American Anthropologist 1949

Adair, John, and Vogt, Evon. Navaho and Zuni Veterans: a Study of Contrasting Modes of Culture Change. American Anthropologist 1949 vol. 51 (4): 547-561.

This article compares the Zuni a nd Navaho tribe’s attitudes in relation to World War II, especially veterans of the war. The Zuni viewed the returning veterans as potentially dangerous sources of change within the community. The Navaho viewed the returning vets as potentially constructive sources of change within their community. The purpose of this article was to find out why these two tribes had such contrasting ideas about World War II, and about veterans in particular.

The Zuni did not seek involvement in the conflict, and remained uninterested until the United States started the draft. The Zuni wanted to send as few tribal members as possible, and in response filled many religious positions (ineligible for drafting) with draft-age males. The Zuni soldiers were allowed leave for religious purposes, and remained in close contact with their pueblo. Also, four fifths (4/5) of Zuni men interviewed carried and used “sacred prayer meal”, essential for religious practices. Upon returning home, the Zuni performed a cleansing rite before being allowed back into the community. At first, the veterans were disillusioned by their return home; drinking and refusal to work followed the first few months of their return. The tribe utilized gossip, rumors, ridicule, and even accusations of witchcraft to re-socialize these members. By 1948, the drinking subsided, vets began to work again, and most married.

The Navaho, in contrast, were somewhat supportive of the war in comparison with the Zuni. All the Navaho received the “Blessing Way” rite before they left for war. Religion is not as big an issue for the Navaho; less than half of the vets reported carrying corn pollen (their sacrament), and none of them regularly used it. The Navaho also did not stay in constant communication, as most Navaho were illiterate. Upon returning home, two or three rituals were performed to aid the veteran in readjusting to civilian life. These were performed mainly for the soldiers’ benefit, and expressed a more

‘welcome home’ attitude than the Zuni. The rumors, gossip, ridicule, and accusations of witchcraft used by the Zuni were not employed by the Navaho.

To understand these different reactions to returning veterans, the authors look at the two groups historically. The Zuni have lived where their reservation is for several hundred years. The Navaho migrated into the area fairly recently from the north, and had greater mobility than the Zuni. The Zuni resisted contact with their conquerors, and used traditional religious practices as a social adhesive. The Navaho had constant contact with various groups of whites, which resulted in a lessened role for religion. Also, the Zuni do not place any value in warfare, as they only fight defensive wars. The Navaho (though not the most war-like) had a history of warfare, and the veterans were viewed as traditional warriors. The final reason for the Zuni actions is the fact that the Zuni are historically uninterested in the outside world. The Navaho, in contrast, are very curious in the outside world. The result is that because the Zuni have a tightly knit, “rigid” social organization, and do not allow for outside elements to influence them (the “activistic”[sic] Zuni), the veterans were not allowed to alter the community. For the Navaho, who have a more “adaptable” social system and are more “acculturative”, this was just another chapter in a series of culture changes. Thus the Zuni and Navaho reactions to World War II veterans have been examined.

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G. THOMAS BENTON JR. UNCCharlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Aginsky, Burt W. and Ethel G. Aginsky The process of change in Family Types: A Case Study. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51 p. 611-614

During the past fourteen years the family pattern of the Pomo Indians of northern California has been studied with the emphasis on the process of change. The change from male dominated society to a society dominated by females was discussed in a previous paper. With the European culture and the number of settlers with the forces such as economic exploitation, the Pomo women took over the duties formerly held by the men.

The research was carried on during 1947-1948, it showed a pattern of dominance that went from patriarchy to matriarchy and then back again to patriarchy. During the years of war there was a large influx of Filipino men into the Pomo territory. The Filipino men remained and married some of the Pomo women.

In the pre-Filipino days the women worked by themselves or side by side with the men and they received their own earnings. This was the accepted and traditional pattern. The children were taken into the fields with the women.

The Filipino men work throughout the year. They put in long hours, earn better than average wages, and have regular work habits. They prefer that their women stay at home and care for the children and the house.

The Pomo have made barriers between themselves and the Filipinos. The men are considered intruders. The Pomo feel that they are of lower class and relatives of a Pomo woman who marries a Filipino are ashamed of them. They believe they have brought disgrace upon the Pomo by the intermarriage.

The young Pomo women indicate their envy of the women married to the Filipino men, because of their nice cars, clothing, and their leisure. The Pomo women use derogatory terms in speaking of these women, but it is apparent they consider these women very fortunate.

The Pomo wives bow to the will of their Filipino husbands, while trying to enjoy their leisure. This leisure fails to hold any collective participation for them. The wife of the Filipino has lost her family support. Even her female relatives ignore her, treating her like an outcast. She no longer has the social life of work in the fields. Instead, she stays at home, or if she goes to town she is accompanied by her husband.

Since the wives of the Filipino men no longer earn their own money, they are totally dependent upon their husbands. The money is given to them rather freely, but the traditional economic independence is lost to them. The Filipinos are often seen helping their wives make purchases.

In the Pomo society today there are two patterns of family life that exist side by side. The first is of longer standing, here we find the Indian man married to the Indian woman, where the woman is the mainstay of the family. The second pattern is that of the Indian woman married to the Filipino man, where the women lives a life of ease with few responsibilities.

The re-emergent culture of male domination places more power in the hands of the men, which they are known to have had in aboriginal days. Unfortunately the data did not permit predictions to be made on the developments of the situation, because only a few cases of intermarriage have occurred.

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ADRIENNE CRAWFORD University of North Carolina at Charlotte, (Dr. Starrett)

Aginsky, Burt W. & Ethel G. The Process of Change in Family Types: A Case Study. American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51: 611-614.

In their article on Pomo Indian society in northern California, the Aginskys attempt to expose the shift in domestic power from men to women (after the economic exploitation by European immigrants) back to men (with the influx of Filipino men during World War II). They argue that two “patterns of family life exist side by side.” The first is “the Indian man married to the Indian woman, where the woman, culturally speaking, is the mainstay of the family. The second… is that of the Indian woman married to the Filipino man, where the woman lives a life of relative ease with few responsibilities.” The Aginskys focus on post-war comparison of Pomo women married to Pomo men and those married to Filipinos, arguing that Pomo women married to Filipinos must exchange participation in Pomo society for economic leisure provided by their husbands.

The Aginskys begin with a description of labor (pre-WWII) and the self-sufficiency of the Pomo women who worked with the men in the fields. While Pomo women were accustomed to working outside the home and bringing their children into the fields, Filipino men preferred wives stay at home. The intermarriage of Filipino men with Pomo women created tensions in Pomo society, as exogamy was considered “a disgrace upon the Pomo.” The authors state that young Pomo women speak with disapproval and envy of women who marry Filipinos.

In these mixed marriages, Pomo women play minor roles in culturally important celebrations, lose familial support and economic independence, and break Pomo cultural drinking patterns. The Aginskys conclude that their observations in Pomo society reveal that “there is present in every population the possibility of more than one type of social organization, and that both of these, or some combination of them, can fuse into a functioning system.”

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KATHLEEN BRADLEY Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin).

Andrews, Alfred. The Bean And Indo-European Totemism. American Anthropologist. April-June, 1949. Vol. 51 (2): 274-292

Alfred discusses in his article whether or not the bean has any totemic significance among the Indo-Europeans. He uses a number of hypotheses made by others to try to strengthen the idea that the bean did not have some kind of totemic significance. The role of the bean in religion, philosophy, magic, and dietetic are studied in both sides of the argument. Andrews, however, is against the bean having any totemic significance.

The author first notes that the field bean belonged to the Neolithic age, and that it was concentrated around the Mediterranean region. He says the oldest finds in Western Europe are found to be in the Bronze Age. Andrews asks not only if the bean was a part of Indo-European totemism, but also if the Indo-Europeans even had totemism. He uses Delatte’s article on the Pythagorean bean to bring to light the features common in totemism and the bean. First, beans contain the soul of dead parents, they can then be considered one’s parents, they have the same origin as man, they play a role in reincarnation, and they are impure (?), which is why it was forbidden to eat them and contact with them is dangerous.

Frazer opposed this view, saying that if totemism was common among the Indo-Europeans, it must be shown not only how it was lost, but also how they lost the institution of exogamy and the classification system of relationship as well. Totemism is commonly associated with clans and Delatte does not show any evidence that a bean clan existed. Frazer also stated that beans were regarded as homes for the souls, not as reincarnated beings. He then implies that there isn’t any belief in a common ancestry in the cosmogenic notions during the historic period.

The author then sums up the general development of the bean: the field bean grew in the wild area where the Indo-Europeans lived and was used by them as food, but probably nothing more because they were not actively cultivated. The flatulence caused by beans lead to the conviction that they were occupied by human souls. This would lead to the belief that they took on the character of human flesh and possessed great powers.

This development of the bean among the Indo-Europeans has little in common with totemism. The big idea that is usually associated with totemism is the belief in a common ancestor. The author concludes by saying that if totemism existed among the Indo-Europeans that one would expect to find evidence of it in connection with the bean because of the many ideas and beliefs associated with it.

