Comparing The Endicotts And Dettwyler's Ethnographies

Several decades ago the idea of women as subordinate was considered to be a universality by the aforementioned white, Western male anthropologists who lead the field. Despite an anthropologist’s endeavor to be unbiased, the fact is these traditional anthropologists came from a culture where many aspects of human life were male dominant. Though many studied

Gender equality is an aspect of everyday life all societies in the world deals within their own way. It is the concept that men and women are equal to each other. In many places across the globe, women are seen as inferrer to men. Places in the Westerner world still have the ideology of how men are the superior and women are submissive to them. However, this is very untrue for the San society in Africa. It becomes evident that the ancient and long-lasting San society had gender equality when places in the world today are still struggling for the same results. The San society is the oldest and longest lasting hunter/gathering society in Africa. The book Nisa: The Life and Words of !Kung Women written by Marjorie Shostak is the life story of Nisa, women who grew up in the San society. Over the course of the book, her life story begins to unravel. Shostak goes into great detail about Nisa’s childhood, marriages and life thereafter. This gives the reader a clear insight into what it was like growing up and being apart of a gender-equal community that was the San society. Nisa is willing to share her story with the world so others could what it was truly like being apart of a community like the San.

The Sonqo people and the Yanomamo people had their differences, but in the end were a lot more alike than you would think. They both portrayed gender distinctions in everything they did. One gender was always superior than the other, in this case the men seemed to be. Men were always the high and almighty, given way more power than women. As I read more, I began to find some answers as to why this might be so. Each group, the Sonqos and Yanomamos, have their own beliefs and their own way of organizing their pack. This all is different for each group depending on the natural environment they were brought up in and continue to live in. It was very interesting to learn more about these two groups and to see what they all had in common and what they did differently. I enjoyed searching for the frequently asked question as to why they do what they do and if there is any meaning behind it. In the paragraphs to follow, I will be talking more about why gender distinctions develop and also how different environments can shape who you become as an individual and as an united community.

Katherine Dettwyler has been teaching and studying anthropology since about 1973. During this time, Dettwyler sets out to Mali, Africa to study the people of this area in a first hand look to just see how bad life is for them. She left behind her whole life, such as: family, friends, and her teaching career, so that she could help these people in need. She saw this opportunity as a place where she could learn many things and to help those who needed her. Dettwyler faced many challenges when she decided to go to Mali to study and she also learned many new and interesting things.

     Understanding the Cultural differences can lead one to understand Bone from a new perspective. Expectations of difficulty for the women in the book are much more prevalent and the children’s unstable home environment can be understood. Views of

Throughout history, women have been treated as a subordinate. Especially in marriage, women have been taught to think of themselves merely as housewives as their ultimate achievement in life. With this, “Patriarchy is the prime obstacle to women’s advancement and development” (Sultana). The broad principle of men being in control keeps women dominated and subordinate. Patriarchy is characterized by current and historic unequal power relations between women and men whereby women are systematically disadvantaged and oppressed. Accordingly, the male-dominated system existing today forces women to merely accommodated in it in a variety of ways. Traditionally, men went to work and women stayed home to take care of the children. With this, the ideas that the woman’s place was in the home and the glorification of a very traditional role for the woman emerged. Women were celebrated as being pure and submissive while the man’s role was a more aggressive, greedy, competitive one. Many traditional norms follow a basic rule that men are dominant in status and power, so they should be the protective provider, while women should be obedient and

Malian society is undoubtedly dominated by men. While it seems significant progress a lot of women lack rights that in the US are taken for granted. A lot of the restrictions placed on women centered on the theme of gender roles and marriage. In many ways, it seems that the woman, particularly in marriage is a slave. Duran says that “the ten kola nuts that are ritually offered by the groom’s family to that of the bride symbolise the fact that women have no say in any aspect of marriage; yet marriage is the most important event in their lives, since it gives them the status of womanhood.” (14) Women in Malian society must accept a lot, they can beaten by their brother in laws at any time, they must always be submissive, and they must seemingly abandoned their families for their husband’s family. To

They present how anthropology is aiding in filling the gaps in history due to the lack of documentation in certain historical time periods. Without anthropological innovation and techniques, many people and their life histories would be lost in time. Anthropologists take the remains of individuals and give them back their stories and their lives. While their ideas are not preserved, there is a multitude of valuable information that can be extracted and understood via examination of bones and chemical analysis of the remains. The types of information that can be extrapolated from these findings are various: age, sex, stature, and from certain markers in the bones, socioeconomic status, diet, access to food and healthcare, aches and pains, diseases, etc. This information is invaluable when endeavoring to understand the lives of those who lived long ago. I am astounded by the sheer amount of information that can be found in a person’s

Women in the Ibo society are lower in the hierarchy than men; however, they are still holders of very important roles in the Ibo society. Women seem to be useless and without any power, but at a further look into their role, a bigger significance is revealed. Even though wife beating is allowed and women are discriminated in several other ways, they still possess significant roles, such as householders, educators of the children and caretakers of crops. Women also function as spiritual leaders and other important roles in the Ibo religion.

Furthermore, women are often seen as a symbol of cultural preservation and a measure of family honor. In conditions of war and colonial rule, which represents an attack on men’s honor and dignity, attention to women’s roles as prescribed by cultural tradition is often intensified. However, the unusual conditions of war and resistance to colonial rule also may provide openings for women to reconfigure their roles and rights, based on new needs of society.

‘Ethnography is branch of anthropology which has aided social researchers in the quest for a deeper understanding of different societies, social groups or cultures’ (Hammersely, 1995p365). The purpose this essay is to gain an insight into the problems that researchers encounter when the try to gain access to certain fields they wish to investigate. There are many obstacles associated with this research approach and invariably can impact on the outcome of the

Women, more than men, have been limited and punished because of the gender they were born into. This has been true in cultures and societies for many years, and Africa is no exception. The book The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith, shows the present struggles of women that are affected by gender expectations, due to cultural influence, in Botswana.

The cultural practices, or gender roles, of the women and young girls in Kenya typically involve a painful ritual, which may not appeal to the average American teenager. The elders of the community refer to this ceremony as a young girl’s rite of passage, or a transition into the expected roles of a

Clifford Geertz once stated , “The guiding principle is the same: societies, like lives, contain their own interpretations”. “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” article written by Clifford Geertz presents his analysis and study of the Balinese culture while addressing the significance cockfighting in the formation of the culture. Geertz’s narrative which takes place in 1958 in a Balinese village in Indonesia and it focuses on the symbolism of cockfighting, rituals of betting/gambling to understand the culture of the Balinese people. The analysis of the article will also address how gender roles in the Balinese culture relate to the conceptions of gender discussed in class and unique rituals in the culture along with relevant questions that were raised during the critical reading of the article.

Today, many societies are patrilineal and sons would inherit property and economic assets from their father. It is uncommon to find a society in which a female holds more power, control and authority over a male. With that being said, it is also rare that property and lands are passed through female lines, from mother to daughter. However, there are still few living societies today that practice matrilineal customs, one of which is the Minangkabau. The Minangkabau village is located in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Their culture is matrilineal yet patriarchal, as it is heavily influenced by their Islamic teachings and ethnic traditions. Aside from their religious laws, the Minangs also abide to their customary laws, called Adat (Sanday, 1997). The Adat teaches the rules of life, one of the important rules is that one has to be nurtured and disciplined by nature. So for the Minangs, a mother’s active presence around her children is crucial as she is raising the future leaders of the village. In view of Adat, women are allowed granted more rights and land privileges, and this explains the cause of the matrilineal customs that are present in the Minangkabau culture.