American Anthropologist
1964

Ackerman, Charles.   Structure and Statistics: The Purum Case. American Anthropologist. 1964 Vol. 66(2):53-65.

Ackerman refutes Rodney Needham’s assertion that Purum marriages are a "matrilateral connubium." According to Ackerman, "The Purums are an ‘Old Kuki’ tribe of eastern Manipur," residing in four small villages in eastern India with a 1950s population of about 300 people. According to Needham, they practice a selective, prescribed pattern of marriages, called the matrilateral connubium, or "marriage in a circle," whereby some patrilineal groups exclusively supply and receive wives from other groups. Edmond Leach disagrees, adding, "In not a single case does the empirical evidence provided by the ethnographers tend to support this assertion." Ackerman follows Leach’s lead and launches a statistical attack against Needham’s claim.

Ackerman attacks Needham on two grounds. First, he argues that Needham’s assertion lacks sufficient evidence. Second, he argues that Needham presented only partial evidence to support his claim. The main body of Ackerman’s argument follows from the first point, while elements of the second are scattered throughout. Ackerman bases his argument on data collected in The Purums by Tarakchandra Das (1945).

Ackerman employs two main strategies to disprove matrilateral connubium among the Purum. First, he uses a variety of statistical devices to demonstrate an absence of correlations between normative expectations and the actual marriages observed. Second, he makes the case that Purum terminology describing prospective mates is insufficient or contradictory for Needham’s assertion to be correct.

He concludes by stating, "No tendency to avoid the direct exchange of women exists in the distribution of actual marriages. On the contrary, in a series of tests, the null hypothesis has been corroborated..." The null hypothesis, in this case, assumes no presence of the matrilateral connubium.

CLARITY 3

TROY LINVILLE Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Ames, Michael M.     Buddha and the Dancing Goblins: A Theory of Magic and Religion. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66: 75-82

Ames analyzes the relationship between Buddhism in Ceylon and the magic healing rituals widely used by the Sinhalese people. He argues that while Sinhalese theory views Buddhism and spirit healing cults as clearly distinct, in practice they are thoroughly intermeshed.

The relationship between magic and religion has traditionally been explained by academics in two different ways. Historians and scholars in the field of comparative religious studies usually make clear distinctions between folk magic and high religion. Anthropologists and sociologists, by contrast, have focused on establishing what functional differences (if any) actually separate these two categories. Ames himself argues that magic and religion cannot be distinct, that they are a continuum, actually commingling practical and spiritual aspects rather than opposing them as opposite ends of the spectrum.

A good example of this integration comes from Ceylon. The official religion of Ceylon is Buddhism, which concerns itself with the fate of the soul, karma, rebirth, merit and salvation. These same Buddhists also practice magical healing rituals to assist them in the practical science of worldly day, mundane life, in health, illness, work and the like. This includes invoking assistance of spirits to heal the body and spirit as well as exorcism. While Sinhalese Buddhists frequently fuse the practice of these magical healing rituals with Buddhist ritual practices, they themselves believe that the two systems are separate and a complementary "division of religious labor."

CLARITY 5

TRISH MALONE Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Arewa, E.O. and Alan Dundas.  Proverbs and the Ethnography of Speaking Folklore.  American Anthropologist  December 1964.  Vol. 66 (6 part 2):70-85

In this article the authors advocate studying folklore, specifically proverbs, in their original contexts in order to fully understand the genre and meanings held within this form of communication.  The authors are concerned about how proverbs are applied in African social settings from home life to court rooms.  In the “ethnography of speaking folklore” it is not only the text of a proverb that is important, but also the rules governing the use of the proverb in a given situation.  The authors’ argument that even the best folklore fieldworkers record only texts is followed by a call to explore and record contextual explanations and evaluations from the community under observation.  Recording the text of a proverb and the situations in which it occurs is not enough.  Collection of the interpretations of a proverb from members of the culture is equally essential.

The authors present fourteen Yoruba proverbs associated with child rearing, with culturally relevant explanations on how and when to apply each proverb in social context as evidence to support their argument.  Examples are followed by a brief discussion on the importance of observing the channel of communication for the proverb, the vehicle for delivering the message:  whether it is voiced or drummed.  What folklorists may think is a chance variation in delivery may in fact be a reflection of channel alternatives.  If the use of proverbs is communication, then the ways in which it is used as communication and contexts surrounding that communication must be taken into account.

The article includes an appendix of proverb texts in Yoruba orthography and literal translations as well as standard English.

Clarity:  5

JAYNE SMITHSON  CSU Hayward  (Peter J. Claus)

Bidney, David.     Paul Fejos. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66(1):110-115.

This is an obituary of Dr. Paul Fejos, was prepared by David Bidney. Paul Fejos was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1897, and died in 1963. When he was young, Fejos was interested in the theater, but his family pushed him towards a medical career. He attended the Royal Hungarian Medical College, and in 1921 he earned his M.D. He then was a member of the Hungarian army during World War I.