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NIKIA REAVES University of North Carolina at Charlotte, (Dr. Starrett)

Andrew, Alfred C. The Bean and Indo-European Totemism. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 274-

Alfred Andrews comes to the conclusion that one has to skeptical of wither Totemism existed among the Indo-Europeans. He provides a careful study of how beans could have been treated as totemic objects for both the Greeks and the Romans. With the use of linguistics analysis he points out the bean in Roman society the bean ” played a role in magic rites conducted in connection with Tacita or Muta, a goddess of the dead.” The bean was associated with reproduction and cultivation thus given feminine goddess. On the other hand, to Greek society “beans belonged in the category of object possessing both mana and taboo.” Beans held a supernatural force that could be occupied by the souls of the dead; and, thereby take on the qualities of human flesh. He provides different interpretations of Greek and Latin scholars to show the most valid interpretation of why, if it all, the Indo-Europeans worshipped the bean.

He continues to argue that ” the flatulence induced by the beans gave rise to a conviction that they were occupied by human souls.” This led to the notion that the bean took on the character of human flesh and carried dynamic powers. Since the beans were bits of the life principal, beans were eaten on occasion’s closely associated with death. Thus, he points out that this interpretation of the bean with dynamic power has little in common with totemism.

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KATHY TAPIA Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Berndt, R. M. and C. H. Secular Figures of Northeastern Arnhem Land. American Anthropologist. 1949 Vol.51: 213-222.

This article is about two Australian artifacts, a ’wur mu and a ’Baijini, which are wooden figurines developed by the Murngin culture as a result of foreign contacts. The ’wur mu is hand painted and carved, most of which represents men, and are no bigger than forty-two inches tall. The Indonesians were inspired to make the ’wur mus settle on their land and collect goods by Dutch contact. The figurines represented Dutch custom officials. The figurines also represented wild natives who would come into the village and steal items that they needed. The ’wur mu is a symbol for a crook or collection man and is used in ceremonies, where the carver of the artifact will go through the village with his group and take any unsecured items. The ceremony is a reenactment of the custom officials or wild natives who would come to the Macassan towns to and take what they wanted, claiming it was payment. The icon is used during burials and the goods are collected by the carver as his form of payment for his burial services. The “crook” figurine has no arms, but instead has feathers that are held out while a parade marches through town symbolizing a man swooping up any unprotected items, like the custom officials. After the ceremony, the ’wur mu becomes a part of a grave stone, or is placed outside the village and is destroyed by natural causes. The erasing of this image represents the officials after they have collected the items they wanted, and sailing back home never to return.

The ’Baijini is a wooden representative of the first foreign visitors to the Northern Coast of Australia, who may have been Europeans or traders from another country. They are hand carved, hand painted figurines, and are mostly women. The figurines are no bigger than thirty-two inches. Wherever their original descent, the Australian aborigines developed this image by observing the visitors’ daily actions. The actual people, the ’Baijini, represent built stone houses along the shore and the women made, designed, and colored clothing for their people to wear. The colors and designs that the women created were imitated by the aborigines onto the ’Baijini figurines. The activities of these women left a huge impression of the Murngin people, because they developed songs and dances that imitate the foreign peoples’ lifestyle.

Although no one knows for sure where the foreign people descended, we do know through archaeological evidence that the Murngin culture came into contact with outside people. Through this relationship, the Murngin culture developed and incorporated that part of their history by creating figurines in the image and behavior of these visitors.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
KRISTIN HISSONG University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Berndt, R. H. and C. H. Secular Figures of Northeastern Arnhem Land. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 213-222.

This article is a second of a series on unrecorded carved human figures of northeastern Arnhem Land, Northern territory of Australia. The peoples termed as the Murgin culture are collectively known as the Wulumba, who are compromised of separately named patrilineal clans. Malayn and Macassan traders were known to trade yearly residing for six months in temporary settlements in the northeastern land. This contact had some effect on the local culture. These authors suppose the making of human figures is originally inspired by Indonesian contact and found that carved posts of human design and human figures were used in secular ceremonies. Similar figures of different design, and painted with totemic patterns are regarded as sacred and used in particular religious rituals. This article describes two varieties figures: ‘wuremu and ‘Baijini.

‘Wuremu figures are associated with the Masscan burial, the post is placed on the grave, carved to represent the deceased and to signify the spirit. The burial dance is then initiated with men placing their buttocks on the pole bent forward with their eyes closed, then they open their eyes and begin to sing. Clothes, food, and tobacco are collected for the services of the carver of the figure. After the goods are collected and the singing is over the figure is placed in the center of the camp or hidden to deteriorate in the bush.

‘Baijini figures are important because of their totemic designs, they are made in the same way of the ‘wuremu and their function is similar. The song used in the ceremony is actually a combination of ‘Bajini and Macassan, and there are several forms of dancing. An “outside” ceremony is danced by women who are reenacting the behavior of ‘Bajini women of the past.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JOANNA PEREZ Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Caudill, William. Psychological Characteristics of Acculturated Wisconsin Ojibwa Children. American Anthropologist. 1949 Vol. 51 409- 427.

Caudill uses Dr. A. Irving Hallowell’s research on the Indians of the Berens River as the basis for his research on the Ojibwa Indians of the Lac Du Flambeau Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. He attempts to show the variability of personality among Indian groups of the same aboriginal background, but with differing levels of acculturation.

Caudill recognizes a methodological problem in his research: defining what was aboriginal and what was attributed to Western influences, something he reiterates throughout the paper.

The data was focused on the results of the Thematic Apperception tests (the same as used by Hallowell) on Ojibwa children. The TAT is administered by showing the children a series of pictures in which they are then asked to describe in detail what is happening in the picture, what the characters are feeling, and what the results of the scenario will be. A story emerges that is indicative of the individuals culture and personality. Caudill describes the different components of his analysis and the specific data from the children. He is able to conclude based on his data in comparison with that of Hallowell’s that both are psychologically very close. He describes the results as a persistence of personality in Ojibwa, despite cultural changes and Western influences.

He explains that the Indians of Flambeau live lives unbound to their cultures, where there is a lack of an adequate culture and functioning social organization. Caudill concludes that for individual personality development to occur, there is a necessity for a well-functioning culture.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
ANNIE KATES Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

De Laguna, Grace A. Culture and Rationality. American Anthropologist July-September 1949 Vol. 51 (3): 379-391.

In this article, de Laguna explores the relationship between culture and the individual from a philosophical standpoint. De Laguna states that man is intrinsically rational, and that his social community and culture nurture this rationality. By breaking down the concept of culture into specific categories, De Laguna is able to explore different aspects of culture and rationality.

The first aspect of culture that De Laguna explores is the intimate relationship between culture and the human mind. It is impossible to separate man from his innate rationality, just as it is impractical to define man apart from his cultural tradition. Man’s rationality is nurtured through the process of his enculturation.

In the second part of this article, De Laguna contends that from birth, a conventionalized environment surrounds man, including traditional food, clothing and objects. This atmosphere produces a creature of habit that conforms to the dominant cultural standards. To prove her point, she explains how man’s sexual life is determined according to his cultural standards. Selection of a suitable sexual partner is based upon criteria deemed important and appropriate by one’s culture.

Next, De Laguna expresses the idea that every child is the heir of a “cultural inheritance” that dictates and defines appropriate behaviors. Social status is complex, and contingent upon a number of variables. Each social status plays a specific cultural role, and each individual assumes a variety of statuses and roles throughout his lifetime. De Laguna asserts that this experience of playing a specific social role is “the prototype of thought in that it involves the idealizing of behavior.” This thought is further elaborated in the fourth segment of the article, which describes how individuals come to associate themselves with certain statuses and roles.

The fifth portion of this article explains that man is only able to act from the perspective that he is oriented to because of his culturally determined opportunities. De Laguna argues that the individual is a microcosm that functions in the greater macrocosm of culture. This idea serves as the foundation for the sixth portion of the article, which describes the relationship between culture and individual freedom. Here, De Laguna states that there is a reciprocal modification between the individual and culture. The final segment of the article addresses rationality and the integration of the personality, and De Laguna argues that complex cultures inspire complex personalities.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
MICHELE ROSNER University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Greg Starrett)

De Laguna, Grace A. Culture and Rationality. American Anthropologist July-September, 1949 Vol. 51: 379-391

In this article, Grace De Laguna explores how a human’s personality and rationality are the result of the culture in which one is born. De Laguna argues that culture determines a human’s desire for sex as well as their desire for certain foods. The point made is that culture outlines the “ideals” of the culture, the specific traits characteristic to a culture and that individuals at their different stages in life use these traits to outline their social roles. When an individual plays different roles in society, he or she is able to express different parts of his or her character. De Laguna examines how the “idealizations” of culture shape individuals, how the individuals take on varying roles at different stages in their lives, and how they use these varying roles and statuses to orient their lives in the outlined scheme culture lays out. However, De Laguna states that culture, although it outlines and restricts individuals, allows the individuals freedom to develop a personality. De Laguna concludes that an individual’s personality has a close relationship with rationality and that “it is only a rational being that can become a person”.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TYLER MARTZ Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Eggan, Dorothy. The Significance of Dreams for Anthropological Research. American Anthropologist. 1949 Vol. 51. 177-197.

Dorothy Eggan focuses on the Hopi Indians in an attempt to prove the significance of dream analysis for anthropological research. She describes the necessity of dream research as a means of understanding cultural traditions that may not be represented in traditional research strategies; noting their effectiveness especially among research with nonliterate groups. Dreams are a universally meaningful element of culture, an indication of how a culture has manifest itself on each member of the society, not only as individual phenomena.

