I. Title: Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa, 20th Edition. Author: Katherine A. Dettwyler Selection of Book: There were numerous purposes and objectives as to why I chose to read this particular anthropology manuscript of all the various other options available. For one, I selected this book initially due to the title of the book. “Dancing Skeleton” was the portion of the title that primarily stuck out to me, and made me imagine African children – who we see on commercials all the time in third world countries, which tend to look malnourished all throughout their adolescents – dancing around with skin-wrapped skeletal bones. Personally, for me, seeing children suffering from malnourishment and starvation must be one of the most unbearably agonizing pains a child can go through, not to mention the suffering of a mother having to watching her child gradually starve to death. I was additionally very much interested in understanding precisely what other individuals in different parts of the world and specifically Mali, are lacking that is affecting their health and well-being so noticeably. Furthermore, I was especially interested is reading informal stories and accounts through the eyes of the author about conducting specified field research on infant feeding and the importance of children …show more content…
Cultures: The people and cultures that are discussed throughout the book of Dancing Skeleton, are that of both the peri-urban and rural Bambara culture of Malians. Bambara culture is closely related to the Mandinka of other West African countries, such as Tamasheq, or Tuareg, often called the Blue Men of the Desert (camel herders and caravaners), Fulani (nomadic pastoralists), Dogon (settlements along the Bandiagara escarpment in Northeastern Mali), and Bozo (fisherman of Niger River). These are the many diverse cultures and ethnicities within the country of Mali, but the primary culture researched and studied using fieldwork by the author was Bambara
In the book “Sacred Rice” author and anthropologist Joanna Davidson delves into the life of Jola farmers in west Africa and explores how rice plays an important role in their lives. She uses storytelling, often personal in nature to demonstrate how rice plays a vital part not only in the gastronomical aspect in the lives of people in north-western Guinea-Bissau but also in their social, cultural, economic, religious and political aspects.
Although the !Kung San of southern Africa differ greatly from the people in the west African nation of Mali, both areas share similar problems. Both suffer from diseases, illnesses, malnutrition, and having to adapt to the ever changing and advancing cultures around them. What I found to be the most significant problem that is shared between both areas is that the people suffered from a lack of education. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, there is a lack of education in proper nutritional practices, taking care of children and newborns, and basic medical knowledge and practices. The Dobe Ju/’hoansi have recently started putting in schools to help children receive an education to help them have better success with the surrounding peoples and culture, but there is a lack of attendance in these schools. There are also many education issues in proper sexual practices that would help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, in a place in the world were theses illnesses are at surprisingly high levels.
It was a great time of despair for the Native American people as the defeat of their nations by the ever westward expanding United States and subsequent placement onto reservations disrupted their culture and way of life as it had existed for hundreds of years. The decade leading up to 1890, which was a main focal point in the history of Native Americans, saw the passing of the 1887 Dawes Severalty Act which called for the breaking up of reservations and offering the Indians an opportunity to become citizens and giving them an allotment of land to farm or graze livestock on (Murrin 628). This breaking up of the different tribes’ social structure was just one of the many causes which led to the spiritual movement known as the Ghost Dance (or Lakota Ghost Dance) that swept across what remained of the Native American people in their various reservations. Other reasons for the Indian’s dysphoria at this time in their history included: lack of hunting, decease of the buffalo, forced abandonment of their religion, nearly forced conversion to Christianity, westernization, and having to farm for the very first time.
The center of discussion and analysis about the sex/gender system focus on the differences between African, European and Creole Women. The sex/gender system describe by Morgan focus on their production, body and kinship. European women are seen as domestic, African women’s work overlaps between agricultural and pastoral. They’ll work in the field non-stop, even after giving birth. African women hold knowledge about the pastoral and agricultural work “in the planting and cultivation of fields the daily task of a good Negro Woman” (145). While Creole women were subordinated, with the job of produce and reproduce. When it came to body, European women’s bodies were seeing as fragile. After birth the rest for a while before they could stand back again or return to their activities “European observers believed the post-delivery period of abstinence lasted three months, and others commented up two- to three year period o...