Instead of putting his medical degree to use, Fejos moved to the United States, in 1923, to work in theater or motion pictures. He had a few minor jobs, and then got a job at the Rockefeller Research Institute for Medical Research, which he held until 1926. He then felt the need to go to Hollywood to follow his dream. He luckily met a producer, and was given a chance to produce and direct a film called The Last Moment. He then went on to work on several films for Universal and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1931 he left Hollywood, because he felt that he could not appropriately express himself, artistically, in that situation. He made a film in Hungary, and then went to work for a Danish studio, which allowed him to make films anywhere he wanted. He happened to choose Madagascar, where he began filming native people. He made thirty films about native Madagascarians, and began to develop an interest in anthropology. He later went to Asia and South America to film more ethnographies.

Fejos returned to the United States in 1941. He became the Director of Research for the Viking Fund, which was later called the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. He held this position for the rest of his life. He used it to promote Anthropology worldwide, and to show the connections between anthropology and science. He had teaching positions at Yale and at Columbia University during this time. He was also an advisor to many well-known anthropologists and helped to advance the techniques of using geophysical apparatuses in archaeology and the use of C-14 for the dating of Java Man. Fejos left behind a wife, Mrs. Lita Binns Fejos, who took over his place as Director of Research for the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

CLARITY RATING: 5

BRANT IVEY: Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Berndt, Ronald M.  Warfare in the New Guinea Highlands. American Anthropologist 1964 vol. 66 183-203 

In this article Berndt outlines the main features in the available published material of several New Guinea tribes.  The article focuses on three aspects political unit, allies and enemies, and the refugees. The underlying point of this article is to show the diversity of warfare and its role in the social political environment of New Guinea.

Berndt begins by discussing the political unit of ten regions of the new Guinea Highlands.  The first unit is Kamano, Usurufa, Jade, and Fore.  He describes this region as fighting in the name of the district and not with their villages or lineages. In this region most of the fighting was between members of districts but were also the main source for marriage partners and were also guests at certain festivals and ceremonies.  When a district was defeated parts of that district could be scattered over a wide area and some refugees overtime would become affiliated to their host district and lose their own political identity. The next political unit he covers is the Gahuku-Gama region.  This region is similar to the first region but emphasized friendship and common origin when considerations of warfare were made. In this region refugees were treated in a rather different light for when women were captured they saw them as dangerous and typically killed them.  Alliances between some tribes were typically seen as enduring and all others were considered transitional. In this region as well as several others mentioned in the article warfare was regarded as incompatible with marriage. The next region is Siane.  This region was a patrilineal virilocal clan based villages.  The clans in this region typically fought other phratries and typically clans were hostile between unrelated clans.  Although they or hostile towards one another they would supply each other with wives in this way they would form alliances particularly when fighting other clans.  This also provided refugees a friendly place to fall back on when defeated by an enemy.  This also created a neutral group in the time of war who would watch the events unfold and offer advice on how to settle the conflict. Typically in all the regions discussed in this article compensation would be made after the war.  The overwhelming goal in warfare in New Guinea Highlands discussed in the article was to scatter the enemy and force them to become refugees while in the process killing some of them and leveling their houses and gardens.

Berndt points out that warfare’s role in the social political environment of New Guinea helps to contribute to social identification and economic stability. He points out that through alliances social activities such as trade and ceremonial events help to stimulate social identification. Next he points out that through the death of people and peacemaking compensation is in the form of gifts helped to distribute wealth throughout the region.  Through these economic exchanges and trade political alliances become rebuilt.  Finally he states that economics and warfare “were two sides of the same coin”.    

Clarity ranking: 4

THOMAS E. GRUBER  University of Oklahoma (Karl Rambo)                                 

Berreman, Gerald D.     Aleut Reference Group Alienation, Mobility, and Acculturation. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66(2):231-250.

In this article, Gerald Berreman discusses the process of acculturation found in the Aleutian village, Nikolski. To do so he looks at how reference groups, social mobility and identification affect the Aleut people, comparing these features with other cultures and situations. Berreman further uses this analysis to uncover the processes involved in situations where a small cultural group is dominated by another larger culture.

Berreman explains that Nikolski is a village of about 60 Aleut people. He studied the village in 1952 and 1962. Many white people had contact with the village, and Berreman found that villagers desired to gain their respect. Berreman claims that villagers are identifying more with white culture, as the level of contact increases. Part of this identification with white culture appears to be coming from the increased use of radios, newspapers, and magazines, and also from increased travel and communication opportunities through commercial air service into the village.

