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Ethnos: Journal of
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Book reviews
a b
Miguel Montoya , Henk Driessen , Maria de
c d e
Bruyn , Michael Bollig , Marit Melhuus ,
f g
Steen Bergendorff , Myrdene Anderson & Eyal
h
Ben‐Art
a
University of Texas , Austin, USA
b
University of Nijmegen , The Netherlands
c
Royal Tropical Institute , Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
d
University of Cologne , Germany
e
University of Oslo , Norway
f
Roskilde University , Denmark
g
Purdue University , West Lafayette, USA
h
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Israel
Published online: 20 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Miguel Montoya , Henk Driessen , Maria de Bruyn , Michael
Bollig , Marit Melhuus , Steen Bergendorff , Myrdene Anderson & Eyal Ben‐Art
(1998) Book reviews, Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, 63:2, 297-316, DOI:
10.1080/00141844.1998.9981576

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 Book Reviews
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Michael Kearney. 1996. Reconceptualizing condly, suggestions as to how one might

the Peasantry: Anthropology in Global Per- better conceptualize 'peasantlike people',
spectwe. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. which make up chapters 5-8.
210 pp. The first section is complex, scholarly,
and difficult to summarize in a short re-
In his recent book, Reconceptualizing the view. The author launches a discussion
Peasantry:Anthropology in Global Perspective, of the dualism inherent in anthropolo-
Michael Kearney suggests that it is time gical thinking, and reviews the develop-
to put the category 'peasant' to rest. Point- ment of the discipline from early classical
ing out that globalization (particularly anthropology - Frazer and Morgan —
transnational labor migration) is rapidly through its consolidation between the
transforming so-called peasant communi- two world wars as the study of the primitive,
ties, and that only a few pockets of people as introduced by Malinowski — to mo-
which might reasonably be called peasants dern anthropology's entry on the scene
still exist in the world, he argues that the with the decline of colonialism and the
outdated concept both hinders anthro- guerrilla wars of the post-Cold War era.
pologists in reaching new insights about The years after the end of World War
such people, and serves to hold them in II saw a surge in peasant studies, Kearney
a stigmatized position where they can be says, as struggles in which peasants were
exploited by business and controlled by major protagonists (Korea, Vietnam, An-
government. gola) occupied the headlines, and govern-
Kearney outlines the structure of the ments experienced a need for informa-
book and of his argument in the intro- tion about rural populations.
duction, and then contextualizes the work With these struggles, Kearney notes,
by informing us of his own research and the category of the peasant enters into
intellectual background. The first chapter anthropology, inheriting the binary op-
presents sketches of the Mixtec commun- positions that the discipline is structured
ity of San Jeronimo - where Kearney has upon; peasants are rural (not urban), tra-
conducted extensivefieldwork—andfour ditional (not modern), and so on. Never-
'transnational' community members, and theless, as a category, they constitute a
asks the reader whether these people can threat to both anthropology and the mo-
really be considered to be 'peasants'. There- dern nation-state because they are con-
after, the book consists of two main parts: ceptually ambiguous: neither primitive
a discussion of the origins and history of nor modern, they are on the margin.
the anthropological concept of the peas- Anthropology responds to this threat
antry, contained in chapters 2-4, and se- by inventing 'the peasant', and by essen-

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 298 Book Reviews

tializing him, manages to contain this dis- relations even if class does not serve to
ruptive category in time and space. But, mobilize because it now lacks sharp cleav-
Kearney argues, 'containment is necessary ages (pp. 172-74).
only because counter forces are at work' The use of Bourdieu's work on various
(p. 6), forces which will lead theory out of forms of capital (cultural, economic and
the dualist bind. In chapter 4, he presents symbolic) is relevant to the project of de-
an overview of the 'romantic reactions' lineating internal differentiation, Kearn-
to the modernization theory of the 1950s ey proposes, because this perspective can
and 1960s, covering the rise of depend- offer ways of taking account of other
ency theory and articulation theory, the kinds of capital than economic capital.
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latter of which is discussed in detail as Additionally, focusing on consumption,