The Bamana Boli, as we have seen, is a very complicated figure that is very mysterious and for that reason has its fair share of believers and skeptics. The figure has a unique assembly where an assortment of materials and combinations of materials and sacrificial substances create and mold the figure. The Boli is also used in its rituals where it fends of evil spirits with is contained nyama in practices by secret societies such as the Kono, where it effects the people in each community. The combination of all of this gives the Bamana peoples of Mali an ambiguous relationship with the Boli figure that can be interpreted as good, bad, or neutral.
Holloway’s experiences in Mali regarding childbirth and the difficulties of women shed light on the topic of ethical and moral issues in other countries. Prior to reading Holloway’s “Monique and the Mango Rains”, I had only heard about FGM and poverty in Mali. Transforming data and numbers into descriptions of people, Holloway reveals the faces and voices of the people of Mali.
Nigel Barley’s The Innocent Anthropologist explores the lives and culture of the Cameroonian Dowayo tribe. The book follows Barley’s fieldwork gathered during his stay amongst the tribe, affording insight into their ceremonies, language, social norms, and beliefs. Barley’s book stands out in the highly personal tone with which he recounts his time spent with the Dowayo, acknowledging bureaucratic troubles and, oftentimes humorous, misunderstandings. With a translator, Barley embarks on his attempt to immerse himself into the culture of the Dowayo, not hesitating to participate in their festivals (to a certain degree) and incorporate himself in their daily lives. Barley regals the audience with the entire experience of his fieldwork in West Africa, making sure to include how more modern technological and political inventions, such as voting and refrigerators, are regarded by the Dowayo. Barley writes with emphasis on the difficulties of the language, which is tonal and consists of multiple dialects, the Dowayo’s fondness for
Five myths from throughout Africa will be mentioned throughout this essay. They are from the Boshongo, Mande, Shilluk, Egyptian, and Yoruba peoples. For a brief description of these myths please see the appendix. Please remember that these myths do not represent the beliefs and stories of all of Africa.
Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society is an interested and well written ethnography on the Wari’ people. Beth A. Conklin goes above and beyond her call and does the Wari’ people justice by explaining their side of the story to the world that turned a cold shoulder on them for their norms. Consuming Grief helps to open the eyes of its readers to differing cultures and not to judge them on first looks. Beth A. Conklin shows tolerance and acceptance towards the Wari’ norms even if she did not agree with them. Tolerance should be extended towards all cultures around the world, everyone has their own norms and styles and each should be accepted and viewed as if it was a norm in one’s own culture.
Though, it is work of Monique as a midwife which makes this book predominantly useful for learning the cultural dynamics in Mali of sexuality, childbirth and reproductive health of women. The young midwife Monique Dembele working in Nampossela and to the east of Bamako, the Malian villages, is the center of this appealing narrative penned by Kris Holloway who was helping in the Peace Corps in Mali from 1989 to 1991. Kris as instructed by Monique assists in midwifery work in the small, ruined birthing house, which was built by the Chinese in an earlier initiative of
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
Achebe uses the symbol of tribal drums to show the flourishing culture and life that Umuofia experiences before the Europeans arrive. The symbol of drums is often present during cultural gatherings and celebrations in Umuofia. During the feast, which marks a new harvest year, “drums [are] still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound [is] no longer a separate thing from the living village” (104). Drums distinctly relate to the culture and traditions of the village. Moreover, the “persistent and unchanging” beat to the drums also reflects the unity of the society, and how the tribe currently operates (104). These traditions are unique to Umuofia and are an integral part of African culture. However, this unchanging and pe...
Dance was also a big part in the music of West Africa. Dance was performed at ceremonies surrounding fertility, death, worship, adulthood, and other kind of certain concerns of the village.
...African culture encompassed food as a part of their traditions and way of life not only as a source of nutrition but also as a source for medicine to heal common ailments and seek favor from God through offerings. Modern day African culture has however been permeated and has incorporated many other traditions and methods of preparation from other countries. This does not however mean that it has been completely eroded, and many parts of Africa still consume indigenous foods that they get through subsistence farming for their individual nutritional needs.
...econd African Writers Conference, Stockholm, 1986. Ed. Kirsten Holst Petersen. Upsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1998. 173-202.