘THICK
DESCRIPTION - DEEP PLAY: NOTES ON
THE BALINESE COCKFIGHT
Unit Structure
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Meaning of Interpretative Anthropology
12.3 Understanding Thick Description
12.4 Deep Play - Notes on the Balinese Cockfight
12.5 Summary
12.6 Questions
12.7 References
12.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter three main topics will be discussed firstly meaning of
Interpretative Anthropology, the concept of Thick Description and we will
also learn about one o f the important works by Clifford Geertz titled Deep
Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight. The article Deep play is published
in the book Interpretative Anthropology which was published by Clifford
Geertz. Through the article he narrates his field experi ence and how
interpretative anthropology works in field. In Anthropology the
Interpretative Anthropology is associated with that of Clifford Geertz.
This chapter would be very useful for you to understand how field
investigation is carried out in villages, especially when one is an outsider
(not a local population). We will learn about how Geertz and his wife
faced the different challenges while studying the people in Bali. Learning
about Geertz would help you to take some lessons, the way one should
speak during fieldwork.
Social Sciences at largely at the beginning and to some extent even today
has been influenced by the positivistic tradition which spoke about using
the methods of natural science like measuring, experimentation,
observation, drawing out inferences, conclusion. Social sciences also have
been trying to generalize the problem or even build large scale grand
theories which could be applicable to a large extent throughout the world.
For example – Evolution theory. It is theories like Interpr etative which
brought about a change in both the approach and whereby the subject
knowledge also useful and meaningful. It brings us to the closer to the
goal of understanding truth of the phenomena under study. Hence,
learning about Interpretative Anthrop ology and as a method becomes
useful to you as students of sociology and anthropology. In Sociology,
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85 Interpretative Anthropology – Clifford Geertz ‘Thick Description ―Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight the meanings, actions and placing in the subjects’ shoes while studying
them. In a way, looking from people’s views. Here he uses the German
word ‘Verstehen’ which means deep understanding.
12.2 MEANING O F INTERPRETATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY The term "interpretive anthropology" refers to a particular method of
writing and conducting ethnograp hic research that is connected to ideas
that emerged within sociocultural anthropology. Geertz wrote a book
called "interpretive anthropology" and he saw interpretive anthropology
against structuralist anthropology of Lévi -Strauss 1963. Symbolic or
Interpr etive Anthropology is can be seen as the process through which
actors are giving meaning to their world. Through these meanings they try
to find a place in system or systems of cultural symbols. It is a viewpoint
that Clifford Geertz developed in oppositio n to the then -dominant
objectivised ethnographic approach. It calls for an epistemology ('culture
as text') and a writing approach ('thick description') that will enable an
anthropologist to interpret a culture by comprehending how the people in
that socie ty are trying to interpret themselves and their own interactions.
Interpretive anthropology is "extremely practice -oriented, viewing human
deeds as nonwritten texts, or texts which exist in the social world
(Panourgiá and Kavouras 2008). Geertz's said that ‘Understanding how
individuals think and interpret their surroundings, as well as what they are
doing and how they are doing it, is very important and useful in research.
When Evans Pritchard wrote about the Nuer religion, Pritchard too used
interpretivi sm in his anthropological historical discourse. But Geertz is the
author whose work most embodies this tradition and who continuously
pursued and practised it. Pritchard used to observe, but it was Geertzian
concepts and efforts that really made Interpreta tive stand out. When
Pritchard passed away in his 19th year, Geertz published the classic work
called the "The Interpretation of Culture," which helped define interpretive
anthropology. Geertz's writing is frequently viewed as a response to Levi
Strauss's work on meaning, which focused more on the contrast between
cultural traits than the meaning.
According to Geertz, a culture, or any culture, is a complicated collection
of texts that creates a web of meanings. These meanings are understood by
the actors themselves i.e. "natives", and are then interpreted by
anthropologists in the same way that literary critics interpret various
passages in a text. Like by including the accompanying contexts in the
analysis that enable meaning for all parties involved in the act of
interpretation. Geertz argued in favour of involving the anthropologist in
the ethnographic narrative as opposed to the common ethnographic
technique of observation from a distance. By challenging Malinowski's
assertion of objective and detached observation, which had been the
practise of anthropology up until the 1960s, interpretive anthropology in
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86 In the book Geertz also discusses the Ryle example of the wink. For
example - the wink could be a spoof of another person's wink or an effort
to mislead others into thinking a conspiracy is underway. It is possible to
think of each sort of wink as a distinct cultural category (Geertz 1973d:6 -
7). Winks and twitches ar e produced and understood within "a layered
hierarchy of meaningful structures" (Geertz 1973d:7) as a result of the
blink and the various kinds of winks mentioned above (and those that fall
between them). The goal of ethnography, according to Geertz, is to
understand this hierarchy of cultural categories. So, a thick description is a
description of the specific form of communication that was utilised, such
as a parody of another person's wink or a secretive wink. Ryle gives the
example of a wink which could be interpreted in multiple ways whereby
asking our friend to lie in a situation. Or it could be a symbol of
expressing love to a person or it could be a situation where the dust has
fallen into someone’s eye.
Check Your Progress :
1. Which tradition has b een used in social sciences in the beginning
stage.
2. Discuss Pritchard and Interpretative Anthropology
12.3 UNDERSTANDING THICK DESCRIPTION When discussing "thick description," many academics cite Clifford
Geertz's 1973 book The Interpretation of Cul tures; however, Geertz
concedes that the phrase and idea were first used by British metaphysician
Gilbert Ryle, who studied philosophy at Oxford University. The root of
the idea may be found in Ryle's Concept of the Mind from 1949, where he
extensively inv estigated "the description of intellectual exertion" (p. 305).
In two of Ryle's lectures, Thinking and Reflecting and The Thinking of
Ideas, both of which were released in the middle of the 1960s, the actual
phrase "thick" is first used as a description. T o explain in simple words,
thick description simply describe what someone is doing. It transcends
simple facts and outward appearances. Detail, context, emotion, and the
networks of social ties that bind people. A detailed explanation stirs up
emotions and self-feelings. It introduces history into the present. It
determines the importance of an encounter or a series of happenings for
the individual. The voices, emotions, deeds, and meanings of the
interacting people are heard in the dense depiction. Denzin (1989),
Geertz utilises Ryle's example, which examines the distinction between a
"blink" and a "wink," to show thick description. A wink is a secretive
signal to a friend that requires "deep" description, but a blink is an
involuntary twitch that simply n eeds a "thin" description of eye
movement. Although the physical actions are the same, each has a unique
significance, as anyone who has had the misfortune to mistake the first for
the second knows (Geertz 1973d:6). A wink is a unique type of
communication that has multiple features, including being deliberate,
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87 Interpretative Anthropology – Clifford Geertz ‘Thick Description ―Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight socially established code, and occurring without the other group members'
understanding. of the winker and winkee.
Compari son of Thick and Thin Description :
Gilbert Ryle established the idea of "thick description" in 1949 by drawing
a comparison to "thin description." According to Ryle, descriptions of
what was observed were the only methods utilised in quantitative studies
and some qualitative research. Instead, in order to create meaning from the
interaction, qualitative research must interpret what is seen. i.e., Thin
Description is a situation's observation, description, and outline. On the
other hand, thick description is a Observation, description, interpretation,
and analysis of a situation.
Essential Features of Thick Description :
Ponterotto (2006) lists the five elements of a thick description.
1. Context -Based Interpretation - Thick description entails accurately
describing and interpreting social activities within the appropriate
context in which the social action took place, according to Ponterotto
(2006, p. 542).
2. Recording Ideas and Feelings :
One needs to understand a situation rather than just describe its outwa rd
characteristics in order to express thoughts and emotions. As an
illustration, a pause can mean various things. If an interviewee pauses
because of shock, the researcher must explain this to the reader or else
they may not comprehend. Thick description "captures the thoughts,
emotions, and web of social interaction among observed participants in
their working context," according to Ponterotto (2006, p. 542).
3. Identifying Intentions and Motives :
A researcher must explain the causes of the two people's d isagreement as
they are watching them argue. Just stating that there was a disagreement is
insufficient. To make the description "rich," it may be necessary to
investigate any prior interactions between the two parties or any power
struggles inside the gro up. "A crucial component to interpreting social acts
requires attributing reasons and objectives for the said social activities,"
writes Ponterotto (2006, p. 542).
4. Detailed Rich Accounts :
This stage is referred to by Ponterotto as "verisimilitude,". Ver isimilitude
is defined as "the look of truthfulness" to the point that your reader feels as
though they were present. In other words, the researcher’s work gets
credibility by revealing the finer details. Verisimilitude in research,
according to Ponterotto , is defined as "truthlike assertions that produce for
readers the sense that they have experienced, or could experience, the
events being described" (Denzin, cited by Ponterotto). Denzin (1989). Let munotes.in