having made important contributions that for example of cultural signs and values
have moved theory-building away from and of information (alaBaudrillard) also
dualism by making explicit how the mo- provides a new way of approaching the
dern and the traditional are intertwined. ethnography of rural communities, which
Parts of this discussion are not new. How- have previously been analyzed primarily
ever, much of it is useful, summing up from the viewpoint of production. Trans-
earlier work in a nutshell, and offering in- national communities made up of the
sights, as in the author's observation on Mixtec, he points out, are using ethnicity
how the right and the left approach each as an organizational pole in their nego-
other in the rhetoric surrounding sustain- tiations with the larger world, and in the
able development. wake of this ethnicity come arguments
If the category of the peasant is to be focusing on human rights and on eco-
dissolved, what, then, shall replace it? politics which win salience through their
Having discussed past peasant studies, resonance with global issues. Here, rurally
Kearney goes on to consider contemporary based yet transnational communities are
global conditions—the development crisis, using global media and current discour-
north-south alignments, and the decay ses to gain power—rights and opportunities
of rural/urban polarities which now affect - while operating in the interstices of the
'peasant' identities and their representa- economic zone on the U. S.-Mexican border.
tions. He proposes his own concepts, Discussions of the nature of the peas-
such as polybians (pp. 141-43) as a better antry and their relationship with urban
term for rural people who, via migration, zones and markets have been a large part
occupy other positions than those expect- of peasant studies for nearly half a century,
ed of them and also, other spaces; and from the pioneering works of Redfield
reticulum (pp. 126-27) to signify the ela- and Foster, with their cognitive approach-
borate and extensive networks that in- es, to the recognition of the importance
corporate such migrants in transnational of political economy and history in the
space. Making a case for viewing rural works of Steward, Wolf, Mintz, and Rose-
people as internally differentiated, rather berry. These issues are relevant to studies
than concentrating, as in the past, on ex- of peasant rationality such as those of
ternal differentiation, Kearney suggests Barlett, Gudeman, and Ortiz, and to dis-
that we depart from rural peoples' own cussions of peasants' articulation with
description of themselves. Class analysis the capitalist economy like those of Cook,
remains valid because within reticula, ge- and dejanvry. The more actor-oriented
neral value is differentially produced and approaches of Long and Stonich are also
consumed, defining class identities and ultimately concerned with questions of

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 Book Reviews 299

integration. One may say that defining burying it worldwide, in Africa, India and
and describing the very diverse nature of Asia, as well as in the Latin American
'peasants' is what a good deal of the the- context.
oretical work in the field has been about, The Mixtec case also poses its questions.
and indeed, Kearney's work can also be In the first chapter, Kearney notes how
seen as within that tradition. earnings made in the transnational set-
'The peasantry' has always been an un- ting are reinvested in ceremonial life in
comfortable concept: any anthropologist Sanjeronimo. He also recounts how a mi-
who has worked in rural communities grant family leaves their teenage daughter,
has been confronted with the difficulty of the only U.S. citizen in the family, at
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using it when writing about these societies. home to help her grandparents, when
Too general and burdened with multiple they again depart to work in the States
connotations, the term is more of a pro- after spending some time in the village. It
blem than a useful tool for description or appears that the village, although admit-
analysis, yet the very ambiguity of the tedly changing, has the primary allegiance
concept has created a good deal of the of these migrants; and that they prefer to
momentum in peasant studies, as scholars invest their futures there. Indeed, with
sought to refine it in order to better do- their current insecure legal situation due
cument and analyze the social phenomena to U.S. immigration policies, this is only
that they observed in the countryside. reasonable; they need to maintain their
However, I question how much we have positions at home. The Mixtecs are obliged
to gain by using a new term such as poly- to migrate to survive, and they learn to
bians to represent rural people today, use the channels of the host population
and would prefer efforts to continue to to further their own goals, as many mi-
refine the terminology we have, and to grant communities do. Yet, when observing
improve our ethnographic methodology. phenomena such as consumption and
Throughout this work, the author's apparent integration, one must foremost
'strongly classic Marxist concern with search for the meaning of these from the
economic exploitation as it occurs within point of view of the people in question.
specific class systems that make such ex- On the one hand, Kearney argues that
ploitation possible' (pp. 11-12) informs the concept of the peasantry should be
his analysis and gives it a particular char- done away with because it is dualistic
acter. Parts of the work are repetitive, but and anachronistic, an unprogressive term
this may be a device to aid the reader in which serves to negatively categorize ru-
following a complicated argument. Does ral people, and prevents scholars from
Kearney really convince us that the peasant, thinking more creatively about these soci-
as a category, is dead? One problem is eties. On the other hand, he also argues
that his analysis is so bound up with his that in any case, transnational processes
own fieldwork with Mixtecs working in have transformed rural communities into
the U.S. agroindustry, a floating trans- something quite different from what we
national community in the 'transnational used to think of as 'a peasantry". Unfor-
megalopolis' that is gradually forming be- tunately broad ethnographic support for
tween Los Angeles and Tijuana. While eliminating the category is lacking in his
his discussion of Mixtecs is to the point, book; which would be better if he had
how representative is this group of rural drawn his examples worldwide. Kearney's
people as a whole? Surely burying the suggestions for using new social theory
theoretical concept of the peasantry means such as Bourdieu's theory of capital and