Berreman uses the concept of the reference group to analyze the Aleut culture of Nikolski. He defines a reference group as the group, holding to a certain set of norms, on which a person bases their own actions and behavior. This group is called a person’s membership group, if they are a member of the group, but membership is not required for a group to be a reference group. Berreman uses Turner’s reference group typology to analyze the Nikolski Aleut, contrasting the identification group (with which a person identifies while trying to become a member of the group) with the valuation group (which affects or is affected by the person though the person does not identify with its standpoints or values).

Berreman explains that most Aleuts use whites as a valuation group but keep other Aleuts as their membership group. Although the Aleuts want to be respected by whites, they also practice reference group alienation within their own culture. Reference group alienation is shown by Aleuts acting hostile towards whites when the latter aren’t around. When an Aleut is only with white people, he or she usually acts as though they are a part of white culture. When Aleuts are in a group of whites and Aleuts, they usually identify with the norms of their membership group because this group will offer more sanctions.

Berreman claims that some Aleut do not conform to the typical behavior models of other Aleuts. For example, Sophia is an Aleut woman who identifies with whites and acts like them even in front of other Aleuts. The other Aleuts look down on this type of activity and say that "she always pimps for the whites." She is alienated from her membership group and identifies with the white group. Sophia acts in a mobile way. She is trying to be accepted into the white group. Berreman likens this type of action to that typically found in the military, where soldiers act like their superiors to gain a promotion. Berreman seems to believe that the attitudes held by Sophia and other mobile Aleuts come from some sort of dissatisfaction with their membership group. Berreman looks at the issue of mobility and finds that terms used for mobility, such as "pimping" in Aleut culture, tend to be negative terms. Examples of these are: brown nosing, sucking up, pushing, etc.

Berreman also found similar issues within Hindu society in the Himalayas in 1957-58. Mountain Hindus related to the dominant plains Hindu group in much the same ways as Aleuts did to whites. Berreman sees these similar patterns as evidence that in situations where one group is dominant over another, the dominant group is looked upon as a positive valuation group but subordinate group loyalties usually stay with their own membership group. He believes that problems with status and satisfaction make it likely that some people will assume a role like Sophia’s.

CLARITY RATING: 5

BRANT IVEY: Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Boissevain, Jeremy.     Factions, Parties, and Politics in a Maltese Village. American Anthropologist December, 1964 Vol.66(6):1275-1287

Boissevain’s article defines and illustrates the concept of "faction" by giving examples of groups in conflict in a Maltese village and then determining which ones should be termed factions. The author believes that various authors use this term so differently that comparative analysis is difficult. Boissevain’s analysis focuses on a village in Malta, a densely populated Mediterranean country and former British Colony. This village, which he called Farrug, contained several conflicting groups or partiti (singular term, partit). A partit is defined as "a group which supports a person or policy in competition with a rival group supporting a different person or policy."

Using Festa partiti divisions, two groups each celebrate a Saint, have a band club, a social club, and an elaborate annual celebration with fireworks. These divisions began in about 1900 when a new parish priest who particularly liked St. Rouge wanted a celebration and social club in honor of him even though the village already honored St. Martin. Some villagers did not want to support another celebration, squabbling broke out, and the village divided into groups supporting either St. Martin or St. Rogue. People originally chose which group they would support, but are now born into one group or another. Boissevain gives many examples of tension, animosity, and squabbling between the two Festa partiti groups.

Two other groups in bitter conflict involved\ followers of the Malta Labour Party and those of the Archbishop. Membership in these political divisions cross-cuts the partiti groups and is split equally between supporters of St. Martin and St. Rogue. The political groups had existed for about 11 years at the time of Boissevain’s writing.

Also discussed are conflicts within groups and clubs. Boissevain mentions how some clubs include very vocal members of both the St. Martin and St. Rogue partiti, but mange to avoid internal conflicts mainly by taking care not to involve the club itself in any partiti activities. However, differing political allegiances among members have caused tension in the St. Martin band club and even led it to split up once. In another instance, the Labor members of the band boycotted their festa to retaliate against the church. The St. Martin club also became seriously "divided over whether to fire the traditional salute of firecrackers for the Archbishop when he came to take part in the festa."

Another conflict, which divided the village for about a month, concerned the redecoration of the village church. During the redecoration the Parish Priest had hung his coat of arms in the church, an act which many people opposed, and when the priest left it was stolen. Some members of the St. Martin club wanted to issue an apology to the priest, but this was voted down and "three officers resigned in protest."

Boissevain draws on previous definitions offered by Lasswell and Firth to conclude that only two groupings within the St. Martin partit, the firecracker and coat-of-arms groups, should actually be classified as factions. Lasswell had defined faction much like Boissevain defined partit but required that factions not be permanent divisions. Firth had emphasized that factions must also be thought of as only being "loosely ordered groups." Thus Boissevain concludes that the Festa partiti and the political division of Farrug are too highly "structured" and permanent to be factions.