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88 us now learn about the article which Geertz has used int erpretivism in the
field i.e Bali, Indonesia.
Check Your Progress :
1. Explain two features of thick description.
2. Who gave the wink example and discuss .
12.4 DEEP PLAY: NOTES ON THE BALINESE COCKFIGHT The central idea of Clifford Geertz's 1972 essay "Deep Play: Observations
on the Balinese Cockfight" is that a people's culture is an ensemble of
rituals, and that it is these texts that anthropologists are attempting to
interpret. Notes on the Balinese Cockfight," illustrates not only the
significance of a specific cultural phenomenon, but also Geertz's
interpretive method, which views a culture as a collection of texts that the
anthropologist must read. Geertz demonstrates how the Balinese cockfight
functions as a cultural text that at least partially captures the essence of
what Balinese is.
Cockfighting is a common and extremely popular phenomenon in Bali
despite being against the law, at least at the time i.e. 1972. According to
Geertz, the Balinese people have a strong aversion to animals and, more
precisely, acts that resemble animals. Geertz writes the Balinese man,
however, "is identifying with his cock, not only with his ideal self, but he
faces most fears, hates, and ambivalence being what it is, is intrigued by -
the powers of darkness."
Geertz contends that while gambling plays a significant and vital role in
Balinese cockfights, the real stakes are prestige and status, which are
considerably more fundamental than mere financial gain. Geertz makes a
distinction between "deep conflicts," which h ave large wages, and
"shallow fights," which typically have low wages for both prestige and
gambling. In line with Bentham, Geertz describes a "deep conflict" as one
in which the stakes are so great that participants lose all sense of reason. A
deep fight, as it relates to the Balinese cockfight, is one in which the
outcomes are unpredictable, the chances are more even, and the bets are
more evenly distributed.
Financial gain is not the main focus of the event while betting fairly,
especially in the case of intense battles; rather, everything that is expressed
in the concept of "status". The goal of cockfighting is status, and the bets
placed solely represent the danger involved. Yet, it is only a temporary
gain or loss, and cockfights help to ensure that st atus is maintained over
the long term despite temporary gains or losses following the fight.
Participants in "deep conflicts" are frequently influential members of
society. Geertz argues that the fight is not between individuals but rather a
simulation of the social structure of families and social groups because
people never bet against a cock from their own reference group. Violence munotes.in

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89 Interpretative Anthropology – Clifford Geertz ‘Thick Description ―Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight almost always involves members of opposing social groups, fighting is
both the most evident sign of social competition and a tactic for putting an
end to it (such as families, clans, villages, and cocks). The Balinese
cockfight, according to Geertz, is a way to play with fire without getting
burned. Although the cockfight represents societal tensions, it is still just a
cockfig ht. Geertz also notes that the depth of the conflict increases with
the prominence of the participants.
According to Geertz, the Balinese cockfight's "deep play" is comparable to
a work of art that reveals a crucial truth about our own being. It is a
const ructed symbol for something that is incredibly genuine in our social
lives. It directs hostility and competition into a figuratively veiled field of
interaction. The Balinese people's social and cultural structures, which are
dramatised through cockfights, are both represented by and shaped by the
fights. Geertz comes to the conclusion that rituals like the Balinese
cockfight are a type of text that can be read. It is of utmost interest to the
anthropological since it is how society communicates with itself about
itself. Geertz further points out that the cockfight becomes deeper the
higher the status of the participants, the more one identifies with his cock,
and the more minor the financial side of the connected gambling becomes
in compared to the symbolic features of the fight.
Clifford Geertz even writes how he entered the field and faced rejection.
Every day he walked on the village but no one paid attention to them. This
went on up to the day of a raid on a cockfight they were attending that was
unlawfu l. In order to protect oneself when the police arrived to conduct an
investigation, they fled and took refuge with a Balinese guy and his wife.
Though he or his wife wouldn’t have faced any consequences, unlike the
villagers, they too ran when police came. After this occurrence, Geertz
was well -liked in the neighbourhood, but more importantly, he had learned
the significance of the cockfight itself. After the incident every day some
local invite him on their home and laugh how he ran like others. It is at
this point that the gap between researched (bali) and the researcher got
over. A kind of acceptance that he didn’t receive till that point. After this
incident people interacted with him freely.
The cocks in Bali are merely acting as a substitute for their trainers by
sparring in a symbolic manner. Geertz intentionally uses a double entendre
when he refers to a man as being attached to his cock. The cocks are
viewed as extensions of the male owners' body. Balinese moral language
is replete with images of ro osters. Males have a strong bond with their
cocks, and they take excellent care of them by feeding them special food,
spending time with them, grooming them, and other behaviours. The
Balinese view animality, which they consider as the antithesis of mankin d,
as being represented by the birds. By identifying with a cock, a Balinese
man is simultaneously connecting with what he most despises and fears
because the Balinese despise their animalistic behaviour.
In this manner to appease the demons or animality, cockfighting is
performed before temple festivals and holidays. It is a blood sacrifice to
the demons or animality. The cockfight is extremely controlled and munotes.in

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90 meticulously prepared, as one might anticipate from a tradition that is so
significant to a commu nity. Everyone involved is required to follow a
rigorous set of guidelines and perform certain roles. The cockfight is thus
simultaneously a seething ball of animal chaos and a strictly controlled
societal phenomenon.
The cockfight is heavily controlled, and betting is a major component of it.
Both main bets (between contestants) and side bets are available (between
spectators). The chances for side bets vary depending on the amount of the
primary bet, although the primary bet is always made in money.
Acco rding to the logic, the higher the primary wager, the more likely it is
that the match will really result in an equal score, with side wagers tending
towards the low end of the range. Geertz refers to matches with larger
primary bets as "deep," which means that the loser will incur a greater
cost.
These matches are more engaging for all parties involved. Yet there are
other costs as well. In these wagers, money is viewed as a kind of
euphemism for moral importance, position, or prestige. Losing a cockfight
is comparable to getting a particularly offensive insult and financial loss.
As everyone involved certainly has an interest in a particular bird's success
or failure, the stakes raised increase the significance of the conflicts.
Outside bets are required to support the birds like friends and relatives.
So, it is possible to see the cockfight as a dramatisation and embodiment
of larger social tragedies in Balinese society.
The "depth" of a match is determined by two factors: 1. If the contestants
are close status equals (or personal adversaries); 2. If the contestants are
high status people. The stakes for each participant increase as the match
progresses, and gambling increasingly becomes less about money and
more about status.
Despite the intense drama an d emotional stakes, nobody's standing is ever
directly affected by the cockfight. The conflicts that occur in daily social
life are represented by and symbolised by the cockfight. Conflicts and
stress in society are evident. It transforms the men's selves into their birds,
giving the fights a sense of gravitas and, in Geertz's opinion, expressing
something unpleasant about the Balinese people or their way of life. There
are brief, isolated bouts of "fullness" and "emptiness" during the fights.
Even though i t mimics Balinese life, its brutality and violence run counter
to it. It depicts Balinese society as exactly the opposite of what it aspires
to be.
The conflicts revolve around relationships of status and social standing.
They learn from the arguments that these relationships are either life or
death. When viewed in the context of daily life, the cocks serve as a
reminder of what every man -regardless of his social status —represents as
being terrible and unpleasant. The activity of cockfighting offers a
figurative commentary on Bali's overall social stratification system. Hence
it stands to reason that cockfighting is an artistic endeavor and an
expressive application of human behaviour. Geertz likens it to a text that munotes.in