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews
3°°
Baudrillard's work on signs in discussing in Ethiopia (courageously narrated), and
rural communities is intriguing, and merits casual sex in the gay saunas of Brussels.
attention; but unfortunately these inter- In his introduction, Kulick argues that
esting analytical strategies remain sketchy the silence surrounding sexual desire in
in the book - one wishes that they had thefieldimplies avoiding to confront pow-
been further developed. Yet despite these er, privilege and perspective in ethno-
faults, this is a provocative book that shouldgraphic research. He claims that acknowl-
stimulate debate. edgement of the 'erotic subjectivity' of
Miguel Montoya the fieldworker can be epistemologically
University of Texas at Austin, USA productive. Co-editor Willson identifies
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three interlocking sub-themes in the con-

tributions: the sexualized relationship be-
Don Kulick & Margaret Wiltson (eds). tween the interpreting ethnographer and
1995. Taboo: Sex, Identity and Erotic Sub- the field, the fieldworker as a sexualized
jectivity in AnthropologicalFieldwork. Lon- subject in the field, and the notion of sex-
don/New York: Routledge. xvi + 283 pp. ual identity within the ethnographer.
Taboo calls into question a whole range
The last two decades we have learned of taken-for-granted dichotomies and ten-
that fieldworkers are neither tough as sions in mainstream anthropological re-
nails nor holy heroes but rather persons search: between personal involvement
of flesh and blood. The book under re- and scientific strategy, private and pub-
view breaks the ultimate taboo and unveils lic, home and field, self and other, knower
fieldworkers as beings with hormones: and known. Where, for instance, does
sexualized and gendered. In so doing, the the 'field' begin and where does it end
authors take a step forward in the pro- when research sites are chosen because
cess of demystifying and humanizing the of previous emotional and sexual involve-
ethnographic fieldworker. ment (in half of the cases); when the
Seven of the ten contributors (editors fieldworker takes a part of the field back
included) are women and of the three home as husband and child (the case of
males only one is heterosexual, a telltale taking partner and/or children into the
fact in the light of the book's substance. field is absent from the discussion, as is
The eight chapters deal with desire, erotic fieldwork by anthropological couples).
and sexual encounters between fieldwork- What is the field when the trauma of rape
ers and individuals of the groups and com- is still with the anthropologist twenty
munities in which they work. Since the years after? There are several kinds of
editors have refrained from imposing any 'fields' represented in this book, quite dif-
definition of sexuality on their co-authors ferent ones in terms of temporal and spa-
- hence the deliberately woolly phrase tial boundaries, a fact the editors leave un-
'erotic subjectivity' in the subtitle - this reflected. There is a Greek pilgrim-centre-
volume covers a broad gamut of relation- cum-tourist-resort, a rural community in
ships and experiences, both positive and Indonesia, a musical field in Seoul, a
negative. They range from romantic love camp of firefighters lasting sixteen days,
with a firefighter in the mountains of Ida- the gay scene in the capital of Belgium,
ho, a lesbian love affair among the Minang- an island in the Pacific, another in the
kabau, marrying a key informant in the Caribbean, and a roadside boomtown in
West Indies, and avoidance of sexual seduc- Ethiopia. Thesefieldshave been penetrat-
tion in Tonga, to rape by a field assistant ed to various degrees by compatriots of