In describing the necessity of dreams for the Hopi, Eggan describes fifteen dreams of one member, Don. The dreams are able to reveal an understanding of Dons personality as well as cultural pressures or traditions, as evident in his dreams regarding his mysterious behavior towards a woman he was never attracted to. Among the Hopi, dreams are considered imperative for ones fate in life. Dreams are remembered and elaborated to others, whether good or bad, as a means of accepting of denying what was seen. The dreams are seen as a pattern of the individual, which becomes clearer as more dreams are recorded. Dream research is unique in that it offers information to the researcher without requiring prior knowledge of the culture; the dreams (if one uses enough samples) contain evidence of socialization, specific to the culture in question.

Eggan does not propose direct methods for using dreams in anthropological research, but introduces the idea, with a suggestion for cross cultural dream field work to be collected.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
ANNIE KATES Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Field, Henry. The University of California African Expedition: II, Sudan and Kenya.American Anthropologist. 1949 Vol.51 p.72-83

Upon conclusion of the work in the Faiyum and Sinai, the members of the Expedition reassembled in Wadi Halfa to cross the Sudan. Brief halts were made also at Abu Hamed and in Khartoum.

In Wadi Halfa, they were invited by Oliver H. Myers to examine the rock drawings discovered recently at Abka, ten miles south of Wadi Halfa. On basalt boulders over a wide area Myers has excavated and recorded forty groups of rock drawings. Remains from the Neolithic and Christian were found. Since no anthropometric data had been recorded on the Nubians in the Wadi Halfa area, Mr. Field measured twenty-seven men in Abka. They speak their own language, as well as Arabic.

From Wadi Halfa to Abu Hamed the following sites were found: a low range of black, crystalline rock, a small white quartz handaxe, and a few flakes were found. A large gray fragment of an ostrich egg was also found. Three miles northeast of this station there were two hills about 125 ft. above level. On top of these hills flaked quartz and rhyolite flakes were obtained. Several ostrich egg fragments lay on the northwestern slope.

On Hezirat el-Mograt, the island opposite of Abu Hamed they found a ruined building believed to be a late Christian building. Many pottery fragments lay on a gravel bank. Continuing westward they collected some flint nuclei, choppers, scrapers, and flakes. About thirty miles south of Abu Hamed is a rock known as Hagar el-Mirwa. On the northeast face of the rock is the life size figure of an Egyptian god. About 2.5 miles southwest of Hagar el-Mirwa is a site known as El Koneisa. Here thousands of sherds cover the continuous low mounds. The pottery here has been identified as third or fourth century Meroitic.

The author was only able to spend three weeks in Kenya Colony. While there he visited the Coryndon Museum. The subjects represented there were anthropology, botany, geology, and zoology. The exhibits show Stone Age cultures arranged chronologically from Lower Paleolithic to Neolithic.

The study collections contain series from Olduvai, Olorgesailie, Elmenteita, Naivasha, and other sites in Kenya. The collections are from 1925, collected by Dr. Leakey and later by Mary Leakey. In British Somaliland they collected Acheuliana and Levalloisian from Upper Sheikh. They collected milk colored handaxes. Flake culture from Damero and surface sites. These were similar to flints from sites east of the Amman-Maan Railway in Trans-Jordan.

In Ethiopia the Paleolithic specimens that were collected surface north of Addis Ababa Airport where obsidian thumbnail scrapers, lunates, blades, points, and scrapers were found. There were seventeen sites found in this area. A rock shelter at Gorgora was also excavated.

From July to November 1947, the Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria was excavated. The material found included: 64 specimens of Miocene hominoidea, 1,595 other mammalian fossils, 158 nonmammalian vertebrates, 943 invertebrates, and 194 paleobotanical specimens.

In 1948, Dr. and Mrs. Leakey will excavate the Neolithic cemetery at Kijabe just of the Nairobi-Naivasha road. It is necessary to salvage the skeleton before flooding destroys them. Mrs. Leakey will excavate a Late Neolithic opal mine in the Molo area in order toe determine the mining methods. Dr. Leakey will search for additional Mocene apes on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria. Since no calvaria has been found, he believes that contemporary fauna destroyed them.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
ADRIENNE CRAWFORD University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Greg Starrett)

Field, Henry. The University of California African Expedition: II, Sudan and Kenya. American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51: 72-84.

This article covers the highlights of the expedition across the Sudan. In the expedition south of the Wadi Halfa, on the basalt boulders over a wide area myers had excavated, stone drawings were found. The Nubian words were recorded.

The Nubian people, in the nearby range of Shellal, and Abu Fatneh, own camels, donkeys, cattle, and sheep. They do not practice tattooing, however they do cut themselves to relieve pain and many have cuts and scars on their cheeks and temples.

Sites between the Wadi Halfa and Abu Hamed were tracked along the railroad and several surface sites were found with interesting excavations, artifacts and old ruined buildings. At umm Disa eight miles south of Khartoum near El Rahawat, Thirty-eight men of the Gumueya tribe were measured, observed, and photographed with assistance,”considerable negroid blood was present”.

The second part of the article focuses on Kenya, where he flew to Nairobi. With guides he was able to see many skeletons, obsidian tools, and graves. The third part focuses on Stone Age Sites with stratigraphical sequencing.

The last portion focuses on physical anthropological data on the Masai or Kikuu, who live near Nairobi. The Masai are confined to the reserve west of the railway from the Moru River. These people, who come to the Saturday Market to barter with spears, beads, and baskets were studied, measured and photographed.

CLARITY RANKING: 1
SARAH MAY OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (Elizabeth Chin)

Gregory, W. K. Franz Weidenreich, 1873-1948. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol 51 (6): 85-90.

Doctor Franz Weidenreich was a man rejected in his motherland of Germany, yet embraced by the scholarly world in both the United States and China. He spent six years in the study of medicine and allied science, and earned his M.D. in 1899. Weidenreich was a dedicated researcher of human anatomy and evolution.

Throughout his lifetime Weidenreich held such titles including, but not necessarily limited to: Professor of Anatomy, President of the Democratic Party of Alsace-Lorraine, Professor of Anthropology, honorary Director of the Cenozoic Research Laboratory of Geologic Survey of China, and as an honored Guest Researcher at the American Museum of Natural History. These titles help represent to us his contributions to medicine, anthropology, and history. Among his personal interests in botany and mountain climbing his academic interest was the study of the human body. He did significant research in the areas of comparative study of primitive man, evolution, the structure and function of the mammalian cerebellum, hematology, the origin of man, the problems of human races, and the archeology of primitive human remains. His contributions were crucial in our developing understanding of the history of human evolution and race. Weidenreich lived in a time and place where race was a matter of life and death. Parallel to his research was the personal pain and distraction brought about by the first and second World Wars. While family members were racially persecuted, he managed to continue to contribute to the betterment of the world. The author writes that Weidenreich “lived by the light of reason and strove constantly to discover the facts and fundamental principles of human evolution; nor did he ever fail to give his own knowledge freely for the benefit of mankind.” Having moved to New York and settled into the New World, his work continued to progress. Weidenreich published a new book in 1946. “Apes, Giants, and Man” brought publicity to his revolutionary theories concerning the ancestry of man. Weidenreich believed,” The ancestors of man, before the separation of the modern races, were not pygmies, as often supposed, but rather, giants.” His extensive research leading to this theory involved the excavation of human skulls, carefully piecing the fragmented bone together, directing the illustration of these items, and the writing of his findings in manuscripts.

Hundreds of his papers written on the origin of man and man’s anatomy advanced our world of science. Dr. Gregory, author of this obituary is also the author of a full bibliography of Weidenreich’s publications. Gregory gives us a condensed list of Weidenreich’s major contributions and presents him as a priceless member of early physical anthropology.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
MARSIA YENCSKO University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Gregory, W. K. Franz Weidenreich, 1873-1948. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 85-90.

Franz Weidenreich, a man of science, made contributions not only to the fields of science, but to anthropology as well. He attempted to uncover and explain the science and evolution of man. Franz was born June 7, 1873, in Germany, the youngest of four. As a young man, Franz studied at four fine Germany universities over a six-year period, where he focused on medicine and allied sciences. As a professional, Franz published 215 works, the last of which remains unpublished.

Franz Weidenreich began his studies in hematology but gradually moved toward studies of tissues, ligaments, bone, teeth, and dentine to name few. These studies led him to his studies of jaws, skeletons and the importance of man’s motion and the appendages that allow it. During World War I and after, Franz took a seven-year hiatus. When he returned to his work, his focus was on human evolution and problems of human race. His most notable work, in collaboration with Dr. Von Koenigswald, was the discovery of a new Pithecanthropus skull, which was later determined to be older than the Sinanthropus. Dr. Weidenreich and Dr. Von Koenigswald continued their work together until 1946.

Franz died July 11, 1948, leaving behind his loving wife of forty-four years and his three daughters. Franz survived the hardship of two world wars and stove to discover the “fundamental principles of human evolution”.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TYLER MARTZ Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Hallowell, Irving. The Size of Algonkian Hunting Territories: A Function of Ecological Adjustment. American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51:35-45.

The hunting territory system in the Northern Algonkian region has undergone several stages of analysis. First, when the anthropology was coming out of being primarily based evolutionary theory, people began to ask the question whether or not the system was aboriginal or not. Land tenure was looked at with response to the fauna, ecology and food supply. This makes one look at evidence from a non-cultural slant that looks into the geography and the history. The article goes into depth about the size of and structure of these territories. The density of the population gives a comparative analysis and elucidates the population dynamics and the function of the tenure system in relation to it.