CLARITY RANKING: 5

DANA DEKAY Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Boyer, Ruth M.     The Matrifocal Family among the Mescalero: Additional Data. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol.66:593-602.

In this article, Ruth Boyer presents a detailed overview of the family structure of the Mescalero Apache. She draws on her own fieldwork, which she describes as "an intensive socialization study," and which was carried out in New Mexico between 1958 and 1960. The article is in response to Peter Kunstader’s comparative study on matrifocality which had included the Mescalero as an example. Boyer agrees with the characterization in principle but finds Kunstader's accepted definition of matrifocality to be limiting, and wishes to present "additional evidence which makes a matrifocal classification more meaningful with regard to the specific Mescalero society."

Kunstader's understanding of matrifocality emphasized the following elements: "a co-resident kin group having no regularly present male in the role of husband-father, the most effective relationships being those between consanguinal kin." Kunstader estimated that 15% of the Mescalero population lived in households which fit this definition and cited economic conditions, Apache bilaterality, and the ideal of neolocality as supporting conditions of this pattern. Boyer found that other aspects of Mescalero society were closely related to matrifocality and thus needed to be considered. These included current household composition, preferred and actual residence patterns, friendship and visiting patterns, and economics and subsistence. Boyer is especially insistent that the strong emotional bond between female relatives be fully recognized, for she believes this factor may be more pertinent to the matrifocal standing of the Mescalero than the effect of an absent male father/husband figure.

It seems that the social standing of Apache men had indeed shifted drastically since what Boyer terms "pre-reservation days." Formerly, "the man was ideally the decision-maker for the nuclear family... today, the woman frequently makes the major decisions and handles the family income." Boyer points out the tension between "the Apache whose prestige formerly depended upon his ability as a hunter-warrior-raider" and the modern Apache who is faced with the disagreeable option of accepting jobs regarded as "White man" work. Without a "positive, pride-permitting" role, therefore, many men took to drinking and living on relief money. Boyer notes that, "in this respect, Mescalero resembles other Indian reservations."

Boyer's study included 198 Apache families, the composition of which changed often, in keeping with the Apache nomadic tradition. Only 17 of these had "no model whatsoever for a husband-father." Nine households were headed by widows; four by divorcees; and some of the others by women who could be expected to marry soon. Despite the ambiguous status of the Apache male, Boyer remarks that "Apache expectations include the presence of a husband-father figure in the home." In some matrifocal families, a brother or an uncle fills this role. Boyer noted that these father figures are often less heavy-handed than the mother in disciplinary matters yet participate easily in "domestic" chores. Contrary to expectations, Boyer’s analysis of employment showed that economic conditions do not necessarily keep the man away from home for extended periods, but that his presence is still recognized while he is absent.

Boyer’s comprehensive overview of Mescalero demographics illustrate how ties between female kin control housing arrangements. While friendships between non-kin are rare, visiting between female relatives is common and is facilitated by residential proximity. Although many Apache paid lip service to the ideal of neolocality, Boyer observed that "families cluster with their kin or in an adjacent chicken coop, barn, or tent rather than live in more isolated, but neolocal, fashion," causing government-built houses to go unoccupied on the outskirts of the reservation. Boyer concludes that the Mescalero are indeed "matri-centered" within a network of female-kin ties, but that defining matrifocality around the absence of a male father figure does not capture the reality of Mescalero matrifocality.

CLARITY RANKING: 4

KELLY McCOY Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Buchler, I. R.     Measuring the Development of Kinship Terminologies: Scalogram and Transformational Accounts of Crow-type Systems. American Anthropologist August, 1964. Vol. 66(4):765-788.

In this article, I. R. Buchler does an analysis of all Crow-type kinship terminology systems. He notes that in previous attempts to assess Crow systems, only a few case studies were included. Buchler, however, proposes to include all known Crow-type terminology systems in his analysis and to make an explicit note of their variability. Here he illustrates a method of determining which Crow systems are identical, of demonstrating how each Crow system differs from every other Crow system, and of showing how much overall variation there is within Crow-type systems. He also illustrates structures that are partial and incomplete expressions of an underlying principle which governs the development of Crow kinship terminologies by reviewing Lounsbury's recent contributions to structural studies.

He begins by explaining scalogram analysis, which "applies to any universe of qualitative data of any science, obtained by any manner of observation" and provides a method for ordering qualitative data. In this case, Buchler uses kinship terms as the data variables, which are scored negatively or positively depending on whether a term was used in the typical Crow-type sense or if it was used differently. In order to get the most accurate information, Buchler had to arrange the kinship terms in such a way that it would yield the maximum "coefficient of reproducibility." Theoretically, an acceptable coefficient of reproducibility would be .90 or above. The formulas are presented and explained in considerable detail.