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91 Interpretative Anthropology – Clifford Geertz ‘Thick Description ―Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight can be read, interpreted, and examined. He broadens this idea by
considering all facets of culture to be texts and referring to culture as a
whole as a "assemblage of texts." This analysis is advantageous for
cockfighting. This analysis is advantageous to cockfighting because it
highlights the f undamental characteristic of how it uses emotion to further
cognitive objectives. The cockfight conveys its message while also
perpetuating it when it is repeatedly seen as either a central or sideline
player. Although cockfighting is not the only lesson o r self -deprecating
tale the Balinese tell, it is a significant one. Cultures each have their own
narratives and perspectives on themselves. As anthropologists, it is our
duty to try to reach them.

12.5 SUMMARY The chapter discuss about Interpretative m ethodology as used in the
subject of Anthropology. In simple words, Interpretative means looking
the context, beyond the surface of the event studied. To explain this in
detail he illustrates his own fieldwork of Bali. He narrates his experience
how he gai ned entry into the field like running along with the people when
police approached the village as cockfights are banned and regulated.
Though interpretative approach has been used by authors like Pritchard,
Turner, Weber in their works or in their discussi on but its Geertz who has
to be given the due credit for using it and writing a book on the title of
Interpretative.
The concept of "thick description" describes how observed individuals'
ideas, feelings, and web of social interactions are captured in the context
of their operational activities. It is mainly used in qualitative research. The
roots for thick description can be seen with Ryle later on Clifford Geertz
used it too. The chapter also discusses about Clifford Geertz fieldwork in
the place called Bali which is located in Indonesia. He explains how munotes.in

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92 through the game can be seen as a connection of status, kinship within
those communities. He also explains his journey as a ethnographer
conducting the fieldwork.
12.6 QUESTIONS 1. Explain the concept o f thick description
2. Write a brief note on Deep play – Balinese cock fight
3. Explain the meaning of Interpretative Anthropology.
12.7 REFERENCES  Cockfight image taken from Wikimedia original source, Indonesian
Ministry of Information. 1958. Bali: When, What, Where, How .
Indonesian
 Panourgiá, Neni (2012). Interpretive Anthropology. obo in
Anthropology. doi: 1 0.1093/obo/9780199766567 -0048
 Ponterotto, J. G. (2006). Brief note on the origins, evolution, and
meaning of the qualitative research concept thick description. The qualitative report , 11(3), 538 -549  Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive interactionism. Newbu ry Park, CA:
Sage. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2005).
 Denzin, N. K. (1989) Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
 https://helpfulprofessor.com/thick -description/
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cockfighting,_Bali_Where,
_What,_When,_How,_p8.jpg
 https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/Home/ViewSubject ?catid=Vu+b7LQyc9e/j
ifd2gmpPA==
 https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/symbolic -and-interpretive -
anthropologies/
 The article written by Geertz is available in this lin k.
 webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey/PDF/410/Geertz72.pdf

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93 UNIT - IV
13
VIRGINIUS XAXA - ―TRIBES AND
INDIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY:
LOCATION OF EXCLUSION AND
MARGINALITY
Unit Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Virginius Xaxa – An Introduction
13.3 Tribes and Identity in India
13.4 ‘Tribes and Indian Na tional Identity: Location of Exclusion and
Marginality’
13.5 Summary
13.6 Questions
13.7 References
13.0. OBJECTIVES  To familiarize students with the conditions of the Tribes in India .
 To understand the contribution of Virginius Xaxa .
13.1 INTRODUCTION The tribal people have been facing problems from both inclusion in to and
exclusion from the dominant development paradigm of the country. The
tribal societies have experienced religious and other cultural inclusion in
to the so called universal or dominant culture and consequently faced the
problem of identity crisis. Exclusion from infrastructure and health and
education etc has led them to a situation where they find it difficult to cope
with the outside world at present day situatio n. Virginius Xaxa, the
eminent scholar on tribal issues and rights has worked extensively on, not
just, tribal exclusion, but also, how adverse the inclusion has been for
them.
Tribes have to go through the process of twin colonialism, one of the
British r ule and administration and the other of the non -tribal population.
Tribes who had control over land, forest and other resources and enjoyed
autonomy of governance got eventually pushed to the margins of the new
political and economic system. There was thus the process of
integration/inclusion of tribes into the larger system under colonial rule
but a process of inclusion that came to be intertwined with the process of munotes.in

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94 exclusion in the form of loss of access and control over livelihood
(economic rights) as w ell as control over decision making process in
determination of their own life.
13.2 VIRGINIUS XAXA – AN INTRODUCTION Virginius Xaxa is currently a visiting Professor at the Institute for Human
Development (IHD), New Delhi. Prior to joining IHD, he was Pr ofessor of
Eminence and Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Chair at Tezpur
University (2016 –2018). He was also Professor and Deputy Director of
the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Campus (2011 –2016). He
taught Sociology at the Delhi Schoo l of Economics, University of Delhi
(1990 –2011), and North -Eastern Hill University, Shillong (1978 –1990).
He obtained MA in Sociology from Pune University and Ph.D. from the
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.
He is the author of Economic Dualis m and Structure of Class: A Study in
Plantation and Peasant Settings in North Bengal (Cosmo, 1997) and State,
Society and Tribes: Issues in Post -Colonial India (Pearson, 2008), co -
author of Tea Plantation Labour in India (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 1996)
and co -editor of Social Exclusion and Adverse Inclusion: Development
and Deprivation of Adivasis in India (OUP, 2012), Work, Institutions and
Sustainable Livelihood: Issues and Challenges of
Transformation (Palgrave, 2017) and Employment and Labour Market in
North -East India: Interrogating Structural Changes (Routledge, 2019). He
was also the Chairman of the High Level Committee on Socio -Economic,
Health and Educational Status of Tribal Communities of India,
Government of India (2014).
Prof. Xaxa, who belongs to a tribal community Oraon from Chhattisgarh,
has written extensively on tribes in the country. His book, “State, Society
and Tribes: Issues in Post -Colonial India,” was published in 2008. His
1999 article “Tribes as Indigenous People of India” is often cited as
essential reading for an understanding of India’s tribal communities.
13.3 TRIBES AND IDENTITY IN INDIA The tribal population as per the 2001 census was 84.3 million, or 8.2
percent of the total population at the time. More than 600 tribal
commun ities are recognized by the Indian Constitution and granted special
benefits by the state, including quotas in educational institutions, political
offices, and government jobs. Their population is characterized by
geographical isolation, a distinctive cult ure, language and religion and a
degree of social isolation from mainstream society. The Constitution also
gives areas inhabited by tribal people greater autonomy in their
governance.
Much of the writings on tribe begins with the colonial administrators an d
then taken over by the anthropological department in the universities, the
anthropological survey of India and by the tribal research institutes in
states and provinces where the tribal population are dominant. The British munotes.in