The research is also looks into the relationship to the active hunters; this shows how the size of hunting grounds and the correlative demographic data effects the controlling factors. Which are looked at within a background of linguistic, cultural, technological factors. The data collected is in the Grand lake Victoria group in 1926 and the Berens River Indians between 1932 and 1934. The table elucidates the size of Hunting Grounds, the size of Hunting Groups, the Density of Population, and the ratio of active hunters to other persons. The size of the hunting groups bears an inverse e relation to the size of the hunting grounds. The Berens River Indians are three times larger than the Grand Lake Victoria Indians. Is the density of the populations the controlling factor in the size of hunting territories? One cannot explain this, according to Hallowell, in terms of cultural standards. The size of the territory then, is not as crucial as the abundance of game in such land. He hypothesizes at the end of the article that the white trapping competition may have an influence. The purpose of the article is to give a systematic analysis to the system of the hunting territories.

CLARITY RANKING: 1
SARAH MAY OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (Elizabeth Chin)

Keesing, Felix M. Some Notes On Bontok Social Organization. American Anthropologist. Oct-Dec. 1949 Vol. 51(4):578-602

This article is concerned with a group called the Bontok living in the Philippine mountains. The Bontok comprise one of roughly ten ethnic groups of the Igorot mountain peoples of the Cordillera Central in North Luzon. They live in thirty- two villages scattered over the steep country where the Chico River bisects the mountains. Notable features of Bontok society include terraced rice cultivation, feuding and headhunting, the division of the villages into politically independent wards containing ceremonial stone platforms, men’s houses and girl’s houses where “trial marriages” are consummated.

In 1902 the Americans established a protectorate for the non-Christian peoples of the mountain province. American and Filipino administrators were then able to develop peace pacts between the Bontok and their neighbors, thus causing the virtual elimination of headhunting as a major practice. Marked acculturation took place among the mountain peoples, but the Bontok remained very conservative. For them changes were voluntary and highly selective, resulting in the Bontok culture remaining very much unchanged. The most obvious change in Bontok culture was the end of feuding and headhunting. Other changes include increased trading, greater education and the conversion of some to Christianity.

Characteristic cultural elements of the Bontok include styles of houses, styles of dress, a body of tradition that included a myth of common descent from a brother and sister who survived a flood of the local mountains and a group of legends centering on the cultural hero Lumawig. Such cultural uniformities however did not involve any sense of a common identity or any inter-village cooperation. Even at the time of the article few would consider themselves “Bontok”, rather they would refer to themselves by the name of their own village.

This article details the Bontok “wards” in the villages, about the ceremonial stone platforms, the men’s houses and their uses and the girl’s houses and their uses. This article also discusses Bontok family and social organization and the three important principles of Bontok social structure- age/generation values, seniority among siblings, and rank/class distinctions. Overall this article gives a very good, in-depth look at Bontok social life.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
ASHLEY CLARK University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Dr. Gregory Starrett)

Kroeber, A. L. Juan Dolores, 1880-1948. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 96-97.

This obituary provides a brief account of Juan Dolores’ life and describes his vital role in the preservation of the Papago language. A.L. Kroeber describes Dolores as a tolerant and observant man who was “always interested in his fellow-men.”

Born on June 24, 1880 in Mexico to a Catholic mother and a Papago father, Dolores spent his early childhood on the Papago reservation. After graduating from the Hampton Institute in 1901, Dolores worked for various construction companies until 1909, when he became involved with Kroeber, who taught him how to write in his native Papago language. From 1918-1919, Dolores served as Research Fellow of the Department of Anthropology for the University of California. During this time, Dolores collected Papago texts and assisted J. Alden Mason in his study of the Papago language.

For the next fifteen years Dolores continued his relationship with the University, until 1936, when he went to Chicago and participated on a WPA study of Mexican labor. In 1937 Dolores returned to California and became the Preparator in the Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley. Dolores retired from his post on June 30, 1948, and died on July 19, 1948.

Dolores authored a series of texts on the Papago language, and is remembered for his exhaustive analysis of Papago grammar and syntax.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
MICHELE ROSNER University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Greg Starrett)

Kroeber, A. L. Obituary: Roy Franklin Barton, 1883 – 1947. American Anthropologist Fall, 1949 Vol. 51 (2): 91-95

This article is a look at the life and work of the late ethnographer Roy Franklin Barton. It begins with a short synopsis of Barton’s life before his work as an ethnographer, including a summary of his high school career and family. It discusses his career as a schoolteacher, which took him to the Philippines for the first time and eventually led to his involvement with the Ifugao culture.

Barton’s brief career as a dentist took him to Russia. It was in Russia where Barton became involved with the Institute of Ethnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Leningrad, where he received a degree in ethnology and later became the research associate. However, in 1937 Barton left Leningrad to return to the Philippines where he began his studies of the Ifugao.

Next, the article discusses Barton’s book Philippine Pagans. It stresses the importance of this work for both methodological and theoretical reasons by stating that to date no other ethnographic work has been so detailed in its analysis and interpretation. It also mentions the work Barton did between 1938 – 1940 as the Curator of the Departments of India and Indonesia in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology of the Academy.

In 1940 Barton left Russia to return to the Philippines where a year later he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. However while there, he was captured by the Japanese and not rescued until three years later. It was while he was in Japanese captivity that Barton suffered the injury to his leg that would eventually lead to his death. In 1947, after returning to the United States, Barton died due to complications from surgery on the wound.

Barton published a number of books on the Ifugao, including a wordbook of 4000 Ifugao words, a description of Ifugao religion and a memoir on Ifugao mythology. A list of manuscript and book titles is given and the final paragraphs discuss Barton’s talents as an ethnographer. Overall the article praises Barton’s work with the Ifugao, discusses his ability and aptitude as a self-taught ethnographer and sums up his life’s work.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
ROBERTSON, PENELOPE University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Kroeber, A. L. Roy Franklin Barton, 1883-1947. American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51: 91-95.

Roy Franklin Barton was an ethnographer that wrote on the physiognomy of institutions, and the had an intense curiosity in human motives. His most famous works were on the Philippine peoples. He was self taught, which gave him limits to his intellectual breadth but had a fresh attitude towards field work that can become dulled by the academic sphere. He had a gift at observing people, especially the unusual and in some cases even came to mimic them, which were early signs of his ethnographic mind.

He taught school in Illinois four years. At age 23 he went to the Philippines as a civil service supervising teacher, and, stationed first in the Christian lowland, asked to be transferred to Ifugao as maintainers of the richest and best preserved “exotic culture”. This work, studying the exotic and the “weird”, launched his life work as a researcher of the other and a gifted observer.

He came back to Berkeley and studied dentistry. While studying he finished Ifugao law and Ifugao economics. Afterwards he traveled, teaching and restless. During this time he wrote The Half-Way Sun about the Ifugao. After that he traveled to the USSR and worked as a dentist. In 1941 he was captured by the Japanese and interred for over three years, first and Baguio camp, then at los Banos. When finally rescued he was suffering from starvation and beribi. In 1945 he returned to his brothers, sisters, and mother in California. He taught anthropology in 1946 at the university of Chicago. There he became ill and was operated on for fall bladder and ulcerated leg veins. He died in 1947. He had three books ready for printing which he had not published due to his overly perfectionist nature. The Religion of the Ifugao, The Kalingas: Their Institutions and Custom Law and Ifugao Mythology. According to Ernestine Evans he was generous minded, shy and awkward who at one moment had the wonder of a child and the next became overtly dogmatic.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
SARAH MAY OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (Elizabeth Chin)

Laurence, William Ewart and George Peter Murdock. Murngin Social Organization. American Anthropologist. Jan-Mar. 1949 Vol. 51(1):58-66

This article considers a group of native Australians, the Murngin, and is an attempt to correct W. Lloyd Warner’s erroneous analysis of their kinship relations. Warner characterizes the Murngin kinship system as non-cycling, consisting of seven patriarchal lines of descent with an indefinite lateral extension of terminology.

It has been found that the Murngin actually have eight patriarchal lines and that the system is a cyclic one. The Murngin have two unnamed exogamous matri-moeties that cycle through the eight patri-lines- bisecting each of them in later generations. It is also noted that the Murngin have two patri-moeties.

Murngin society is made up of more than forty local groups or “hordes” consisting of males and unmarried females. Consistent adherence to the system, which rarely happens, has the effect of dividing the two matri-moeties into four semi-moeties and the two patri-moeties into eight semi-semi-moeities resulting in a possible thirty-two class system. The occurrence of a great number of undesirable and “wrong” marriages create a difficulty in discovering the cycling throughout the eight patri-lines. Having eight patri-lines instead of just seven connects the two extreme lines and creates a new cycling effect.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
ASHLEY CLARK University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Dr. Gregory Starrett)

Lawrence, William Ewert and George Peter Murdock. Murngin Social Organization. American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51: 58-65.

The Native Australian Civilization, the Murngin, are a group in North eastern Arnhem land. This article discusses the lines of kinship. The lineage is confined to a single, parti-line. It is an extremely technical account that traces the lineage. There are complex charts that display the matrilineal lineage, the patrilineal lineage, marriage and descent. The difficulty of the article is the fact that it is co-written and there was a slight discrepancy between the two writers’ research.

CLARITY RANKING: 1
SARAH MAY OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (Elizabeth Chin)

Lewis, Oscar. Husbands and Wives in a Mexican Village: A study of role conflict. American Anthropologist Fall, 1949 Vol.51 (4): 602 – 610.

In this article Lewis examines the social roles of Mexican husbands and wives. He defines what is considered the “ideal” for women’s behavior and discusses how they act in reality. He shows how the dichotomy between “ideal” and “real” results in a role conflict for women.