The first scalogram analysis included eight kinship term variables from seven systems, including Tlingit, Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Crow, and Hopi. The terminologies are listed and a graph is presented to show the scale type of each system, determined by whether each term is used or not. Since the terms have been ranked to produce a high coefficient, the systems appear as being ranked from lowest to highest. Some exceptions appear in the graph, as when a variable that is ranked higher is used while the expected lower ranked variable is not. These are seen as scale errors and are exceptions within the general terminology patterns of Crow-type systems.

The second scalogram analysis used sixteen terminology variables and included all forty-one systems that are of the Crow type. His data shows the systems' order and rank, and the scale type which the analysis produced. There were twenty-seven scale errors and the coefficient of reproducibility was .959. Buchler goes on to explain each unreported kinship term and what their exceptional terminological assignments are. The twenty-seven exceptions occur in seventeen of the forty-one systems.

So far, Buchler has just categorized the kinship systems. To continue his study, he presents a transformational analysis, which will determine what rules generate the different kinship assignments. He illustrates the rules and corollaries, which Lounsbury has established. These "expansion" rules include the skewing rule for Crow type I, the merging rule, the half-sibling rule, and the skewing rule for Crow type II. Each rule has a corollary. He then analyzes which rules are applicable to the terms which were seen as exceptions within the scalogram analysis. He also presents a diagram listing each of the kin-types, the related expansion rules and corollaries for that term, and the general terminological variables used. This listing is then rearranged to show each system within its scale type, the exceptional kin-types that apply to the system, and the expansion rules which affect how these assignments are determined.

Lounsbury classifies Crow systems into three major types: fully bifurcate, semi-bifurcate, and non-bifurcate systems. "This typology is based upon the classification of [Father's Sister], [Father's Sister's Daughter], their female parallel collaterals, uterine descendents, etc., and their reciprocals." Buchler uses these distinctions to explain another skewing rule used to differentiate between fully bifurcated and non-bifurcated systems. By making these distinctions, generally used classes (such as "mother" and "child") can be classified, as can collateral and lineal relatives. All aspects of Crow-type terminologies are included within one of the typologies.

The Zuni and Northern Wintun kinship terminologies involve alternative assignments. These irregularities in kinship assignments occur as a result of the distinction between the classifying function and the role designating function of the kinship term. In other words, these systems may have different terms for relatives when they are referring to their role in the society versus their classification in relation to an individual. Buchler explains the different terminologies used and introduces an alternative rule that will account for this exception.

Finally, Buchler wraps up his article by explaining the different purposes for which category words can be used to distinguish kin. Some believe kinship terms are used to signify social groups, whereas others (like Lounsbury) believe that kinship terms are used for the purpose of genealogical reckoning. In Lounsbury's words, "the ‘basic meanings’ of primary category terms are primary kin types." Buchler's final summary stresses that the different analyses work effectively to produce the information needed because "they are a basic extension of culture in nature."

CLARITY RANKING: 3

COREY HOVEN: Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Burling, Robbins.     Cognition and Componential Analysis: God’s Truth or Hocus-Pocus? The American Anthropologist. 1964 Vol. 66(1):20-28.

Linguistic anthropologists use formal semantics to categorize words by their meaning. One of the procedures of formal semantics is componential analysis. In this article, Burling, of the University of Pennsylvania, questions the empirical validity of componential analysis because of the large number of different solutions that are possible. He also questions whether a particular semantic analysis of a language can claim to represent the cognitive organization of the people who use it. Burling illustrates multiple ways words can be divided into sets of meaning, providing diagrams and formulae. He draws heavily on the work of Charles Frake and Benjamin Whorf.

Semantics is the meaning of words, and componential analysis is the system used by linguists to categorize sets of words and their interrelationship. An example would be the set of words "tree", "spruce", "pine", and "oak". "Tree" is the main set under which fall "spruce", "pine" and "oak". In comparing a term in relation to "tree", for example, the word "spruce" would be given a value of "+" because it is a tree, and "rose" would be given a value of "-" because it is not a tree. A subcategory of the set would be "evergreen" where, if the tree was an evergreen as in the case of a spruce, it would be given a value of "+" and "-" if not, such as in the case of an oak.

Items in a set like the one above can be divided in a number of ways. Burling provides a number of examples to illustrate the many ways a set of terms can be divided into subsets and how the complexity increases as larger sets are worked with. Compounding the issue, to list two of the problems presented in the article, are "homonomy," where a term may have two different meanings; and "redundancy," in the sense that the division of sets into subsets does not have to be non-redundant, which greatly increases the number of solutions. In addition, Burling believes that hierarchal classifications, such as in the grouping of "tree", "spruce", "pine" and "oak", gloss over the issue of indeterminacy. He uses as an example the cedar, which is a tree, but is it an evergreen? If evergreen is defined as a "needled" tree, cedar is not really "needled", but, then again, nor is it "leafy". Its classification, therefore, becomes indeterminate. What is the "cognitive" difference between a hemlock and a spruce? He claims these questions "must be answered before any single semantic analysis can claim to represent the cognitive organization of the people, or even claim to be much more than an exercise of the analyst’s imagination."