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95 Virginius Xaxa- ―Tribes and Indian National Identity: Location of Exclusion and Marginality rule thus brought tribes and no n-tribes under one single political and
administrative authority. Of the civil rights, the most vulnerable as far as
tribes are concerned has been one of property and justice.
In the post -independence era the alienation has been justified on ground of
right to make property and right to settlement in anywhere in the country.
While there is no denying the truth that certain aspects of traditional social
structure and culture do constraint development programme; it is equally
pertinent to ask as to why even a fter so many years of national
reconstruction process there has still been a large tribal population, which
has not been connected with social infrastructure or why there has still
been poor implementation programme or delivery mechanism in tribal
areas.
Much of the answer to this lies in the relation between tribes and the larger
society especially in the regional context. The larger society has always
viewed tribes as those who are alien to their society and hence there is
over all indifference towards t heir cause and development. The large -scale
development projects invariably took the form of appropriation of tribal
land, forest and other resources that begun under colonial rule and has
continued in post -independence era except that in post -independence era
this has gone under the garb of national and regional development.
Tribes underwent change not only in their relationship to land but also in
their relationship to forest. Not only that but forest law had also turned
them into encroachers under consta nt threat of eviction and violence. All
this severely affects their identity; in fact puts them into an identity crisis.
Justification of development projects that have been destined to displace
millions from their homes and sources of livelihood have been made on
the ground that the projects are going to be of immense benefit to the
country or region or locality.
In Jharkhand by 1996, for example, 8 major and 55 medium hydraulic
projects along with many more minor projects had come up. Needless to
say the se had displaced a large number of households. Yet the area under
irrigation in Jharkhand constituted only 7.68 per cent of the net sown area
and households electrified was mere 9.04 per cent. Yet the benefits of
these did not go to tribal people of Jharkh and or to the displaced tribals.
Even today in the tribal belts of India in Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, postcolonial India is repeating what the British did and
perhaps even more aggressively. Look at the way in which Forest Rights
Act and various kinds of laws has implicated the tribals and in the process
they have become illegal occupants, encroachers and therefore they need
to be evicted.
One might think that this is a process of integrating them but it is really
the appropriating and di spossessing them of their identity. This remains a
problem because the larger political economy of the tribals is being
ignored. State run schools have forced them to learn the language and
culture of the dominant society, and there is nothing of what you can find
in tribal society as a part of the curriculum. The need to wear new clothes, munotes.in

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96 learn a new language is exactly a new form of colonization in postcolonial
India: where not only land and resources were colonized but also
language, culture, mind. Thus, the interiorization is continued.
Check Your Progress:
1. What are the tribal issues in post -independent India?
13.4 ‘TRIBES AND INDIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY: LOCATION OF EXCLUSION AND MARGINALITY’ The article focuses on the development of national identity in India,
particularly on tribal people. Topics discussed include exclusion of tribes
is exclusion from social groupings that have been associated with India,
emergence of Indian national identity out of the fight for freedom from
colonial rule, and isolat ion of tribes from non -tribes to protect them from
marginalization and exploitation.
National identity is generally posited as a feeling of consciousness and
loyalty toward one’s community as ethnos (people). As ethnos,
communities have common origins (rea l or fictitious), histories,
languages, cultures, customs, traditions, and territorial boundaries.
Communities also have sovereignty, and they care specifically for their
members’ interests and welfare. At the same time, communities seek to
preserve and pr omote their national identity through the enrichment and
revival of language and other social and cultural customs.
Religion, language, region, caste, and tribe are the most critical aspects of
India’s diversity. Moreover, there are people who fall outside of such
linguistic -cum-regional societies and thereby are excluded from the caste
system as well. They have been generally described as tribes with their
own language, religion, culture, and geographical territories. They regulate
their social and cultura l life according to their own traditions, norms, and
values.
Xaxa’s paper addresses the development of the Indian national identity,
with a particular focus on tribal people. How have tribal people related to
the development of Indian national identity in colonial and post -colonial
India? What have they contributed to the nation -building process? How
have the na tion and national leadership accounted for tribal people in the
nation -building process? How have they fared in this process and why?
How have conf lict and alienation manifested themselves?
Tribes are scattered over the length and breadth of the country, but their
distribution is far from even. One commonality shared by tribes is
exclusion from many social groupings that have historically, socially, and
culturally been associated with India. For example, tribes are not part of
the dominant linguistic groups, such as Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati,
and so on. Even more importantly, tribes do not share the religious ideas,
values, institutions, and cu ltural practices that comprise Hinduism.
Hinduism has knit the dominant linguistic groups together. These social munotes.in

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97 Virginius Xaxa- ―Tribes and Indian National Identity: Location of Exclusion and Marginality groupings, from which tribes are excluded, form the key pillars of Indian
national identity.
Nationalism in India emerged out of India’s strugg le for freedom from
British rule. Given its geographical size; linguistic and religious diversity;
and above all, fragmentation and segmentation into different castes and
sub-castes, Indian nationalism was a remarkable phenomenon. During its
struggle again st British rule, nationalism in India developed two shades
and currents. One en tailed the assertion and articulation of nationalism
against the British. The other comprised the assertion and articulation of
India’s own distinctive linguistic and cultural identity and its aspiration for
a distinct politico -administrative space in conjunction with this identity.
The mobilization and participation of the people in this struggle was,
however, far from uniform. The unevenness was primarily due to low
socioecono mic and administrative positions in the structure of the society
and polity under colonial rule. In this regard, tribes were the most
disadvantaged groups during this period. Tribes generally lived as self -
contained units until the arrival of the Brit ish. This meant that tribes lived
outside of Indian society and not as a part of it. Interaction certainly
occurred between the two, but it was not until the arrival of the British that
tribes came under the same political and administra tive structure as the
larger Indian population.
Tribes thus had to experience two forms of colonialism: one in the hands
of the British and the other in the hands of the non -tribal Indian
population. Tribes who had control over natural resources and enjoyed
their autonomy of go vernance were pushed to the margin of the new
political and economic system through fraud, deceit, debt, usury, and other
related processes.
On the eve of independence, tribes were thus uniquely placed in the struc -
ture of colonial rule and administration . Tribes were first divided by
whether they were inside British territory. Those inside the territory were
then placed under three distinct administrative arrangements:
frontier/agency tracts, excluded areas, and partially excluded areas. Tribes
that did n ot live in such areas came under the same administrative
structure that was applicable to the general population.
Far before the concerted Indian struggle for freedom from colonial rule
emerged, tribes had demonstrated resistance to colonial power and
administration in order to safeguard tribal autonomy and self -governance.
This is evidenced by a series of revolts and rebellions dating from the
onset of colonial rule. However, they hardly find place, or even appear, in
the official writings of the history of freedom struggle movements in
India. Paradoxically, as the Indian struggle for freedom gained
momentum, tribes’ participation in this national movement was either
absent or relatively weak.
At the dawn of independence, tribes articulated their interests with regard
to national development in varied forms. Tribes on the mainland
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98 but notably, they were articulated within the framework of the Indian
union. As for other areas in the region, there was no distinct articulation of
demands. Thus, a large chunk of tribes had no clear voice at the dawn of
independence. In short, except for some tribes in northeast India, tribes on
the whole had no problem with being part of India as this did not m atter to
them. The tribes probably had very little understanding of the specific
implications greater national identity would have on them.
Despite constitutional protection from exploitation and land alienation, in
the dominant national discourse tribal i ssues have primarily been couched
in terms of social backwardness. Underdevelopment was routinely tied to
the isolation of tribal communities, and hence their integration was viewed
as a panacea for the problem. Greater India had come to perceive tribes as
primi tive, uncivilized, lazy, and hedonistic. Tribes were thus expected to
shed those characteristics under a civilizing mission. Therefore, it would
not be wrong to say, that all institutions in India are still far from being
inclu sive.
Check Your Pr ogress :
1. Explain the nature of marginality of Tribes in india.
13.5 SUMMARY Scheduled Tribes are often conflated with Scheduled Castes in the
development literature, although they are completely different social
categories. Physical remoteness and smal ler numbers have gone together
with political isolation and low voice in decision making for the
Scheduled Tribes.
If one looks at the nature of integration one finds that relation between
tribes and non -tribes and even the state has been overwhelmingly
interspersed with exploitation, domination and discrimination, which is
conveniently overlooked. This largely explains as to why tribes have
remained excluded from fair share of access to the fruits of development.
13.6 QUESTIONS 1. Explain Tribal identity crisis.
2. How did the British treat the indigenous people in India? State its
consequences.
3. How are the Tribals and development connected in India?
13.7 REFERENCES  Raghavaiah, V.R.1979. ‘Tribal Revolts in Chronological Order: 1778 -
1971’ in A.R. Desa i (ed.), Peasant Struggles in India. OUP. Bombay
 Sonowal, C. J. (2008). Indian Tribes and Issue of Social Inclusion and
Exclusion. Studies of Tribes and Tribals, 6 (2), 123 -134. munotes.in