Lewis begins by discussing what Mexicans consider the ideal behavior for a wife. The ideal wife is submissive and devoted, allowing her husband to dominate, control, and often times abuse her, without retaliation. She should work inside the home, be industrious and frugal and manage to make ends meet, regardless of the household’s economic situation. Furthermore, the Mexican wife should never question the husband’s activities outside the home or be critical of him in any way.

However, although there are a few homes where this is the reality, the majority of Mexican women do not conform to this standard. Many women, while they say they prefer a daughter-in-law that is submissive, in actuality consider a weak woman a fool. Also, there is a strong inclination of women to work outside the home, against their husband’s wishes, selling corn and various other items to make their own income. The wife is the true authority figure of the household as well. Lewis reasons this is because the husband usually takes a job that keeps him away from the house for long periods of time and when he is present, he is not expected to take on any of the responsibilities of childrearing. Thus, the control of the children ends up in the hands of the women.

Lewis concludes by stating that there is a growing trend amongst the younger women in Mexico towards these non-traditional standards. As women assert themselves more in their households and in the work force, the distance between “ideal” and “reality” grows larger. Finally, as the ideal standard of behavior for women is defied, the tension between the sexes grows, exaggerating the role conflict for women.

CLARITY RATING: 5
ROBERTSON, PENELOPE. University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Little, K. L. The Role of the Secret Society in Cultural Specializaion. July, 1949 Vol. 51:199-212.

For the Mende people of Sierra Leone there are sanctions on behavior in almost every area that come from secret societies. These are the men’s society, the Poro; the women’s society, the Sande; the society concerned with the sexual conduct of the community in general, the Humoi; the society concerned with the cure of mental conditions and agricultural fertility, the Njayei; and the Society concerned with military training, the Wunde. Together these societies provide institutional structure similar to the medieval church in Europe. They give rules of conduct and forgive sins. They give supernatural power and control into people’s lives. The basic roles the secret societies perform in the community are education, regulation of sexual conduct, supervision of economic affairs, and operation of social services.

The secret societies are the main traditional ways left in Sierra Leone today. This is because of their institutional significance and penetration of society. Especially the Poro which is an organization that is unique in the rapidly changing conditions of native life in offering active resistance to new habits and customs. The resilience of the Poro is shown by the way it survived the oppositions from the outside. There was a protective government ordinance since 1897, that forbid putting the Poro signs on palm trees. The chiefs were using the society’s emblem to hold up trade in their own interests. Orthodox Islam has been against the Poro and has forbidden Moslems to become members of the Poro or of any other secret society.

The disapproval of Christian Missionaries is not as strong as it used to be partially because of the social functions of the Poro being better known and appreciated by the Missionaries. Neither Christianity nor Islam have had much direct effect on the Poro’s status. The European ideal in the Mission schools has led to a disbelief in the Poro systems and also to a more fundamental weakening of its prestige. The real strength of the Poro and of other secret societies now lie in the attitude of the older members or the “big men”. Most of the big men are not literate and their interests are deeply rooted in the old order. They are aware of the institutional basis of their own position and are always watching it. Society secrets are still guarded very closely and members are always careful when discussing society matters to not be overheard. Not only the older men prevent the adjustment of the secret societies to modern life and those younger members who want to copy western standards must look elsewhere for social status. They can find acceptance by the westernized Creole who see the secret societies as symbols of primitiveness. The society affiliation is one of the few remaining ties to tribal life for the ordinary men and women of Mende, but it is a tie that is becoming less popular with time.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TELISHA STINSON University of North Carolina At Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Little, K. L. The Role of the Secret Society in Cultural Specialization. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol. 51: 199-212.

Little studies the Mende and the groups associated with them in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The author is interested in how their secret societies shape their day-to-day behavior patterns. Little argues that the secret societies, which are assigned to address various facets of life, are connected more broadly to the structure of the medieval church. Little explains that the similarity between the two lies in their role in establishing and enforcing rules of conduct; on the other hand, the structure of the Mende secret societies are compartmentalized to maintain very specialized functions.

The text is divided into 4 sections that distinguish the different secret societies that Little has identified:

General Education

Regulation of Sexual Conduct

Supervision of Political and Economic Affairs

Operation of Medical and Other Social Services

General education reveals the distinctions between the secret societies in the initiation rites. Each has a very specialized training process to transform the individual into a worthy member of the particular group. The regulation of sexual conduct varies in emphasis between the societies. The Poro and the Sande, for example, are only interested in establishing general rules in etiquette and social behavior. The Humoi, on the other hand, makes rules about marriage and mating. In the supervision over political and economic affairs the manifestation of the supernatural powers’ authority in ritual changes from one society to another. Finally, the differences in the operation of medical and other social services lie in ideological concepts that are constructed to explain and remedy physical and mental ailments.

Little offers a very organized and logical analysis that categorizes and dissects the overriding factors that he perceives to be significant in the variations of the secret societies in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Despite an analysis that associates the significance of these societies on a very functional basis, Little acknowledges the symbolic foundation on which they depend on, as well.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
KENTURAH DAVIS Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Mead, Margaret. Benedict, Fulton Ruth, 1887-1948. American Anthropologist. 1949 Vol.51: 457-468.

Ruth Benedict grew up on a farm in Norwich, New York with her both her parents’ families close by. She later inherited the farm and much of her writing was done there. This connection allowed her to communicate easily with rural people. Her father was a graduate of New York Homeopathic Medical College, a physician who died before she was two. Her mother was a graduate of Vassar. Benedict graduated from Vassar in 1909. She received her first cross-cultural experience during a scholarship year in Europe and later returned to teach in a secondary school. In 1914 she married Stanley Benedict, a Professor of Biochemistry at Cornell Medical College, who died in 1936.

Her first work in anthropology was with Elsie Parsons at the New School for Social Research, were she also worked with Alexander Goldweiser. Then she entered Columbia graduate school under Boas, receiving her PhD. Since she was partially deaf from childhood, fieldwork was never easy for her. In 1924 she started teaching in the Graduate school at Columbia University, at the same time she was working on concordances of American folklore. After this time she realized she could not have children and her commitment to anthropology became stronger.

Not until her trip to Pima in 1927, when she saw the possibilities of viewing culture and the rewards of using anthropological ways of thought. This gave her more personal interpretation of life. Patterns of Culture was published in 1934 and was translated into five different languages and used as a reference in hundreds of college courses. Giving the first glimpse of what anthropology could mean to psychological disciplines. This book gave a sense of how understanding culture could increase an understanding in life. At this time Boas was retiring she was devoted to writing Race: Science and Politics. It was part of the service she rendered to those social movements designed to remove all handicaps based on race or sex, and to build a world in which each human could act with dignity. The small pamphlet, Race of Mankind, went into millions of copies and was translated into film, and proved to be on of the most important contributions anthropologist have made towards the education on race differences.

She made continuing contributions to interdisciplinary thinking. Two of her most influential works were “Anthropology and the Abnormal” and “Continuities and Discontinuities in Cultural Anthropology”. As an Anthropologist interested in personality and culture her work was dependant upon a comparison of cultural forms, rather than upon the insights and findings of the biological and psychological sciences. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946) was based on an intensive analysis of interview and literary material on themes in Japanese culture.

During 1948 she visited five countries, Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Belgium and Holland, whose cultures she had studied by methods of interviewing used during the war This was very rewarding because her findings and observations checked with the hypotheses she had developed. Ruth Benedict died on September 17, 1948, at the age of sixty-one from coronary thrombosis. She was greatly revered and her life displayed, which is seldom seen, a combination of gifts encompassed by one individual.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
John Sheehan University of North Carolina Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Mead, Margaret. Ruth Fulton Benedict 1887-1948. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol. 51: 457-468.

Mead chronicles Benedict’s life from her humble beginnings to her years of hard work and dedication to anthropology. Along with significant dates in Benedict’s career, the text also shapes her character as a determined, persistent, and committed practitioner of cultural studies.

The text reports on her intellectual endeavors, beginning with her graduation from Vassar in 1909. She did not get her first taste of cross-cultural experience until after she graduated from college. Mead leads up to her experience with Boas by describing her growing interest in understanding the different facets of culture. Importantly, Mead proceeds to explain full commitment to anthropology did not appear until Benedict realized that she would not have children. The anthropological contributions that followed are captured in her years of teaching the interrelationships between anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry. Mead also acknowledges Benedict’s interest in religion, philosophy, and applied anthropology.

This obituary gives a quick glance over the nature of contributions that Benedict made to anthropology. By the time she died, she left a path on which anthropology was to continue to apply anthropology to contemporary cultural dynamics.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
KENTURAH DAVIS Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Milke, Wilhelm. The Quantitative Distribution Of Cultural Similarities And Their Cartographic Representation. American Anthropologist. Volume 53: 1949:237-.

Observers have always agreed that there is a connection between geographical proximity and the cultural similarity of ethnic units. Using statistics as a form of measure, researchers can use numerical methods to measure the similarities between cultures. The first person to use numerical methods in the analysis of cultural similarity was Keiter, who applied these methods to the Tupi.

Keiter’s research included two factors, s and G. G refers to the Qsub6 formula, which is a sine curve, and s refers to the geographical proximity between cultures measured in kilometers. He compared the curve of the Tupi to a curve of the Melanesia cultures as a whole. He used the same numerical methods, data, and factors for each study. After his analysis, Keiter found that the factor of distance will only influence the degree of cultural similarity when the cultures are located right next to each other.

However, what Keiter forgot to take into account was that the Tupi culture derived from one single culture along with the other cultures within Melanesia (migration not diffusion). Within his data, he used material cultures and did not use social or ideological data which would have showed more similarities between cultures.