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews 301

the anthropologists, especially tourists, contributors to show in which ways 'erotic

before thefieldworkersarrived. It is ironic subjectivity' can be productive as a source
that in some of the cases the anthropolo- of ethnographic insight, for instance in
gists visited the field site as tourists who researching pilgrimage and popular reli-
later return to conduct research. In parti- gion (the chapter by Dubisch) or in Black-
cular the female anthropologists have to wood's study on social change, gender
struggle to make clear to the local popu- and power in West Sumatra. One could
lation that they are not tourists. simply argue that 'love makes you feel
As a humanistic document that brings good about yourself, and therefore about
into focus basic features of anthropology's whatever projects and ambitions you are
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identity and praxis which have been more pursuing,' as Kulick does. But then it should
or less neglected, Taboo is at times provo- also be emphasized that love affairs in
cative and has to be welcomed as a useful the field may be too complicated, too time
text for debate and teaching. However, and energy consuming, disconnecting the
there are also some drawbacks which fieldworker from the field and his or her
make it less fit for student use. The editors work. There still is something of use for
fail to present instances from earlier text- fieldworkers in the ascetic monastic tradi-
books on fieldwork and ethics in which tion. A third drawback is that most con-
sex is discussed all right and to analyse tributions are too long and at times rambl-
the ways in which this is done. For example, ing. For instance, the digressions on the
as an undergraduate student I used Pelto's senses, the Malinowski debate, and the
Anthropological Research: The Structure of erotic ambience of a fire camp in Altork's
Inquiry (1970), in which there is a section chapter are long-winded and so are the
on 'sex in thefield'.To be sure, with hind- numerous portrayals of sexual conquests
sight it is male-biased: the typical field- in Bolton's contribution on gay subculture.
worker is a lone man. Yet Pelto also made Moreover, there is too much overlap and
some points which are still valid. He stres- repetition in the discussion of literature
sed that sexual relationships in the field throughout the volume. Against this it
can be quite complex and difficult; that should be stated that there are useful re-
to handle them well requires subtlety in ferences to each other's contributions in
verbal and non-verbal communication; various chapters, which enhances the cohe-
that female anthropologists (whom he rence of the book. Onefinalremark. Break-
assumes to be sexually unavailable) have ing taboos often creates new taboos. In
a difficult task in warding off sexual ad- the case of this volume, warnings against
vances by local males; that sexual rela- 'going native' (in the widest sense), which
tions are an important aspect of amicable in my view are still necessary, are declared
ties; and concludes that 'the fieldworker politically incorrect.
must decide which course of action is the Henk Driessen
least harmful one in terms of self-image University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands
as well as fieldwork rapport. It is probably
not realistic to make any categorical pro-
nouncements about correct courses of
action in these (and many other) complex Sandra Wallman et al. 1996. Kampala
social situations' It is unfortunate that Women GettingBy: Well-being in the Time of
Kulick, Willson, and their co-authors neg- AIDS. London:James Currey Ltd. 246 pp.
lect such early writings on their topic. A
second drawback is the failure of several Kampala Women GettingBy reports on re-
search carried out from November 1992

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 302 Booh Reviews

to October 1994 in the Kampala suburb The reader consequently wonders what
Kamwokya II (about 15-16,000 residents exactly the study focus was: well-being
in mid-1994). The book is divided into 12 in relation to how women cope with the
chapters, some written primarily by one AIDS epidemic or how to improve STD
author and others by teams; the chapters treatment for all residents? This leads one
are arranged to reflect a research process to question the relevance of other topics
that proceeded from a broad quantitative introduced. For example, an early chapter
enquiry into the residents' situation to a devotes attention to community sanita-
narrower, more qualitative, analysis of in- tion facilities; in the much later section
fluences on women's treatment decisions. describing how Kamwokya residents were
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An introduction to the analytical back- asked to make a video about their com-
ground is followed by three detailed chap- munity as they see it, the researchers in-
ters describing Kamwokya's geographical dicate that they suggested the video should
and physical aspects, demographic char- also include scenes relating to toilets and
acteristics of the population and various pit latrines. It is only at the end of the
aspects of community life (economic acti- book that the relevance of this becomes
vities, water and sanitation, religious parti- obvious: the authors state that there 'is a
cipation and men's leisure activities and provocative link between lack of control
friendship patterns). The fifth chapter re- over the risk of infection generated in the
views surveys on housing, sanitation, im- public arena (from sewage, unclean water,
munization of children, fertility and garbage, mosquitoes, etc.) and the gen-
childbirth and (dealing with) prevalent ill- eral sense of non-control over "private"
nesses, while the next four chapters discuss infection' (pp. 229-230).
treatment options, home treatment, ma- A second weakness concerns the de-
nagement of children's illnesses and STDs. scriptions of the methodology used. At
Chapter 10 provides six case studies of the start, the book states that the data
individual women while Chapter n de- come from a variety of sources: a census,
scribes the process of producing a video a 'broad brush survey', an ethnographic
on Kamwokya in collaboration with com- survey, a women's survey, literature, in-
munity members. The final chapter sum- terviews, observation, focus-group dis-
marizes the findings and presents conclu- cussions and case studies. Precisely what
sions. some of these data sources included only
The book generally suffers from three becomes obvious much later in the text
weaknesses: (1) the research objectives or remains vague. Some examples: how
are unclear; (2) explanations concerning many of the 726 Ethnographic Survey
the study methodology are sometimes respondents were male and female is not
vague or contradictory; (3) some of the stated; only in Chapter 5 does one realize
assumptions underlying the study may that the 203 Women's Survey respondents
be questioned. had also participated in the Ethnographic
According to seven different statements Survey. One chapter states that interviews
regarding the study objectives, these ranged were done with 27 of3i clinics and drugs
from assessing how people in general ma- shops, another that questionnaires were
nage health in Kamwokya to contributing administered to 24, with 7 drugs shops
to AIDS control by specifying which fac- being studied in more depth. A third
tors prevent early STD treatment among chapter says that 15 or 16 diviners and
ordinary urban women so that appropriate herbalists were interviewed; later inter-
measures can be taken. views with 19 healers are discussed. The

