In the chronological, descriptive ethnography Nest in the Wind, Martha Ward described her experience on the rainy, Micronesian island of Pohnpei using both the concepts of anthropological research and personal, underlying realities of participant observation to convey a genuine depiction of the people of Pohnpei. Ward’s objective in writing Nest in the Wind was to document the concrete, specific events of Pohnpeian everyday life and traditions through decades of change. While informing the reader of the rich beliefs, practices, and legends circulated among the people of Pohnpei, the ethnography also documents the effects of the change itself: the island’s adaptation to the age of globalization and the survival of pre-colonial culture.
Ward experienced the common challenges of living in a new community, including culture shock and social awkwardness. She recalled some of her early accidents while learning the Pohnpeian language, once stating “His canoe is blue!” instead of apologizing for stepping on a woman’s toes. While learning about Pohnpeian culture, she maintained an emic view of Pohnpei. Ward’s anthropological approach is a stark contrast to the project’s ethnocentric psychologist Floyd, who
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Along with encapsulating the culture in her writing, she also documented the effect and growth of globalization. The original goal of Ward was to examine the language, norms, values, and attitudes of this group to obtain survey results related to Pohnpeians’ low blood pressure. Not only did she successfully study her original goals, she also made conclusions about effects of recent colonization on a marine tropical island. Ward delivers a strong foundation from which present-day anthropologists can follow in their
Robbins, R. H. (2014). Cultural anthropology: a problem-based approach (Second Canadian ed.). Itasca: F.E. Peacock.
We see scenes where Mae is happily conversing with her mother in both English and Wampanoag in the car as they pass through a town of Wampanoag named streets. This visual imagery urges the viewer to wonder how these familiar representations of Indian words and sayings work to hide how the indigenous people live in modern times. With the lack of presence of local Native peoples in the forms of mass media, people have started to believe the myth of the disappearance of the Native peoples in places such as New England. The film also briefly gestures, through interviews, that people have started to dismiss Indians as being long gone from the world, and that non-Natives see them as “invisible people” in order to justify the Euroamerican absorption of indigenous regions. The film encourages us to understand that, even with the impact of history, Native peoples still live here, and that they are still connected to their native land, that their homeland is one of the most important relationships. Jessie explains, “I lost my land rights” Translated into Wampanoag is “I fall down onto the ground,” because “For Wampanoag people to lose one’s land, is to fall off your
Underhill, R., Chona, M. (1936). The Autobiography of a Papago Woman, Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, No. 46, Menasha, Wisconsin: Krause Reprint Co.
Robbins Burling, David F. Armstrong, Ben G. Blount, Catherine A. Callaghan, Mary Lecron Foster, Barbara J. King, Sue Taylor Parker, Osamu Sakura, William C. Stokoe, Ron Wallace, Joel Wallman, A. Whiten, Sherman Wilcox and Thomas Wynn. Current Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Feb., 1993), pp. 25-53
Sahlins work provides in a depth-analysis of the Hawaiian culture and how it developed through past events. Sahlins was able to show how paying close attention to culture can be helpful when studying the past. With a detailed tale of Captain Cook’s importance in the Hawaiian culture, the cultural interactions with the British and how it led to dynamic changes in the Hawaiian culture.
Stony sentry’s, carved years ago by Polynesian craftsmen, gaze over one of the most remote places in the world. With their land enlarged by overuse, islanders now draw on a revival of their culture to attract visitors. I intend to tell about this small island off the coast of Chile named Easter Island.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
“The Nest” begins when Steve has a new baby brother named “Theo”. Theo needs lots of surgery and visits the hospital frequently. His parents are worried. Theo may not live. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him. Nobody does. One day, Steve, being afraid of wasps, tries to shoo away a silvery wasp. This wasp instead stings him. Steve starts getting swollen everywhere. They take him to the doctor and they find out Steve is allergic to wasps. Later that night, Steve has a dream. There is an unknown character that says that it can help their baby brother, Theo. He tells his mom the dream and she doesn’t take any note of it. A few days after, his babysitter Vanessa came over to take care over him and his sister. Vanessa was studying biology. She saw a special type of wasp and took interest in it. She told him that the wasps were making a nest. Steve told his parents to call an exterminator. Later that night, Steve had a dream with the same person. They said they would be able to make the baby healthy again, and warned him of the people that might try to stop that
In Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s book This Earth of Mankind, the depiction of the Natives in this novel permits the author to expose the effects of colonization by the Europeans in Indonesia. Throughout this novel, the Natives are consistently portrayed as the social group, who are deemed inferior in comparison to the Europeans, which contributes to their oppression. The two characters that represent this attribute are Nyai Ontosoroh and Minke.