Milke takes Keiter’s analysis of the Tupi and compares it to other cultures within California and Polynesia. Milke explains how certain maps can aid in understanding cultural similarities by showing the actual geographical areas with each separate cultural region shown. There are also lines showing the varying degrees of cultural similarities, which are referred to as isopleths. In his example, he used a map of California and Polynesia. Milke concludes that this method is only effective for continental areas, where the populations are not closely packed.

Milke’s argument throughout this article was concerned with applying common statistical formulas to the analysis of cultural similarities based on geographical proximity.

He used certain coefficients, such as barrier zones, actual geographic proximity, and the lists of similarities, to create graphs or curves showing relations between the cultures. After comparing Keiter’s study of the Tupi with the cultures of California and Polynesia, Milke concluded that geographical proximity is not a factor in cultural similarities. However, his results seem to prove otherwise, or at least show that there is a small degree of influence.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
NO NAME University of North Carolina At Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Reichard, Gladys A. The Navaho and Christianity. American Anthropologist. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol.51: 66-71.

This article examines the contradictions between Christianity and Navaho religion, which make the Navaho resistant to the conversion efforts of missionaries. She explains the differences in dogma and culture between the Navaho and the Christians. These differences, according to Reichard, create oppositional cultures, one not ready to be assimilated into the other.

The differences come in both theory and cultural practice. Any contact with death or the dead is both prohibited and feared among the Navaho making the Christian concepts of the Resurrection and the need to bury the dead repulsive. Navaho concepts of reciprocity make the concept of sins and penance difficult to understand. Mistakes and wrong-doings are dealt with by reciprocal acts with the living and not erased through penance or empty communication with God. The roller coaster of wrong and rights exists in life and has little to do with the after-life as it does in Christianity. Within the concept of reciprocity comes the idea that for each gift given, a gift is expected and received, which runs contrary to the Christian concept of charity. Reichard also points to conflicts between cultural manifestations of the family. The Navaho are by tradition polygynous, something which is prohibited in Christianity. The rapid change required by Christianity, from polygamy to monogamy resulted in underground polygony and/or many wives and their children abandoned by their former spouse and father. Another point of contention is the rigidity of Christianity. For the Navaho, authority figures are expected to learn and challenge the pre-existent ideologies, whereas the Christians are expected to follow static rules. The somber nature of Christianity is also in contradiction to the Navaho’s more relaxed and joyful ceremonial practices. The Navaho do not see a problem with the Christians staying Christian and the Navaho following their own traditions, while the Christians intend to convert as many as possible to Christianity. Reichard concludes that, in order to reach a compromise, the Christians need to understand the reasons behind such strong resistance.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
SARAH MCDOWELL Occidental College (Dr. Elizabeth Chin)

Pollenz, Philippa. Method for the Comparative Study of the Dance. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 428-435.

One of the most expressive and elaborate forms of art created by human beings is that of dance. Dancing can be done with nothing more than a single person. Dancing can express so much about emotion, love, life, hardships, and more. Dancing is found nearly universally among all people. Due to these reason anthropologists value data collected about dance, especially in primitive societies.

Anthropologists have been interpreting dance since the beginning of the profession and it has taught us much. The problem anthropologists have come up against is how to record the data they interpret. There is no standard to follow although some have tried to create them. In addition the intricacies of a dance are so great that it is nearly impossible to record them accurately. Philippa Pollenz describes the different recording methods and compares them to one another seeking the best method.

Letter Substitution is the earliest known form of recording dance. It was created in 1588 to describe the steps of different dances to facilitate teaching. This method is only reliable when a complete vocabulary of every single dance move is known. It cannot be used in the field with unrecorded peoples. The Lacuisse system used dotted lines to trace the paths of dancers on the floor. It also indicated the gender of the dancer and contact between multiple dancers. Latter a third system was developed that was able to express the fluid motions of the body as well as the steps. Stick Figures were drawn for each move that the dancer performed. While the figures were good at showing details they were limited as well. Floor pattern was hard to distinguish, intricate steps required much detail, and multiple dancers made the task overwhelming.

Pollenz decides in the end that a new method created by a German named Rudolf von Labon is the best method to use. It is based on the five line notation most often used in music. Each column represents a section of the body and which side is in motion. Dots and lines of various shapes indicate every other motion the dancer is involved in, direction of movement, and floor pattern, and height from floor. With the great amount of detail to be recorded the Von Labon system is difficult to learn and has not been proven to work with all dances. The author concludes that despite the drawbacks of each system, the Von Labon system works the best.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
WERNER, DAMIAN UNC Charlotte. (Gregory Starrett)

Sankalia, H. D. and Karve, I. Early Primitive Microlithic Culture and People of Gujarat. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol. 51: 28-34.

Sankalia and Karve report on archeological findings to associate the found human and animal remains with the microlithic man. Their main objective is to gain more knowledge of the prehistoric culture of the Gujarat people. The article includes several photographs of the digging site, bones, and microliths found during the excavation.

They authors describe, in detail, the context in which these bones were found. They argue that these were contemporary human skeletons belonging to the microlithic period by explaining that the layering of the different soils found on the remains indicates that the core layer was the real microlithic layer. This article outlines the methods and strategies of archaeology that are useful in associating remains of humans to a particular time period and understand how they responded to their environment. Such strategies included looking at the stratigraphy of several area sites, digging through the soil’s contents to locate the paths and populations of this prehistoric culture. They detail the steps it takes to identify the material, and determine when/how it was deposited.

Sankalia and Karve are not content with giving descriptions on their findings. They made connections to understand the culture of the Gujarat people. This particular line of study was significant to their interest in understanding the formations of the hunting grounds.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
KENTURAH DAVIS Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Schmitt, Karl and Slotkin, J. S. Studies of Wampum. American Anthropologist January, 1949 Vol.51: 223-234.

The two main points of this article are to show that wampum was used by the Indians before the “white” man, and that with the contact of “white” man, Indians started to use wampum as a type of money.

The authors begin with a summary of archaeological evidence pertaining to tubular shell beads. The main question asked is whether there were any tubular shell beads that predated white contact in the eastern United States. At this question they run into three problems: First, classifying and defining a type of artifact seen as tubular shell beads; second, relating bead types to known archaeological range; third, to discuss the process and problem of drilling. The time periods that are used during this archaeological range are, from early to late, Archaic, Early Woodland, Middle Woodland, Early Mississippi, and Late Mississippi. During none of these periods is there any evidence of contact with European or Colonial culture. The archaeological occurrence of tubular shell beads indicates that they cover a huge amount of time and most of the eastern United States. Another factor that could have been a major influence on the distribution of the beads has to do with preservation. The shells are affected by weathering, and a leaching process that affects the soils of the eastern United States. This appears to have destroyed a lot of the evidence of shell work for older periods in those areas.

Ethnohistorical evidence, the data on the early history of wampum, leads to a hypothesis that when whites first viewed the Indians they saw wampum used as a decoration or medium of gift exchange. Later, with the influence of monetary customs seen in Virginia, wampum was used as a type of money transaction between Western Europeans and Indians.

The basic conclusion of this article is that the Indians did in fact use wampum as exchange in gifts and decoration, but only with the introduction to the customs in Virginia did they use wampum as money. Soon after its use as money it diffused north.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
JENNIFER LEDFORD University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Dr. Gregory Starrett)

Shimkin, D. B. Recent Trends in Soviet Anthropology. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51 (3): 621-625.

Harvard University’s D.B. Shimkin studied the current publications available in postwar Soviet anthropology, and described the subject matter and theories that he found. “Soviet anthropology of the postwar period represents a strange admixture of politically imposed dogmas and useful, often brilliant, scientific contributions that deserve the attention of the western world.” Shimkin reviewed three post war anthropological publications: Trudy Instituta Etnografiyi, Sovietskaya Etnografiya, and Sovietskaya Arkheologiya. Memoirs of the Institute of Ethnography devoted its study to physical anthropology and pre-history. Soviet Ethnography devoted itself to folk literature, art, and music. Soviet Archeology covers the Paleolithic to Medieval times. Within Soviet anthropology as a whole there is political direction and the article specifies seven “officially sponsored theories and goals that hedge the free development of anthropology in the U.S.S.R”. These theories include the interpretation of Morgan’s evolutionary stages, the Marr linguistic doctrine, the castigation of Western anthropology, a new stage of Darwinism, reconstruction of linguistic stocks and putatively associated cultures, folklore glorifying the regime, and the absorption with, and glorification of, the discoveries and historical contributions of Soviet anthropology. Soviet political restrictions inhibit certain areas of research and make certain conclusions subject to question, yet Soviet anthropology continues to make considerable scientific contributions to anthropology as a whole.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
MARSIA YENCSKO University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Siegel, Bernard J. Some Observations on the Pueblo Pattern at Taos. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol.51: 562-577.