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99 Virginius Xaxa- ―Tribes and Indian National Identity: Location of Exclusion and Marginality  Xaxa, V. (2011). Tribes and Social Exclusion, CSSSC -UNICEF,
Social Inclusion Ce ll, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of
Economics, Delhi.
 Xaxa, V. (2016). Tribes and Indian National Identity: Location of
Exclusion and Marginality. The Brown Journal of World Affairs,
23(1), 223 –237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26534720 .
 Xaxa, V. (2021). Decolonising Tribal Studies in India, Special
Lecture by Prof. Virginius Xaxa delivered at Jadavpur University.


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100 14
NANDINI SUNDER―EDUCATING FOR
INEQUALITY: THE EXPERIENCES OF
INDIA’S ―INDIGENOUS CITIZENS
Unit Structure
14.0 Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Nandini Sunder – An Indian Sociologist
14.3 Article – “Educating for Inequality: The Experiences o f India's
“Indigenous” Citizens”.
14.4 Summary
14.5 Questions
14.6 References
14.0 OBJECTIVES  To understand the work of Nandini Sundar
 To familiarize students with her contribution on the Tribes
14.1 INTRODUCTION ‘Educating for Inequality ’ is research report that deals with the
contradictions and dilemmas concerning education faced by Tribes , the
preferred local term for “indigenous people,” in central India. The tribals
constitute some 84 million people, making up over eight per cent of India's
population. Since under Article 342 of the Indian constitution, these
communities are listed in government schedules or lists for the purpose of
affirmative action. Many of them als o inhabit areas of India which are
meant to enjoy a degree of constitutional autonomy.
Professor Sundar has placed her detailed studies of tribal politics in
Central India in the broader frame of studies of the law, bureaucracy and
morality in modern Indi a. In so doing, she has combined innovative
empirical and ethnographic methods and cutting -edge approaches to those
sociological debates which link the study of social change in modern India
to central debates in comparative social theory.
14.2 NANDINI SUN DER – AN INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST Nandini Sundar (born 1967) is an Indian professor of sociology at the
Delhi School of Economics, whose research interests include political
sociology, law, and inequality. She is a recipient of the Infosys Prize for
Social Scie nces in 2010. Sundar is currently engaged in research on the
history and anthropology of citizenship and war in South Asia, as well as munotes.in

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101 Nandini Sunder―Educating for Inequality: the Experiences of India’s ―Indigenous Citizens disciplinary histories in sociology and anthropology. She also continues
with her interests in political economy and deve lopment, environment, and
indigenous people and the sociology of law.
Professor Nandini Sundar is an outstanding social anthropologist of South
Asia, who has made major and original contributions to our understanding
of environmental struggles, of the impa ct of central and state policies on
tribal politics, and of the moral ambiguities associated with subaltern
political movements in contemporary India. These contributions are
anchored in her deep grasp of the legacies of colonial rule for cultural
politics in contemporary India, and in theoretically innovative
understanding of the relationship of major historical events to persistent
structural tensions in Indian society.
The Infosys Prize 2010 for Social Sciences – Social Anthropology is
awarded to Nandin i Sundar in recognition of her contributions as an
outstanding analyst of social identities, including tribe and caste, and the
politics of knowledge in modern India.
Check Your Progress :
1. Write a brief note on Nandini Sundar.
14.3 ARTICLE – “EDUCATING FOR INEQUALITY: THE EXPERIENCES OF INDIA'S “INDIGENOUS”
CITIZENS” Literacy rates among the scheduled tribes are abysmally low compared to
the national average, despite some improvement between 1991 and 2001.
Sundar follows Xaxa’s arguments on the comparis on between the SCs and
the Tribes with reference to education. The central concern for Tribal
movements has been control over natural resources and land in the areas
which they inhabit, rather than upward mobility within the caste system as
in the case of schedule castes ; Tribals face a language problem unlike
schedule castes and Tribes lack the individualist ethic which is intrinsic to
educational systems based on ranking and competition. Finally, unlike
SCs, whose educational aspirations are inspired by their leader, D r.
Ambedkar, Tribe s lack a role model in education.
Hence, Sundar’s article is an effort to problematize the effects of formal
education in terms of Tribals identity and future citizenship. In
contemporary India, identity and access to education are ofte n closely
related. One consequence of the failure of state provision is the increase in
the number of private schools.
Across the world, the introduction of standardized schooling systems has
involved a certain loss of vernacular knowledge. Sundar attempts to show
that the promise of formal education comes at the cost of c ultural identity
and local knowledge for Tribes, as educational processes are
fundamentally cultural processes and that there is little recognition of the
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102 obliteration of their own identities at the hands of the Indian education
system today.
Scheduled tribes are recognized as possessing traditional knowledge of a
kind that is not only useful to them, but has implications However, the
government policy towards Tribals systematically denigrat e any
knowledge that they possess for national growth and sustainable
development. Contrary to the idea that education brings enlightenment, the
formal schooling system transforms social relations. In the absence of
other factors that affirm cultural pride in Tribal identity, there is a serious
danger that education will become a means for individual alienation from
the Tribal community.
Much of the existing research on Tribal education in the central Indian belt
highlights the lack of educational acces s, or the poor quality of education
received: the absence of conveniently located primary schools, teacher
absenteeism, abysmal infrastructure manifested in leaking roofs, non -
existent toilets, furniture, blackboards and educational materials such as
textb ooks and maps. The low literacy rates also have implications for
people’s ability to make themselves heard politically, since they cannot
then document their own problems, write in the media, or send
representations to government.
Although the central gove rnment and state governments have several
schemes for Tribal children, such as stipends, a book bank scheme, special
coaching for entry into engineering and medical college, and the
construction of hostels, they do nothing to address the larger structural
inequalities which are responsible for the poverty of Tribes . At an
underlying level, literacy and the denial of minimum educational provision
is clearly fundamental to the exclusion of Tribes from full -fledged
citizenship rights —acquisition of their lands is lubricated by illiteracy,
with people not knowing what they are putting their thumbprint on; an
influx of outsiders for skilled industrial jobs is facilitated by the absence of
trained Tribal youth, and exploitation by traders and moneylenders is
made easier by having a population without even functional literacy in
accounts. Often, Tribals are blamed for their own lack of educational
progress. In keeping with this trend of blaming the victim, impending
displacement often serves as an excuse for not providing schools and
conversely, the lack of schools in Tribal villages has been cited as a
justification for displacing them.
With reference to their languages, there are several policy documents and
a constitutional provision recognizing that ling uistic minorities should be
educated in their mother tongue at primary level. Correspondingly, there is
practically no education in Tribal languages. Although states in India were
organized on linguistic grounds in the 1950s, in the absence of political
power, none of the major Tribal groups managed to carve out states for
themselves. Further, these groups are distributed across state boundaries
and the languages they are taught in are those of the state in which they
live. Hence, the educated Tribal youth of different states do not develop a
sense of oneness. Coupled with the fact that only 6 percent of primary munotes.in