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 Book Reviews 303

precise composition of focus groups re- support given by neighbours, friends and
mains uncertain: one author refers to acquaintances was not considered so rele-
groups ofyoung women, pregnant women, vant, even though the role of such per-
local brewers, adult men and younger sons became obvious in group discus-
men but also mentions responses from sions and the case studies. According to
boys, women and middle-aged men. Finally, the women's survey, saved spiritual leaders
statements made about home treatments and religious leaders were used regularly/
are said to be based on general observations, occasionally more often than herbalists
but how these observations were obtained and diviners but their role is left aside in
is never explained. favour of detailed studies on herbalists
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One would have liked the authors to and diviners: was this due to an assumption
explain more fully the justification for that people would not go to the religious
some of their underlying assumptions. A leaders in the case of STDs?
major assumption is that women are pri- A final assumption to be questioned
marily responsible for health care within concerns the two types of illness studied.
a household, with men scarcely contribu- The authors state that comparing the
ting at all. It is argued that all a wife- management of STDs and crisis illness in
mother's household decisions may be children younger than 5 years could as-
understood as health-promoting (e.g., sess the effect of stigmatization and mo-
house-cleaning, cooking, shopping, child ral judgements on STD treatment-seeking
care, budgeting for fuel, rent and trans- behaviour. Why children's illnesses should
port). Seen from this perspective, however, be compared with STDs is never explained
it might have been useful to use the study adequately; was it assumed that paediatric
data to test this assumption and to explore illnesses are never stigmatized so that any
the resulting implications. For example, differences with STD treatment seeking
in describing who collects water for house- could be attributed to stigma? It would
holds, the authors noted a considerable perhaps have been more useful to compare
number ofboys and men were seen at the STDs with another type of adult illness
springs. In describing one type of male that is not assumed to be stigmatized
semi-formal drinking club, the research- (e.g., malaria) and/or with an adult illness
ers note that the men use club attendance that is perhaps partly stigmatized (leprosy
fees for a revolving fund to help members or TB). In any event, the child illness-
deal with crises and personal hardships STD comparison is not analysed well
(i.e., also for sickness?). and does not provide any new insights.
Descriptions of women's treatment- What are positive aspects of the book?
seeking also included numerous referen- It demonstrates how research can combine
ces to women discussing treatments with multiple quantitative and qualitative study
their male partners first, sometimes re- methods to present a comprehensive situ-
ceiving money from them. Is it therefore ation analysis of factors influencing treat-
true that men play only a very minor role; ment decisions within a given community.
what did their data reveal? The proposition oforientingstudies around
Two other assumptions concerned so- a capability question is a useful: in these
cial influences on women's treatment- circumstances, given this knowledge, these
seeking and the importance of various constraints, what scope do people have
treatment options. The authors investigated for avoiding infection or for diagnosing/
in detail whether women ask relatives for acknowledging/treating infection once
advice and help; apparently advice and it occurs?