Siegel, like others before him, notably Dr. Harold D. Lasswell and Dr. Elsie Clews Parsons, have noticed a strain between communal and individual tendencies within the pueblo patterns at Taos. While these other authors have concentrated on ceremonial aspects of these contradictory trends, Siegel intends in this article to articulate other aspects which illustrate the context of these tendencies. Siegel emphasizes four characteristics which categorize this conflict: communication, population increase, subsistence economy and patterns of authority/leadership. Pueblos at Taos are characterized by high levels of access to cities and knowledge of both Spanish and English. A population increase has limited the ability of the pueblo to exist on subsistence methods alone, forcing much of the population to seek wage labor elsewhere. This shift to wage labor has been aided by the proximity of white cities. The involvement of individuals in the cities has taken attention away from pueblo activities. Involvement in wage labor has also increased individualism. The individual ownership of property compliments and contradicts communal ownership of property still strong in these pueblos. More traditional authorities, still in control, educate individuals to be part of the community, and to devote themselves to the common good. Individual tendencies are censored by threats of group criticism. The involvement of many individuals in World War II also increased exposure to individualistic ideologies. Thus, the contradiction between older traditionalists and the younger generational individuals exposed to white ideologies is highly controversial. The young push for adoption of American ways, while the old exert control of communal existence through both economic and social pressures. Siegel views this as shifting from communal control to more individual tendencies, possibly resulting eventually, as the old die out, in the death of communal trends.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SARAH MCDOWELL Occidental College (Dr. Elizabeth Chin)

Silva-Fuenzalida, Ismael. Ethnolinguistics and the Study of Culture. American Anthropologist. 1949, Vol. 51: 446-455

This paper focuses on the study of ethnolinguistics as a method of understanding social change and social behavior. Silva-Fuenzalida gives an overview on the history of linguistics and argues that studying linguistics is key component for cultural anthropologists to use as an indicator of specific cultural meanings.

He begins describing the contributions from the linguists in

Prague, most notably, the works of DeSaussure in recognizing the distinction between sound and phoneme. He continues describing how language unites a culture and can be a determinant of cultural change and drift. Silva-Fuenzalida offers a new approach for cultural anthropologists with ethnolinguistics which he defines the criteria for: 1) language is not likely to show correlations with other aspects of a culture, 2) the structure of the language in question, 3) knowledge of the structure of other aspects of a culture is equally necessary, and 4) the anthropologists be trained in special techniques for correlating both cultural and linguistic aspects of behavior.

Attention is also given to the combination of linguistics and the study of personality within anthropology. Studying individual psychology and linguistics is a possibility, Silva-Fuenzalida cites examples of the Freudian “slip on the tongue” as an example of such.

Silva-Fuenzalida presents an argument for ethnolinguistic research, both reviewing the history of linguistic studies and the future offering her own criteria and how it pertains to cultural anthropology, not only linguistics.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
ANNIE KATES Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Steward, Julian H. Cultural Causality and Law: A Trial Formulation of the Development of Early Civilizations. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol.51 no.1 :1-27.

In recent times there has been a shift away from attempting to find cultural regularities and making generalizations. A new methodology has not been created for it is believed that regularities do not exist. The focus has instead become the differences and peculiarities of cultures. Steward feels that there should be a mixture of the two approaches since even though cultures are unique in certain respects they do share certain traits with others. The cultural differences in fact provide the data necessary for making generalizations. The goal here is not to create a set of universally valid laws but to open up scientific study of generalizations. When doing comparative studies one should look past the differences to the similarities in order to see the cause and effect of relationships.

There are three requirements for formulating cultural regularities. First, a typology of cultures should be established. Types are in themselves abstractions which isolate similarities for comparision. Second, causal relationships, in sequential or synchronic terms, must be established. Lastly, a scientific statement of cause and effect, regularities, or laws of cultural phenomena are to be formulated. Particularists believe that it is impossible to isolate cause and effect relationships and attempt to deny the possibility of isolating cultural regularities. Diffusion and a common origin are given as the causes for similarities, and when obstacles to diffusion are too great the differences are emphasized. Steward counters this belief by stating that it is the differences between cultures which provide the greatest evidence for diffusion. Particularists also believe that the complexity of institutions makes it impossible to isolate the cause. In response to this Steward emphasizes that in such cases a rigorous methodology is to be used.

For the trial formulation the development of early agricultural civilizations in Peru, Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China are used since each of these areas shared similar problems and developmental sequences in response to the arid environment. The procedure is to establish typology and to suggest cause and effect relationships in order to formulate regularities.

In the Pre-agricultural and Incipient Agricultural Eras technologies were first used in order to meet biological needs, with the first cultivation of plant and animal domisticates leading to permanent communities. During the Formative Era irrigation develops and population increases. In order to maintain irrigation, political control centered around a theocratic ruling class, is developed. Efficient farming allows for more craft specialization and the development of pottery, metallurgy, weaving etc. The products for everyday use, plain and utilitarian, are contrasted to the richly decorated ones used in religious practices. The Era of Regional Development and Florescence saw another increase in irrigation with the forces of competition and expansion leading to some militarism. During the Cyclical Conquests a population stress results in competition for materials which in turn leads to an increase in warfare. The focus on the military leads to few new inventions being created. Steward uses these examples to generalize how cultures enter an era of rising and falling empires. The peaks of irrigation, population, and political organization eventually gives way to dark ages.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
ERICA BENJAMIN University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Starrett)

Steward, Julian H. Cultural Causality and the Law: A Trial Formulation of the Development of Early Civilizations. American Anthropologist, 1949. Vol. 51: 1-28.

Steward’s article is divided into the following sections: “I. Methodological Assumptions,” “II. Eras in the Development of Early Civilizations,” “III. Trial Formulation of Developmental Regularities of Early Civilizations,” and “IV. Summary and Conclusions.” Steward supports his emphasis on “the scientific objective,” “regularities,” and searching for pan-cultural similarities with three “requirements for formulating cultural regularities”: 1) “There must be a typology of cultures, patterns, and institutions” 2) “Causal interrelationship of types must be established in sequential or synchronic terms, or both” 3) “The formulation of the independent recurrence of synchronic and/or sequential interrelationships of cultural phenomena is a scientific statement of cause and effect, regularities, or laws.” Steward takes a global approach to map the development of civilization.

He argues that the global historical progression moved from the development of and productivity of agriculture, which led to increased labor and new technologies, which led to irrigation. Irrigation increased agricultural productivity, which led to population surges and “interstate competition” for land and resources. This conflict created “empires, warrior classes, and military leaders.” Steward’s next phase in the developmental progression is the Iron Age, which took place in what he calls the “Old World” and spread to the “New World” with the Spanish conquest. Diffusion of animals, humans, technology, etc. led to an increase in population in “favorable areas,” but, he notes, diffusion is not necessarily the principal mode of development. He concludes by saying, “Thorough attention to cultural differences and particulars is necessary if typology is to be adequate and valid, but historical reconstructions need not be the sole objective of anthropology.” His closing remarks are as follows: “Fact-collecting of itself is insufficient scientific procedure; facts exist only as they are related to theories, and theories are not destroyed by facts – they are replaced by new theories with better explain the facts.”

CLARITY RATING: 5
KATHLEEN BRADLEY Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Thompson, Laura. The Relations of Men, Animals, and Plants in an Island Community (Fiji). American Anthropologist April – June, 1949 Vol. 51 :253-267.

This article examines the ecological base of cultural phenomena, and attempts to relate and interpret the geological, botanical, biological, and anthropological field findings from research done on the isolated island community of Lau, a group of six small inhabited islands and their uninhabited satellites in the southeastern division of Fiji.

Three of the inhabited islands are limestone and three are volcanic in origin. The limestone islands’ poor thin soil yields abundant forest products, especially hardwoods, but generally offers limited food plants. Conversely, the volcanics’ deep rich soil supports a variety of garden crops, although forest products are scarce. No two islands are alike in structure or resources, but with the coming of humans and their canoes, the previously disparate ecological systems of each individual island were connected, and the aggregate formed a naturally balanced community and self sufficient trade area.

The first inhabitants sailed into Lau with considerable baggage and insinuated themselves into a delicately balanced ecosystem along with their animals, plants, tools, and skills. The old ecology formed the basis for the new and people were integrated into the environmental assemblage. People adapted to their new environment and an equilibrium was achieved. An intervillage exchange called solevu evolved which allowed for trade between the islands. During the four day event, food from the prolific volcanic islands was exchanged for craft wares from the limestone islands. This system of redistribution prevented the accumulation of wealth by any one individual or island and insured that resources remained available to the entire population. Accommodative and cooperative, solevu was an efficient and self regulating mechanism that stimulated the production of food and craft articles and expanded the distribution system of each island.

The great importance of the solevu could be seen in the ramifications of its prohibition. Following the takeover by the British in 1874, the solevu and similar institutions were outlawed as being a waste of valuable energy and resources. The true effects of the regulation of these ceremonial exchanges were the skewing of the nicely adjusted system of production and distribution, creation of food shortages on many of the limestone islands, the disruption of the previously balanced sexual division of labor – reducing the work and creativity of the women and increasing the work of the men, and the detrimental misuse of natural resources.

The findings suggest that the total population of a community is involved in a matrix of complex mutually advantageous interdependence, that the ecological organization of natural communities has a tendency to develop stasis over time, and that the functional aspects of the culture of the human community are self perpetuating.

This underscores the practical importance of an “eco-cultural” approach in observing a community’s long term dynamics.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
DEA HOUSER University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Thompson, Laura. The Relations of Men, Animals, and Plants in an Island Community (Fiji). American Anthropologist 1949. Vol. 51: 253-267.

This article looks at the field findings of the geologist, botanist, naturalist and the anthropologist in an isolated community in Fiji. The beginning opens with the general topography of the land. The two types of rocks found in the Island are the Volcanic and Lime stones. The climate is discussed in detail, as well as the plants and Animals. HomoSapiens play a part in the ecological structure and balance of the community. Culture began to form and integrated a group of humans.