Burling critiques Frake’s taxonomic classification of medical terms of the Subanun language of Mindanao. Because Frake does not give a complete analysis of all disease terms, his analysis lacks certainty. Burling states that he will not be convinced that there are not hundreds of possible analyses of Subanun disease terms until Frake can present the entire system fully analyzed and can adequately explain how he has chosen his particular analysis. The issue that Burling is pressing is this: When a linguist does his study and then writes a grammar, is he determining something that really exists within the language (God’s truth); or is he just formulating a set of rules that happen to work (hocus-pocus)?

Burling’s conclusion leans far over to the "hocus-pocus" side. That is, he suspects that when an anthropologist undertakes a semantic analysis, rather than discovering some psychological reality which speakers of the language truly share, the linguist is simple working out a set of rules which somehow take account of the observed phenomena. Burling urges that we should be content with showing how terms in language are applied to objects in the world and stop pursuing the illusory goal of cognitive structures.

CLARITY RANKING: 2 Highly technical and difficult.

CAROL VEILLEUX Southern Oregon University (Dr. Anne Chambers)

Bulmer, Susan and Ralph.   The Prehistory of the Australian New Guinea Highlands.   American Anthropologist August, 1964   Vol.66 (4):39-76.

This article deals with the prehistory of the central highlands of New Guinea. A great deal of the work focuses on the available data obtained from excavation and other finds of prehistoric material culture in the Highlands area. Linguistic relations of Highlands peoples, modern culture of Highlands people, physical anthropological analysis of Highlands peoples, ethno-botanical analysis, analysis of domestic animals, and environment also provide insight into a synthesis of the prehistory of the highlands included in non-archaeological evidence. Limited data proves somewhat problematic in analysis.

The non-archaeological evidence is considered first, examining the relations of highlands peoples to one another and contemplating the antiquity of man in the regions. A number of the hypotheses originally proposed by these studies show fault in analysis, and the authors suggest different approaches to the evidence provided for the prehistory of the Highlands. They contend that the evidence shows a different course of development in the Eastern and Western regions of the highlands, but deny that any clear point of entry from East to West by any prehistoric peoples can be proven on the basis of this evidence. The authors contend that the antiquity of occupation of man in New Guinea extends back around 8,000-10,000 years ago. The first occupation speculated on the island by hunter/gatherer people gave way to horticulturist lifestyle before the development of more modern sweet potato cultivation. Another point suggests the existence of ancestral language groups to contemporary Highland New Guinea groups before the sweet potato’s introduction.

The latter part deals with the archaeological evidence in the Highland area. The material culture of the prehistory of the area includes stone, bone, shell, and ceramic artifacts. Rock shelters show evidence of prehistoric and recent use, and the excavations at the sites of Kiowa and Yuka show evidence that fits into the afore mentioned points from non-archaeological evidence of the region’s prehistory. The two sites mentioned lie in different regions, and show the different cultural developments between the Eastern and Western Highlands, but both follow the three-phase sequence postulated by the developments in the above paragraph. 

The phase sequence places earliest occupation of the highlands by pre-neolithic people. Following is a second phase marked by the appearance of new complexes of technology for cultivation. This includes the appearance in the Western Highlands of a new complex of artifacts, which shows a possibility of immigration into the area by peoples possessing this technology from the North or Northeast. Included in this phase is the appearance of the axe-adze. Speculated is the existence of ancestral language groups to modern highlands peoples during this time. The third phase marks the appearance of new styles of axe-adzes in certain areas. This is the phase where intensive sweet potato cultivation shows up in the highlands. Pottery shows up in the Eastern Highlands. These findings show the differing development of the Eastern and Western highlands based on differences of material culture, but lack of data prohibits determining the direction of migration into the area.

CLARITY: 3

BRANDON LYLE  University of Oklahoma (Karl Rambo).

Cassinelli, C. W.     An Introduction to the Principality of Sakya. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66(5):1105-1109.

C. W. Cassinelli describes the governmental and political structures of Sakya. Sakya, a Tibetan principality, constituted a small polity of around 17,000 people with a strong autonomous political system until it was taken over by communist China. This article was written as the first step in a larger study to be completed in the future.

Cassinelli studied the area of Sakya that contained the political and religious capital, an area of 2100 square miles. The aKHon family, whose ancestors had previously been the rulers of all Tibet in the 11th and 12th centuries, ruled Sakya. The inherited ruler of Sakya was known as the "KHri CHen," and only needed to make the symbolic gesture of sending a few conscripts a year to the central government of Lhasa. Most of the 17,000 people were barley farmers, some of whom also had skills such as carpentry, tailoring, and smithing. Around 10% of the population relied on full-time animal herding, and there were about 500 Buddhist monks.