During his research Barker utilizes a series of methods in his quest to understand these indigenous people, from this he was able to capture his readers and make them understand issues that surround not only people form third worlds; but how these people and their struggles are related to us. By using ethnographic methods, such as: interviews,participant observation, key consultants/informants,detailed note-taking/ census, and controlled historical comparisons. In these practices Barker came to understand the people and their culture, of which two things became a big subject in his book. The first being Tapa, “a type of fiber made from bark that the Maisin people use as a stable for cloths and other cloth related uses. Defining both gender roles and history; proving income and also a symbol of identity to the people” (Barker 5-6). And the other being their forest, of which logging firms the Maisin and Non Government Organizations (NGO’s), had various views, wants and uses for the land. Logging firms wished to clear the area to plant cash crops such as oil palms, while the NGO’s wanted the land to remain safe; all the while the Maisin people were caught in the middle by the want to preserve their ancestors lands and the desperate need to acquire cash. With these two topics highlighted throughout Barkers ethnography the reader begins is journey into understanding and obtaining questions surrounding globalization and undeveloped
One of the ways the story shows how the conflict between locals and tourists is through first impressions and stereotypes. “It’s not her fault she’s haole” (21). “She’s not one of us” (22). People in Hawai`i is seen as either a local and/or a haole. From a number of locals, they say that if a person is not from Hawai`i, then she or he is considered haole. Kahakauwil...
According to the statistical data provided by the anthropologist Capstick, the detrimental effects of globalization are illustrated by the increased risks of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. In addition, progress has forced Polynesians to forget their traditional ways of life and mislead to the usage of processed foods and new technology. Not only does this deteriorates their culture but also prevents the passing of rituals from the parents to their children. In relation to Polynesian religious beliefs, the cause of an illness is blamed on the morals of a person that attacks their spirit rather than physiological reasons. As one can se...
The American Anthropological Association 's (AAA) aim is to offer guidelines and promote education and discussion. American anthropologists do this often by speaking and interacting with individuals living and experiencing the culture. Truly understanding, learning, and becoming accustomed to a new cultural environment takes a significantly long period of time, perhaps even years of exposure to the culture in order to truly understand traditions, morals, and customs. For instance in the Shostak`s study on the !Kung people, it was important for the researchers to say words correctly, at appropriate times, and in a culturally accepted manner, in addition, in order to interview individuals, specifically women, the anthropologist would ask one to “enter work” with her and they would talk for an hour or a day, or over a long period of time, perhaps two weeks. When studying another culture, American anthropologists include host country colleagues in their research planning and when requesting funding, establish true collaborative relationships, include host country colleagues in dissemination, including publication, and they also ensure that something is given back to the host. When studying other countries, the process is done carefully and thoughtfully, in order to end the study with new information on a culture and to establish new connections
An important theme in Potiki is the enduring idea that creating and sharing stories as a central part of being human is important. It is a significant theme because the novel is heavily imbued with Maori culture, in which the stories and spoken teachings are given prominence, and also because it is a popular belief that people need narratives to give meaning, structure and value to their lives. This theme is displayed resolutely and poignantly in Potiki’s plot, characters, setting and symbolism, as the people of a small rural New Zealand community rediscover themselves through stories spoken and found in Maori carvings. The idea that humans need narratives is the core theme in Potiki, and it is used also to link other themes and aspects of the novel; it is in this way that we know the idea of storytelling is an intrinsic part of the novel’s structure.
Boas, F. (1930). Anthropology. In, Seligman, E. R. A. ed., Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences. Macmillan: New York.