Fifteen generations before the article was written there was a conquest by a small band of warriors from northwest Vita Levu in west Fiji. A large portion of the article is written about the lifestyle for the Lauans, which was a result of the habits, attitudes and institutions, which function to develop and reinforce the basic ecology of the area, according to the needs of its populations. The article discusses food gathering, storage and preparation and the roles of those that engage in these activities. The main goal not being the needs of the individual but rather, the needs of the group that involves a sharing of the feast within the household. Co-operative production and distribution is utilized to the best capacity. A crop custodian functioned to conserve and augment the food supply of each island due to the increase in the danger of famines.

There is a master fisherman too, who increases the total number of the catch and protects the local fishing grounds from over-fishing and undo disturbance, and by taking advantage of the various group fishing techniques in relation to the weather, the seasons and the habits of the edible species of fish.

There is a institution called the Solevu which functions as an exchange between villages and involves dancing, feasts and songs. It is not only a recreations release from a week of hard work, it is also serves to expand the system of distribution. The distribution of labor between the sexes is apparent and provides a balance that negotiates labor. Stinginess means loss of prestige, and the food supply is distributed evenly among the population to better the group, and in so doing, the individual.

There are several taboos that still exist among the Lauans regarding childbirth, nobility, death and white man’s diseases. The relationship however, with the natural world are positive and logical and are required in maintaining a healthy balanced community that interacts with its surroundings. The eco-cultural core is the living core of relationships among the community. It is the means by which the human group to perpetuate the natural world. The goal being to adapt local beliefs, attitudes and habits that foster a balanced relationship to the total community, plants, animals, and human groups.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
SARAH MAY OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (Elizabeth Chin)

T’ien, Ju-K’ang. Pai Cults and Social Age in the Tai Tribes of the Yunnan-Burma Frontier.American Anthropologist January-March 1949, vol. 51: 46-57.

Ju-K’ang T’ien addresses the idea that social integration arises only when religious activities bring members of a society together for a specific event. T’ien sets out to prove that society is integrated by social factors centered on religious beliefs, and religious activities serve only to unify the interests of society.

T’ien illustrates his argument through the religious cult Pai. The social age of the Pai consists of four periods, of which each period is achieved not by age, but by factors determined by the religious beliefs. That is to say, one cannot move from the second period to the third period without having met and performed specific duties according to the religion. T’ien believes that these duties serve as the “regulating mechanisms” for society; therefore, the duties performed by the individual serve society as a whole.

T’ien presents his evidence first by introducing Emile Durkheim’s theory of social integration. It is from this theory that T’ien makes his argument. Secondly, he examines the Pai culture and outlines the social factors of both males and females in each of the four periods of their social life. He clearly illustrates that each member of the Pai cult performs specific duties based on social age that contribute to the whole of the community. The duties are based on their religious beliefs (i.e. the Paga makes shoes for the commoners because of her position in social age) and serve to maintain “harmony” within the tribe, thus integrating their society.

T’ien then suggests that the final rite, or religious celebration of “Paga”, is a “rallying idea” that brings together the differing interests of Pai. His final point being that the social duties of each person serves the whole Pai society, and brings social integration, while the final rite serves only as a time to celebrate the unity of the tribe.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
MIKE BROOKS University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

T’ien,Ju-K’ang. Pai Cults and Social Age in the Tai Tribes of the Yunnan-Burma Frontier.American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 46-57

Ju-K’ang T’ien, in this article, examines the cults of Pai, amongst the Tai-speaking people of the Yunnan-Burma frontier, to see if and how social integration is achieved and the meaning behind that integration. T’ien explains the Pai to be a series of six Buddhist religious activities which culminate with the Great Pai, which guarantees the entry into heaven. T’ien explains that there are four different periods that individuals pass through during there lives, according to their “social age”. T’ien outlines the distinction in names, clothing, and activities associated with both males and females of the Tai as their “social age” changes and how these distinctions affect an individual’s rights and duties in society.

T’ien explains the Great Pai to be a three day ceremony where an individual makes offerings to receive a seat in heaven. This ritual may be performed any number of times per individual and grants the highest honor in society. Also, T’ien points out that although there are class distinctions in society, all classes do the performance of the Great Pai in the same manner and that the offerings are suppose to be a product of one’s own toil regardless of one’s status. T’ien notes that although a Tai woman’s role is submissive, upon performing the Great Pai her rights and status become equal to men’s.

However, T’ien argues that harmony in the Tai tribe is achieved as a result of the interaction of all the features associated with the “social age” groups and not as a result of the people performing the Pai, which serves as a “regulating mechanism” for unity.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TYLER MARTZ Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)

Williams, Emilio. Acculturative Aspects of the Feast of the Holy Ghost In Brazil. American Anthropologist Fall, 1949 Vol. 51 (4): 400- 408.

In this article Emilio Williams gives a detailed description of the festival of the Divine Holy Ghost in Brazil, attempts to show the festival’s Portuguese origin and highlights some of the changes it has undergone in structure and function. He uses the celebration in the rural district of Cunha as his example.

The festival begins nine months prior to the principal celebration with the crowning of the “emperor”, whose main job is to organize the festival and choose members of the community for the folia. After they have been chosen, the folia travel from district to district, parading the banner of the Holy Ghost, singing, dancing, and gathering gifts for the principal celebration. Providing accommodations for the folia is considered a great privilege and farmers will often compete for the honor. The chosen farmer is expected to give a large banquet in honor of his guests. These banquets, Williams states, can be considered “satellite” feasts of the principal ceremony and are important for the completion of the cycle of rites.

The principal celebration begins after the folia have completed their journey with a nine-day ritual of prayer and secular entertainment. During this time, people come from all over the region to Cunha to dance, sing, pray, and most importantly, eat. They bring with them gifts of food and animals for the celebration. On Sunday, the festival climaxes with a large extravagant ceremony held in church, which includes a caricatured bullfight where one man plays the toreador and two others, the bull.

The same festival can be found in Portugal prior to the 16th century. Although its origins are unclear, the similarities between the festivals in Portugal and Brazil show a direct connection between the two. The Portuguese ceremony, while it may have had a different function, included all of the main aspects of the Brazilian festival, the crowning of the “emperor”, the folia, the bullfight, and the climactic Sunday celebration.

Williams notes that there are five main differences between the festival in Brazil and its Portuguese ancestor. First, the function of the Portuguese ceremony was to distribute bread and cheese to the poor. In Brazil, the large feasts are a “free-for-all” to anyone who wishes to partake in them. Second, there are a smaller number of participants in the folia in Brazil. Third, the “emperor” in Portugal is considered to be the financial backer for the festival, while in Brazil, he is simply the organizer. Fourth, the bullfight is now symbolic in Brazil. Finally, the crown of the “emperor” is considered too sacred to be displayed publicly in Cunha.

Williams concludes the article by stating that the visits of the folia serve to remind people in remote areas that they are part of a larger community and allows them to ensure protection from the Holy Ghost by giving gifts. Also, the feasts and the celebrations bring people together, reinforce traditional values, and help ease tension between the classes by the redistribution of the gifts collected to those who need them. All this serves the larger function of maintaining the psychological balance of the larger community.

CLARITY RATING: 5
ROBERTSON, PENELOPE University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Gregory Starrett)

Willems, Emilio. Acculturative Aspects of the Feast of the Holy Ghost in Brazil. American Anthropologist 1949 Vol. 51: 400-408

Emilio Willems’ intention in this article is to address the overlooked cultural influences of the Portuguese on Brazilian cultures. More specifically, Willem investigates the Festa do Divino Espirito Santo, the festival of the Divine Holy Ghost, to show its Portuguese origin and how its function and arrangement have changed while practiced in Brazil. Willems conducted most of his research in Cunha, a district in the state of Sao Paulo, where most of the residents are farmers or merchants. It is here where the feast of the Holy Ghost is the most important and elaborate religious celebration.

Willems describes the feast observed in Cunha and then compares it to the original format in Portugal. Willems observed that the feast begins on the last day of fiesta when the “emporer”, a well-to-do farmer who is in charge of the economic responsibilities and organizing the folia do Divino, the group of men who process through the district to collect gifts from the people, is crowned. The folia consist of a standardbearer, five musicians, and a “guide”. The folia begin their duties after the first rains in September and October. The folia travel from farm to farm singing and collecting the promises of gifts, which usually consist of corn, beans, chickens, young cows, and hogs. When the folia arrive at a farm where they will be lodging, it is believed that the banner, which the folia give the farmer to hold, brings blessings to the family and its crops and animals. However, these are only smaller feasts that culminate with the larger festival. The main celebration is never during Pentecost and is thus usually in July or later. Each day of the week prior to the main celebration has some specific ceremony associated with it, some of which are reoccurring where others are not. On Sunday the elaborate conclusion of the ceremony takes place. On this day, thousands of people gather around while ceremonies take place in the church and dramas of bullfights are performed in and around the casa da festa. The celebration then ends as the sacred symbols are transferred to the new “emporer”.

Willems then continues with an account of the ceremony in Portugal. He outlines a list of the difference between the ceremonies in each location, such as the differences in the food items and the lowering of actual bullfights to mere dramas. Willems then outlines what he believes the function of the ceremony to be. Willems argues that the religious aspect is the greatest, that the people are looking to gain protection for their families and land from a saint. Also, as a secondary function, Willems states that the celebration serves social importance as well by bringing families together and redistributing the gifts of food to those less privileged. From these assumptions, Willems concludes that the festival is necessary for community life to remain balanced.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TYLER MARTZ Occidental College (Elizabeth Chin)