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103 Nandini Sunder―Educating for Inequality: the Experiences of India’s ―Indigenous Citizens teachers are from Tribes communities, and some do not bother to learn the
language even after several years of being posted there.
Tribal children are not only denied their own languages, but also their own
culture and history. The curriculum is usually based on the experiences of
urban middle -class Indian children, and the kinds of objects they refer to
are often unlikely to be found in a rural home. Tribes rarely feature in
textbooks, and when they do, it is usually in servile positions to upper -
caste characters, or as “strange” and “backward” exotica.
Thus, as this research by Sundar proves, the education system in India, is
highly unsuitab le for the overall development of the Tribes . It negatively
impacts their own identities, worldviews, self -esteem, and knowledge
systems. When all of these are denigrated, these communities continue to
remain outside the margins of the mainstream.
Check Your Progress :
1. How is education affecting the Tribal identity?
14.4 SUMMARY To conclude, it would not be wrong to say that Nandini Sundar are
significantly and critically explored the relationship between Indian
educational system and indigenous identi ty, particularly in the context of
citizenship. The neglect of Tribal knowledge forms, languages and
cultural practices has been detrimental to the cultural core of Tribals and
to the knowledge corpus of the nation. Affirmative Action/Reservation
program mes for Tribes Schedu led Tribes in higher educational institutions
have not translated into assuring them improved access to education nor
have they resulted in net benefits for the community. New curricular
approaches such as multilingualism and lo cally -specific education have
been few and far between. Retaining the positive ethos of Tribal life-
worlds while also enabling them to engage with the larger world continues
to be the major challenge.
14.6 QUESTIONS 1. Who are the Tribals? Discuss their issues.
2. What is interconnection between the poverty and education amongst
the Tribals?
3. What are the chief arguments of Sundar’s research?
14.6 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS  Duary, N. (2010). Education in Tribal India: A Study of West Bengal:
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104  Sundar, N. (2012). Educating for Inequality: The Experiences of
India's “Indigenous” Citizens. Asian Anthropology, 9 , 117 -142.
 Sundar, N. (2002) "Indigenise, Nationalise and Spiritualise: An
Agenda for Education?" in International Social S cience Journal, 173,
373-383.
 Yadappanavar, A. V. (2003). Tribal Education in India: Discovery
Publishing House.

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105 15
PATRICIA UBEROI - THE DIASPORA
COMES HOME: DISCIPLINING DESIRE
IN DDLG
Unit Structure
15.0 Objective
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Media and Sociology
15.3 Patricia Uberoi
15.4 Meaning of Desire and Diaspora
15.5 Sociological Analysis of DDLG and Pardes
15.6 Depiction of Gender Roles
15.7 Summary
15.8 Questions
15.9 References
15.0 OBJECTIVES  To learn about the concept of Diaspora through the two movies
example.
 To understand Ubero i analysis of two movies and locating it with the
social change like migr ated population, norms , identity.
15.1 INTRODUCTION Media many a times reflects the social changes taking place within the
society. For example – the movies of late seventies had characters like that
of industrial workers who became heroes and raised the ir voices against
injustice. As in those days large amount of people were working in mills.
In the late 2000s with globalization the nature of jobs changed, new
middle class emerged some migrated overseas too. This chapter is based
on the article written b y one of the prominent Writer, Sociologist Patricia
Uberio. She through the article discusses the famous movie DDLG -
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Pardes. By using the movie as a case
study, the writer is explaining the changes taking place in the Indi an
society and also the Indian’s who settled abroad and their diasporic nature.
This chapter would be very much relatable. The writer is trying to view
DDLG with Sociological concepts, perspective. She raises questions of
gender dynamics, roles, tradition vs modernity, role of joint family, male
role - strict father and the new generation like Sharukh khan who is
friendly. To understand this chapter, you can view the movies before
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106 15.2 MEDIA AND SOC IOLOGY Media influences every dimension of our lives. For example – many
people check mobile phones in early morning, buy a particular brand tea,
coffee as it’s known, clothes, toothpaste, choice of career, relationships
many factors of our lives is influ enced by media. Sociologists have been
studying the interconnections between media and society for long. For
example – Manuel Castell talks about Network society. The notion of
time and space is reduced with the help of technology. Urban Sociologists
talk about how technology has enabled people to migrate and work in
different spaces like suburbs.
In order to study societies, or sociology, it is necessary to observe,
describe, and apply coherent conceptual and theoretical frameworks to
social processes. In sociology subdisciplines as the sociology of art, the
sociology of culture, and the sociology of leisure, as well as in urban
sociology and sociological studies of modernity and the public sphere,
film and cinema are viable research topics. The majority o f sociological
studies on film and cinema have been carried out by sociologists rather
than film studies experts, possibly because many of them were done
before film studies became a distinct field of study. For instance, academic
sociologists started to b e interested in the movie -going population and its
socioeconomic makeup in the 1910s. With increasingly complex studies of
moviegoers conducted during the 1930s and 1940s, when moviegoing was
at its peak. They occasionally took the form of studies with a p olicy focus
on how movies affected certain demographic groups of moviegoers,
particularly children and young people, in terms of behaviour and views
(Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G., 2012). As cinema represents the culture to
some extent hence any appreciation t owards the films is also celebrated. A
film getting an international award is seen as a recognition. Let us take the
recent example of Natu Natu where different countries are also performing
the dance in India, in a way, trying to find a bond between nations . The
essence is that films can bind people across countries and designations it
diminishes the hierarchy, class, caste, location. Hence, studying about the
present topic also becomes important specially in a time when people are
addic ted to media forms like youtube shorts, Instagram reels or the banned
tik tok. Before getting into the topic in detail let us first learn little bit
about Patricia Uberoi.
15.3 PATRICIA UBEROI At present Patricia UBEROI serves as the Institute of Chines e Studies'
Chairman and Honorary Fellow in Delhi, India. She has previously served
as an editorial board member for the publication Contributions to Indian
Sociology and a professor of social change and development at the
Institute of Economic Growth in De lhi. Her writings are particularly
concerned with comparative studies between China and India as well as
family, kinship, marriage, sexuality, and gender issues. She has authored
several books, including Freedom and Destiny: Gender, Family, and
Popular Cul ture in India (2006), as well as edited or co -edited editions of munotes.in