There were about 25 hereditary noble families, but the highest status in the society belonged to the governmental officials. These officials were selected by the KHri CHen, and could be from either noble or common backgrounds, depending on the preference of the ruler. Not only was the KHri CHen the governmental ruler of Sakya, he was also the principal lama of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. This position reinforced his leadership role and brought in money through donations from other Tibetan Buddhists. This role of lama did not affect the operation of the monasteries in Sakya. The KHri CHen only had domain over the government.

The government was responsible for keeping Sakya peaceful. It enforced laws and had a court to settle civil disputes. The KHri Chen had considerable power, as long as he operated within the traditional beliefs of the Sakya culture. The KHri CHen was then able to make drastic policy changes, so long as they supported "traditional beliefs." The next most powerful person in the Sakya government was the ZHabs Pad. This person, similar to a grand vizier, served as an advisor to the KHri CHen. Depending on the KHri CHen’s personal preference, the ZHabs Pad could end up running the government, or in the case of a very political KHri CHen, he could just provide minor assistance. Other officials of the government served as the ZHabs Pad’s staff. Some nobles worked as servants to the aKHon family.

Succession to the KHri CHen position was passed through the male line of the aKHon family, but no specific son was automatically chosen. The sons were able to compete for the position, sometimes resulting in splits in the aKHon line. This system categorized by Cassinelli as a "traditional" social organization, resulted in an integrated system of economics, religious beliefs, social deference, and taxation.

CLARITY RATING: 4

BRANT IVEY: Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Chafe, Wallace L.     Another Look at Siouan and Iroquoian. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66:852.862.

Chafe begins his article by acknowledging that the relationship between the Siouan and Iroquoian languages is not "new." Chafe considers his article to be a continuation of the earlier work of Louis Allen, whose article "Siouan and Iroquoian" has not received sufficient professional attention, but he briefly notes other authors who have written about this issue aas well. Chafe's main goal is to compare the Seneca and "Pre-Seneca" to the "Proto-Siouan" languages, pointing out their obvious "similarities." It should be noted that the author includes all Siouan languages in his reconstructions, but only one of the Iroquoian languages (Seneca and Pre-Seneca) because sources were so limited.

Chafe provides a list of 67 cognates, which are words in different languages that have the same origin. The Seneca form (Se) or Pre-Seneca form (*) is given first, and the Proto-Siouan (PS) is next. The author also provides "attested reflexes" after the Proto-Siouan form, which is acknowledged by the first two letters of the specific language. For example, "Wi" for Winnebago. The author also includes a Proto-Siouan-Iroquoian form (PSI) at the end of each set. Before the actual list, the author explains, very specifically, more about how the cognates are structured, including what it means when there are hyphens, accents, "hooks," shortened lengths, etc. An example of one of these cognates is as follows: Again. Se *(?)are(?) (>?ae?) / PS *akhe (>Da ahke). PSI *akhe.

The author then provides a list of the phoneme correspondences from the 67 cognates, the structure being Seneca/Proto-Siouan. After each of these correspondences there is a "suggestion," in parentheses, "of the Proto-Siouan-Iroquoian phoneme with which the correspondence may be equated." The numbers of correspondence entries are then listed. After this extensive list, the author then compares the phoneme inventories of all three forms, which are illustrated in side-by-side charts. Another set of charts is presented to illustrate the reflexes of each form’s phonemes. Chafe's discussion of the results of the charts is difficult to understand unless the charts themselves, and all of the other data, is understood first.

The author concludes by pointing out a few basic similarities between the grammatical patterns of both Siouan and Iroquoian languages. These similarities suggest to the author that "virtually all of North America east of the Rockies was inhabited by two great linguistic stocks: Siouan-Caddoan-Iroquoian and Algonkian-Gulf." He urges that more detailed research be carried out in order to affirm this proposed relationship.

CLARITY RANKING: 3

LINDSAY GILLESPIE Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Cohen, Yehudi A.     The Establishment of Identity in a Social Nexus: The Special Case of Initiation Ceremonies and Their Relation to Value and Legal Systems. American Anthropologist 1964 Vol. 66: 529-552

Cohen presents an alternate approach to the problem of initiation ceremonies. He departs from the established work of Van Gennep and Durkheim (1909) and the more recent work of Whiting and his students (1962) in asserting that initiation ceremonies "help to establish a sense of social-emotional anchorage for the growing individual." He argues that the resulting emotional identification, the "feeling one with another person," allows society to function and encourages growing children to identify with adult roles. Societies manipulate these relationships in specific ways in order to create identification with relevant kinship groupings and socially important value orientations. Specifically, Cohen notes "if a society wants its growing members to acquire an anchorage outside the nuclear family, it is going to have to interfere with or weaken a child’s identification with his parents."

