The Dobe Ju Hoansi Chapter Summary

After reading the novel Nest in the Wind: Adventures in Anthropology on a Tropical Island, written by Martha C. Ward, I learned about a culture on an island that is much different but similar in many ways to ours. The Climate of the Island was tropical with heavy rainfall. The Island was known as a “tropical paradise”. Ward a female Anthropologist went to this Island to study its inhabitants . Some area she focus on was Family, Religion, sex, tradition, economics, politics ,medicine, death, resources and daily activities . Ward approach to getting this information as accurate as possible was to live among the Pohnpeians as . She got involved in their culture and community. She even , though unwanted gained rank in their society. Her and

"Children of the Forest" is a narrative written by Kevin Duffy. This book is a written testament of an anthropologist's everyday dealings with an African tribe by the name of the Mbuti Pygmies. My purpose in this paper is to inform the reader of Kevin Duffy's findings while in the Ituri rainforest. Kevin Duffy is one of the first and only scientists to have ever been in close contact with the Mbuti. If an Mbuti tribesman does not want to be found, they simply won't be. The forest in which the Mbuti reside in are simply too dense and dangerous for humans not familiar with the area to enter.

Caleb L. Fry and Lauren T. Rios Department of Anthropology Lake Tahoe Community College One College Drive South Lake Tahoe, California 96150 USA Faculty Advisor: Daryl G. Frazetti Abstract

The perception of foreign cultures can at times be quite peculiar. The article “Eating Christmas in Kalahari” by Richard Borshay Lee, foretells a classic example of cross culture misunderstanding when people from different cultures operate in a culturally unfamiliar environment. Richard Lee, a social anthropologist, explains what he learned living with the !Kung Bushmen, a South African tribe, for three years. This Gemeinschaft community of hunters-gatherers worked together to teach the anthropologist something important to their people, even though he was unaware of their intentions in the beginning.

In our society today, culture is not what it used to be hundreds of years ago. There is no more “pure” culture. Our culture today is enriched with many different traditions and customs that are being shared and adopted. Due to emigration and immigration, a variety of diverse customs, beliefs, and knowledge moved with every exiting and entering human being. Thus, changing and shaping the culture of many. Throughout the world, the beliefs and religious views of culture are dissimilar around the world. By taking the time to read, listen and learn about certain people’s culture, there will be knowledge and understanding that will be gained.

The book, The Dobe Ju/'hoansi is a great example of an ethnography. It is a very detailed description of every aspect of the San people's life. From the environment they inhabit to the food they eat, the book goes into great detail on how these people survive. More importantly, the book describes their personal relationships with each other and other band level societies, marriage and sexuality topics, and how they solve disputes. Personally, I feel the attention directed towards their interpersonal relationships, was the key in understanding these Ju/'hoansi's way of life. Some of the most important topics mentioned in the ethnography are the foraging for a living, their marriage and sexuality, and conflicts, politics, and exchange.

In Chapter 2 of Ancestral Lines, Barker explores many concepts relating to the Maisins methodology of subsistence. Barker outlines three main methodologies that the Maisin use to sustain their lifestyle: horticulture, reciprocal relationships and trade. The major items needed for the Maisin to subsist include food,Tapa cloth and a social system (Barker 2016; ). When discussing the concept of horticulture and its importance Barker specifically references the garden as a means of not only providing food for families but also determining gender roles, connecting with ancestors, developing morals and establishing a political identity (Barker 2016; ). The concept of the garden liases with his exploration of the role of different reciprocal relationships

While reading both ethnographies “The Hadza: Hunter-Gather of Tanzania” and “From Mukogodo to Maasai” it is easy to spot out differences and similarities between both these simple, yet complex, societies. People tend to believe that indigenous populations are always very similar, as I once did, but I would say while reading these ethnographies I found more differences between these communities and cultures than I did similarities. For my essay I am going to compare both the Mukogodo’s culture and life before and after the transition to Maasai to the life and culture of that of the Hadza. I am going to focus specifically on the similarities and differences between labor and labor

Commonly referred to as Bushmen by the general public and thought of as being harsh wild people that live in the “unlivable” Kalahari Desert. The Ju /’hoansi tribe native to the southern African desert, located along the border of Namibia and Botswana, have been misunderstood and stereotyped for a long time. This is until a man by the name of Richard B. Lee came along and wrote an ethnography about the local systems of the Ju and completely changed how an outsider might view this rural tribe, along with being a fine example of proper long-term field research in social anthropology. This highly regarded book on the Ju /’hoansi is titled “The Dobe Ju /’hoansi.” Although Lee states in the

o     Decade later isolation disappeared and knowledge about the outside world grew. Disagreements as to the progress

Chapter one, “Fieldwork among the Maisin”, describes how anthropologist John Barker, author of Ancestral Lines, goes to Uiaku New Guinea to study the Maisin people. His specific goals were to study how a people can maintain a cultural identify in a modernizing world and how they can live without destroying their environment. Barker first arrived in New Guinea in 1982 where he examined “how the Maisin make a living, organize social interactions, conceptualize the spiritual world, and meet the opportunities and tragedies of life” (Barker 2016:2). He studied the tapa cloth, a fabric made from bark, that the Maisin use as a connection to their ancestral past and to help define their culture. Barker discovered that the Maisin have faith in traditional methods and do what they can to preserve that lifestyle. Barker‘s work went

When you surf the internet to look for the new about Central African Republic you hear stories about terror, civil war, rebels, murder, bloodshed etc. But what are the other aspects of life in the region that no news reporter wants to cover? A trip to the Center of the African rain forests reveals what happens and has been happening for very many years to the region’s residents. In Listen Here is a Story, Bonnie L Hewlett deals with different aspects of women’s lives of the Aka (Foragers) and Ngandu (Farmers) in this part of Central African Republic mainly, and reveals the political, social, cultural, Ideology in life of these people. There are some studies where people are travelling to explore the subjective experience of women’s in small societies, and this book is one of them.

border of Namibia and Botswana. Richard B. Lee spent time living with the people and

“Ancestral lines” by John Barker is a book about the anthropologist’s experience in the Uiaku village located in Papua New Guinea. In the first chapter, Barker tells his readers briefly about him and his education, his and his wife’s experience with the Maisin community, and talks in great detail about the Maisin and their culture in the Uiaku village.

It has been shown that most societies that depend on foragers and hunting rely on close family ties for survival. Kinship is important because of the lack of resources (Nowak, 2010). Mbuti is a tribe of foragers and hunters, living on the resources they extract from forest. The Mbuti live in an area with an abundance of resources and close ties are not needed. Mbuti is the aboriginal name of the tribe; however the tribe is divided into sub-group (Mbuti and Efe). The name of the tribe depends on the dialect spoken. The Mbuti predominately speak the language of the Bantu and the Efe dialect is of the Sudanic language. The two clans of pygmies share a tropical rainforest stretching into the northeast sector of the Congo. The “Forest” is the core of the Mbuti culture (Mosko, p. 898, para. 6, 1987 a).