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107 Patricia Uberoi- the Diaspora Comes Home: Disciplining Desire in Ddlg Family, Kinship and Marriage in India (1994), Social Reform, Sexuality
and the State (1996), Tradition, Pluralism and Identity (1999),
Anthropology in the East: Founders of Indian Sociology a nd
Anthropology (2007), and Marriage, Migration and Gender (2008).
15.4 MEANING OF DESIRE AND DIASPORA The Cambridge Dictionary describes Desire as a wish and specially it is
strong many a times, it is also a want which someone wants to achieve or
get ful filled. The dispersion from a common origin is the fundamental
characteristic of diasporas. Like in the case of the black/African diaspora,
this could be a common past and a collective identity that is rooted more
in a common sociocultural experience than a particular geographic origin.
Yet, the majority of diasporas have preserved ties to their original
locations and among the dispersed populations themselves. Some
academics categorise contemporary diasporas as ethno -national diasporas
to specifically dist inguish them from transnational networks in general
that have emerged in the context of globalisation because their origins are
actual or potential nation -states. In the early 21st century, 10% of people
were thought to be living in diaspora (Britannica). Indians have migrated
overseas to a large extent during the colonial period as indentured
labourers for working in the farms of sugar cane, coffee. Later a large
section also migrated to Canada, America. They also contribute to a large
extent to the resour ces of the country back home i.e., India as NRI. The
chapter also discusses about Kinship. Kinship in simple words is blood
relationship. This is formed either through birth (brother, sisters) or
through marriage (husband, wife).
15.5 SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSI S OF DDLG AND PARDES Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Those with the heart win the bride), also
known as DDLJ and Pardes (Foreign land) , two extremely well -liked
commercial Hindi movies from the mid -1990s . The two movies share a lot
of similarities —so many, i n fact, that the second is frequently thought of
as a mere "clone" of the first. Both feature Indians who have emigrated
overseas. Both people associate a particular set of "family values" with
what it means to be Indian. Both dwell on a few moral decision -making
challenges that are especially relevant to the emerging middle school in
contemporary Indian society.
Two different kinds of moral dilemmas are addressed by DDLJ and
Pardes, and they are intertwined into and through the movie's narrative.
One refer s to the first as the animating logic of South Asian romance since
it represents the tension between personal desire and society norms and
expectations around marital choice. Its ultimate resolution is the modern
"arranged love marriage," which is a method of matchmaking in which a
romantic decision has already been taken and is waiting for post facto
parental permission; as a result, the relationship is considered as though it
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108 DDLJ and Pardes address these common challenges by addres sing
practical issues that sociologists of Indian family and kinship have found
to be of interest. On the one hand, many sociologists had anticipated that
the modernization of Indian society would undermine the practice of
"arranged marriage," encouraging an individualistic ethos and
undermining the endogamic rules that have sustained both communal
separatism and the hierarchical caste system in South Asia. However, what
was expected by sociologists did not take place many a times. Though
movies like Pardes , DDLG portray the nuisances of these systems as to
how they function in a way even romanticizing the arranged marriage or
marriage itself. The internationalization of the middle -class family and
the subsequent difficulty in reproducing Indian identity in transitory
places, on the other hand, are key developments in Indian family life that
the films, which are set among Indians residing abroad, note and remark
on. The ending of the films shows how the grandmother have some voice
but the wives do not.
Thes e two romantic Bollywood classics have, in fact, wrestled with topics
that professional sociologists and anthropologists of the family have just
recently begun to address by emphasizing the social and psychological
repercussions on diaspora.
The foreign -returned Indian, or extremely westernised person has been
regarded as the moral opposite of the person who stays behind, the one
whose principles remain unwavering, at the level of imagination. During
the past 50 years or so, this projection of modernizatio n and identity loss
worries has been a fairly recurrent issue in Indian commercial cinema and
other popular culture media specially focusing around women's sexuality.
It's important to stress that this is still the case. DDLJ, however, disputed
this polari sation. In this movie, the construction of current Indian identity
is not done in opposition to it, but rather via the sexual relationships,
emotional struggles, and psychological problems of the two NRI
protagonists.
The identity issue in DDLJ and Pardes revolves around the marital
decisions made by the offspring of first -generation immigrants, just as it
does in real life for the NRI community. Marriage advertisements in
Indian newspapers both at home and abroad provide ample evidence of
this continuity d ilemma, which parents face as they try to control their
children's romantic desires and pass on Indian "culture," "tradition," and
"values" to the next generation while continuing to enjoy the financial and
professional benefits of living abroad. Sunday newspapers even today one
can find a large amount of adver tisements specially for Indians living
overseas looking for partners who share their "Indian values," as Indian
publications prey on this parental angst.
If you come across the posters of the films, one may disover that the
poster of the film itself through imag ery symbols trys to show the world.
Like the Pardes poster has the by line American Dreams and the tall
buildings representing America. While the DDLJ poster reflecting the
Field and Agricultural Society of India. The symbols of rice field full of munotes.in

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109 Patricia Uberoi- the Diaspora Comes Home: Disciplining Desire in Ddlg ripen m ustard seeds is also showing the local crops than the tall buildings.
Depicting a sense of rootedness.
DDLJ and Pardes discuss the national identity and the Middle -class
diaspora of the last generations. While first - and second -generation Indian
emigrant s' sexual behavior and marital decisions are a big source of worry
for the NRI community, in real life nor in diasporic fiction, theatre, or
cinema, the home community has previously been particularly interested
in these issues. But in DDLJ, our identity i ssues are mirrored onto the
struggles with being Indian in a strange environment. In contrast, it is
believed that they also have issues with creating a moral cosmos within
the context of family relationships. In other words, the problem of being
Indian in a globalized society must be tackled equally by both domestic
and international residents, by NRIs. Second ly, the Indian family system is
acknowledged as the social structure that most closely characterizes what
it is to be "Indian," both domestically and internationally. The theme both
the movies run across is that of tradition and trying to maintain it – namely
Parampara.
When it comes to romance, Pardes is similar to DDLJ, as has already been
mentioned, but it comes to a different and even more dismal conclusion
about the likelihood of sustaining Indian identity in the diaspora. DDLJ
contends that Indian identity can endure translocation, but it must be
renewed and replenished through recurrent trips back to the country of
origin. Pardes, however, revea ls a profound ambivalence towards
diaspora, glorifying its material advantages and enabling possibilities
while bemoaning its moral repercussions.
Both the movie Pardes and DDLJ talks in detail about the role of women’s
sexuality, identity loss, modernizat ion and anxiety of parents though being
located in the Western country. It discusses the psychological conflicts
that the characters go through being out of the country.
Apart from the standard stuff of cinema publications, there hasn't been
much public d iscussion of DDLJ. Perhaps by the time Hum apke hai kaun
(HAHK) released in the next year, cinema critics, feminists, and public
conscience keepers on the left and right had already spent all of their time
analysing its financial success, unprecedented popula rity, and
ideologically conservative agenda. Given the situation, it is sense that
discussion of DDLJ has centered on how similar or different the movie is
from the original. It is nearly impossible to refrain from doing the same.
DDLJ was a phenomenal suc cess, surpassing HAHK's box office take
within the year and demonstrating that the box office success of such films
was not just a passing fad but rather proof of a significant shift in the
public's taste.
Check Your Progress :
1. Discuss how Diasporic feel ings operates among the characters in the
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110 Anthropological Thought
110 2. What is expected from the females of the family as discussed in the
movie/ as discussed in the article and how can you connect it with day
to day real life situation?
Depiction of Diaspora:
The main characters in DDLJ's story are repeatedly reminded of their
moral obligations as being "Indian." These reminders play a significant
role as narrative turning moments and crisis points in the movie. Let's list
them here in the order that th ey occurred. In the movie's opening scene.
Baldev Singh Chowdhury is seen making his way to his shop via Trafalgar
Square without, as is evidently his custom, feeding the pigeons. This is
London, the world's largest city. But undoubtedly one day. I'll go b ack to
my home nation. This scene cuts to brilliant mustard fields, a symbol of
Punjab, a vibrant Punjabi traditional dance, and Baldev Singh feeding his
pigeons in the mustard fields.
The songs like yeh Yeh duniya — ye mera India, I love my India depicts
the NRI diasporic qualities where they are unable to enjoy the new land as
emotionally , they are connected to India.
The conclusion of Pardes story seems to imply that it is certainly possible
to uphold Indian family values in diasporic contexts. The erosion of
cultural identity cannot be avoided, accordi ng to some voices, but can only
be postponed; ultimately, territorialization of national identity is required.
Together, the conflicting viewpoints found in DDLJ and Pardes' cinematic
narratives and the divergent solutions put forth suggest that modern
popular cinema has become a significant forum for discussing the issues
brought on by the diaspora of Indian middle -class families and for
articulating Indian identity in a globalised society. They also imply that
the topic is hotly debated and that there is no simple solution .
15.6 DEPICTION OF GENDER ROLES In the movie Pardes the female character is named as Ganga, in a way
symbolizing it as purity. The heroine’s name named after the river. When
her fiance tries to assault her, she is saved by another ma n (SRK). Kishori
Lal tries to control h is son by the solution of getting a devoted wife from
India. In a way, going back to the old belief. The movie also shows the
role of joint family where the men have more power. In a way, showing
the patriarchal setup .
Simran first appears to us at her house, her hair blowing across her face
and giving off an appearance of barely restrained sexuality. On the other
hand , Simran is seen as waiting for her future husband singing songs
denoting ag ain classifying the female role as waiting and someone who
writes poems for her future husband and expectations. Simran is
attempting to persuade her father to let her and her pals travel to Europe.
She first wins him over with her religiosity (he finds he r worshipping at
the family shrine early in the morning, freshly showered and dressed in a
sari), which confirms in his view that he was successful in teaching Indian
values in children raised in a strange country. Simran then begs her father munotes.in