Cohen takes the foundational work of Gluckman and Radcliffe-Brown as starting points in showing how societies manipulate the child’s relationship to his nuclear family at the first and second stages of puberty. Two primary types of manipulation are examined: extrusion from the nuclear family household or brother-sister avoidance in early puberty, followed by actual initiation ceremonies coinciding with the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. Cohen hypothesizes that practices and rituals at each stage will co-vary with different social conditions and tests his hypotheses against a sample of 28 societies. His findings confirm that the orientation of initiation rituals fits specifically with the relationship that is valued between the nuclear family and wider society.

Finally Cohen seeks to correlate initiation ceremonies with legal systems (specifically liability), since he feels this provides a way to concretely specify what is meant by a term such as "social-emotional anchoring." Again, his hypotheses are largely confirmed.

Cohen concludes his article by reiterating his points of agreement and disagreement with Whiting. Both agree that the problem of identity is central to understanding initiation ceremonies. However, while Whiting sees initiation ceremonies as resolving conflict in sex identity, Cohen argues that initiation ceremonies should be seen as playing a wider social role and connect with other customary kin-related practices to define the child’s relations to his nuclear family and kin groups.

CLARITY 4

TRISH MALONE Southern Oregon University (Anne Chambers)

Coult, Allen D. Role Allocation, Position Structuring, and Ambilineal Descent. American Anthropologist 1964. 66(1): 29-41.

Coult’s article offers a broad analysis of role allocation, status, and position structuring in social groups and uses these concepts to compare and contrast aspects of ambilineal and unilineal descent groups, in an effort to shed light upon empirical ambilineal descent. The author does not set out to prove one particular point, but rather highlights a number of differences between the two kin systems and uses examples to illustrate how these differences affect societal structure and kin relations. However, within these broad comparisons, two reoccurring concepts emerge— that position structures of ambilineal descent groups are more variable than those of unilineal groups and that role structuring in ambilineal groups is based less on kin-type differentiation and more on allocation of roles to other types of positions.

Fischer, J.L.  Words for Self and Others in Some Japanese Families.  December 1964.  Vol. 66 (6 part 2):115-126

The stated purpose of this paper of to outline the way in which various types of linguistic forms are organized by members of urban, middle-class Japanese households, and to note some of the features of Japanese family and social structure to help explain the complex variety of usage.  The Japanese language contains a variety of personal pronouns, chosen by speakers to reflect social status and interpersonal relationships.  This study focused on the entire range of forms used to refer to “self” and “addressee” in conversations between household members.  The author bases conclusions in this paper on data gathered from interviews with 41 Japanese families in Fukuoka in 1962.  These interviews resulted in specific reporting of five major lexiconal categories:  (1) personal pronouns, (2) kin terms, (3) age status terms, (4) personal names, (5) a zero, or absence of any form.  Several examples and charts make it easier for the reader to understand the usage of kin terms and modes of reference.  Particularly helpful is a chart of semantic domains used in personal reference in conversations among various pairs of family members.  A questionnaire given to 90 families in Tokyo validates the data gathered by personal interviews in Fukuoka.

The author states general interpretation of findings in the first person imperative, concluding that Japanese modes of self reference tend to be socio-centric and child oriented, as compared to the ego-centric and individualistic focus of European modes of address.  It is especially characteristic of Japanese society that behavior in most social relationships is very precisely defined and prescribed.  Child centered forms of personal reference and socialization appear to be popular among urban middle-class Japanese speakers.

CLARITY:  5

JAYNE SMITHSON  CSU Hayward  (Peter J. Claus)

Frake, Charles O.  How to Ask for a Drink in Subanun.  December 1964.  Vol. 66 (6 part 2):127-132

The author’s purpose in writing this article is to illustrate the importance of knowing not only how to construct and express a statement equivalent to a request for a drink, but also a specification of what kinds of things to say in what message forms to what people in specific kinds of situations.  Requests must be made with due consideration and understanding of the context of a given situation in order to have any hope of the outcome desired by the person asking.  The ensuing ethnography describes the cultural contexts and appropriate etiquette for drinking a brew loosely defined as beer.  The activity of beer drinking is closely interrelated with talking and transacting business, and serves as a major medium of interfamily communication.

Subanun society contains no absolute, society-wide status positions or automatically inherited offices.  The strategy of drinking talk is to manipulate the assignment of role relations among the participants so as to have the opportunity to assume an esteem-attracting and authority wielding role.  Four distinct discourse stages happen within the drinking talk of an encounter:  (I) invitation/permission, (2) jar talk, centering on the actual drink being consumed, (3) discussion or litigation, not only a contest between litigants, but one between persons attempting to assume the role of legal authority, and (4) a display of verbal arts, which can take the form of song and verse composed within a rigid format.  The most skilled drinkers and talkers are the leaders of society.  Not only does one have to know how to as