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111 Patricia Uberoi- the Diaspora Comes Home: Disciplining Desire in Ddlg in the subseq uent manner: In accordance with her father's desires, she is
going to fly to Punjab to wed a stranger. She might return at some point.
She wants to travel to Europe first, so she may spend a month living her
own life and pursuing her own desires. She affir ms that she will not
embarrass her father in any way.
Later Simran and Raj are reunited in Punjab, where wedding preparations
are well underway. Raj refuses Simran's request to have him take her
away.
Even though the actress in both the films like the man yet they are waiting
for the paternal blessing. This Uberoi views as marriage as only
sanctioned through parents as just. As well as a transacti on between males
in the community.
The first implication is that when it comes to planning a girl's marriage,
her wants are mostly unimportant. Although her mother and (the audience)
are now aware of Simran's desire . The father merely observes the modesty
(sharam, "shame") appropriate to an Indian girl who has received a good
upbringing when she discusses the possibility of marriage with her father.
Furthermore, there is no place for her to exercise her free will in choosing
a spouse because her father mak es the final decision, and his personal
integrity depends on her adhering to that decision. She begs for one month
of her existence in against the setting where she could travel freely and
live on her terms. Later she agreed to be the obedient daughter wha t the
parents (male) expected.
However, in her Europe visit, Following the intimate encounter at the
Swiss hotel, which has already been extensively discussed for playing a
critical role in defining Indian maleness. Simran learns from Raj that he is
still looking for the woman of his dreams, who will one day appear in
front of him. He wants to know if Simran feels the same way. She
responds matter -of-factly, implicitly criticizing her own lack of autonomy
(because she was raised in the same alien environme nt as Raj).
Simran's grandma tells her father that Simran doesn't appear to be as
excited about her impending marriage as a girl should be. Simran's father
reassures his mother that there is no issue and that she is only unfamiliar
with the surroundings, t he locals, the food, etc. Yet when he thinks back to
Simran's romance in Europe, he sternly advises his wife that Simran
should forget the relationship. Simran's mother separates her daughter and
cautions her in the meanwhile. Although if it isn't expresse d clearly, the
mother's innate empathy for her daughter's aspirations and her current
predicament (being married to someone against her will) raises the
possibility that she herself may have had a lengthy history of love
relationships as a wife and mother (There is a hint, just a hint, of
transgression here). Second ly, the mother encourages Simran to give up
her goals and "sacrifice" her happiness on the very grounds that she is
criticizing the injustice of "custom" (parampara). Simran is expected to
follow a practise that they both agree is unfair, merely for the sake of that
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112 Simran instructs her mother to inform her father of her desire to proceed
with the marriage to Kuljeet. Albeit perhaps not on her own behalf, actress
Kajol recognized this defeatism in many of the girls she had met.
As Simran's mother sees her breaking the Karva Chauth fast on the terrace
in the moonlight with Raj, she understands that this must be the Raj she
had fallen in love with. She now reiterates her criticism of Indian tradition,
but this time she comes to a different conclusion: rebellion rather than
acquiescence. I won't let my daughter to experience what I did. She won't
be content to be a simple daughter or daughter -in-law. She's going to lead
her own life.
In the undertone of DDLJ, women "speak" to condemn a culture of
kinship in which they're first daughters, then daughters -in-law, and are the
products of barter between males. In this culture, there is no place or
moment where they can legitimately be the subjects of their own desire
and destiny. But, when individuals give up their own desires, it is not
perceived as an assertion of their own autonomy but rather as a simple
admission that they are powerl ess to change an intrinsically unfair
circumstance.
For men, the position is different. When presented with a choice between
following one's own desires and adhering to social norms, one may opt to
sacrifice the latter, yet this use of agency is ultimately empowering rather
than degrading. Parental approval of a love connection, the joyful outcome
that can come from the resolution of this struggle, is for them both an
affirmation of individual autonomy and the fulfilment of desire. The
solution to the dilem ma is simply "good luck" for women. Simran was
simply luckier in real life than the majority of other Indian ladies, as Kajol
recognised. She caved in to the system, but she was happy to be able to get
what she wanted.
Check Your Progress :
1. Discuss the me aning of Diaspora
2. Write few lines about Family and Kinship as explained by Uberoi
15.7 SUMMARY This chapter examines two well -known Hindi movies from the middle of
the 1990s, Pardes and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), which focus
on the issues of transnational location in relation to love and marriage
written by Patricia Uberoi. The family objective in both movies is the
same, but they take different positions on whether Indian identity can
survive in the diaspora. While Pardes contends that the l oss of cultural
identity can be prevented in the short term but cannot be avoided in the
long term, DDLJ suggests that Indian family values are transferable assets.
These divergent approaches distinguish Indian popular cinema as a
significant venue for dea ling with issues arising from middle -class
diaspora and for articulating Indian identity in a globalised world. She
through the case study of two movies discusses concepts like desire, munotes.in

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113 Patricia Uberoi- the Diaspora Comes Home: Disciplining Desire in Ddlg diaspora. She shows how the migrated middle class due to globalization or
other reasons how they behave. She also discussed how even after moving
to another country the expectations, roles from gender specially females
are seen. She discusses how the characters are made like that of Ganga a
sense of purity. On the other hand, Simran likes another man yet to goes
with the father’s decision though she is educated, travelled. In a way, the
main characters still seek parents’ approval. Uberoi questions and points
out such details how the diaspora though moves out of home retain th e
psychological anxiety specially in terms of controlling women’s sexuality.
In a way, several topics like parent’s desire, joint family, diaspora such
themes are discussed and questioned by the author.
15.8 QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the portrayal of Indiannes s in the article written by Uberoi
2. Explain in brief the Gender roles in the DDLJ and Pardes
3. Explain the meaning of Desire and Diaspora and discuss the kinship
discussion made by Uberoi in her article.
15.9 REFERENCES  Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2012). sociology and film. In A Dictionary
of Film Studies : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 Mar. 2023,
from
https://www.oxfordreference.com/vie w/10.1093/acref/978019958726
1.001.0001/acref -9780199587261 -e-0658 .
 Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, December 7).
diaspora. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannic a.com/topic/diaspora -social -science
 https://us.sagepub.com/en -us/nam/author/patricia -uberoi -0
 Uberoi, P. (1998). The diaspora comes home: Disciplining desire in
DDLJ. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 32(2), 305 –336.
https://doi.org/10.1177/006996679803200208
 https://sites.mi ddlebury.edu/harc1009/files/2015/01/Uberoi -
Discipling -Desire -DDLJ.pdf (Full article of Uberoi available in this
link).
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Faculty of Humanities
TYBA
(Choice Based Credit System, CBCS) Semester V and Semester VI Question Paper Pattern for T.Y.B.A
(CBCS) applicable to all the papers from Paper IV to Paper IX.
As per University rules and guidelines With Effect From 2018 -2019 (Time: 3 Hours)

Note: 1. Attempt all questions
2. All questions carry equal marks
(Total = 100 marks)

Q.1 (Based on Module I) (20 marks)
a.
or
b.
Q.2 (Based on Module II) (20 marks)
a.
or
b.
Q.3 (Based on Module III) (20 marks)
a.
or
b.
Q.4 (Based on Module IV) (20 marks)
a.
or
b.
Q.5 Attempt any two short notes. (Based on Module I, II, III and IV)
(20 marks)
a.
b.
C.
d. munotes.in