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 3°4 Book Reviews

The importance of focusing on enabling ing people's knowledge that STD treat-
factors in improving STD diagnosis and ment can prevent AIDS and that stigma-
treatment is well-argued; although the au- tization of people with STDs is unwarrant-
thors do not make any innovative recom- ed. Indeed, the news that HIV infection
mendations, their suggestions are concrete levels have been dropping in Uganda the
and can be acted upon: improve the qual- last two years, particularly amongyounger
ity of care in government health units, es- people, seems to be partly due to the ef-
pecially provider-client communication, fect of prevention education messages
including more attention to confidentiality (i.e., youth are initiating sex later, have
and privacy; specifically target alternative fewer partners and use condoms more)
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health providers such as shopkeepers and (UNAIDS Report on the Global HIV/
traditional healers for training (in childhood AIDS Epidemic, December 1997).
illnesses, formulation of a diagnostic STD The most interesting parts of this book
algorithm for traditional healers, use of for anthropologists are those dealing with
STD guidelines and counsellingfor clinics alternative treatment options and the pro-
and drug shops); facilitate record keeping cess of making a video with community
at all levels to make STD case manage- members. If the data in other chapters
ment more effective; encourage referral of had been more clearly related to the cen-
patients by traditional healers to formal tral research objective, they would perhaps
practitioners and promote their collabora- have also been more interesting. The au-
tion; do pharmacological studies ofherbs. thors themselves note that 'the book's
The authors conclude that interventions narrative line is less consistent than that
cannot be usefully and economically tar- conventionally expected of a single subject
geted at individuals or households; it also monograph' because it is based on multi-
'may be folly to target groups fixed by disciplinary research. This is an unaccept-
any criteria'. One nevertheless wonders able explanation for the inconsistencies
whether they do not too easily dismiss and unclarity, however; better editing and
the implications of some of their data. some rearrangement in the presentation
They say that ordinary people are gener- of data could certainly have improved it.
ally well-informed about HIV/STD trans-
mission and the risks of unprotected sex; Maria de Bruyn
on the other hand, they show that many Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam,
people delay getting STD treatment or The Netherlands
believe that self-diagnosis and self-treat-
ment are the best solution. Providing edu-
cation on the need for early, formal treat- Angelique Haugerud. 1995. The Culture
ment would thus seem to remain a necessity. of Politics in Modern Kenya. Cambridge:
Neither is their statement that 'repetition Cambridge University Press, xvi + 266 pp.
of... "safe sex" messages may actually be
counter-productive at this stage of the Haugerud's book presents diverse per-
epidemic in Kampala' based on strong spectives on the complex interrelations
arguments; they simply state that tend- between politics, economy and culture in
encies to deny risk, to feel helpless and to central Kenya. It is based on fieldwork
associate STDs with AIDS will make between the late 1970s and the early
people ignore such health education. One 1990s and comprises different periods of
might as easily conclude that prevention Kenyan political culture: in the late 1970s
should therefore concentrate on improv- Kenya was the star pupil of western de-

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews 3°5
velopment aid. Enterprising, cash-crop times, as she anlyses her data on various
producing farmers were at the foundation spatio-political levels. While some chapters
of an economic miracle. In comparison have either a Kenyan or central Kenyan
to its neighbours Somalia, Uganda, Su- perspective, others are narrowly focused
dan, and Tanzania which were caught in on Embu or even on a village within this
a vicious circle of civil war, mass starvation, region. These diverse chapters come to-
and economic decline, Kenya's economic gether in one point: the baraza, a public
success was the security on which poli- meeting called by the administration. This
tical stability was built (and vice versa). ritual of colonial and post-colonial poli-
This image rapidly disintegrated in the tics is used as a window to look upon the
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early 1990s. Instead of beaming figures political culture and upon economic stra-
of economic growth Kenya became re- tegies of the past and present. The baraza,
knowned for high foreign debts, massive an invention of the British colonial ad-
corruption, and political suppression. With- ministration, was used as a stage on which
in a period of three to five years the star administrators informed 'their' people about
pupil became the target of scorn of donor decisions of the government. Likewise the
organizations and was threatened with Kenyan government used the baraza as a
the withdrawal of monetary assistance link between political decision-makers and
byfirst-worldcountries. The foreign com- citizens. The baraza remained essential
munity challenged the Kenyan govern- for the construction of a political culture:
ment on the mismanagement of funds while it suggests a close contact between
and on the questionable human rights re- politicians and administrators on the one
cord. These changes went hand in hand hand and rural farmers on the other hand,
with the mobilization of a political oppo- factually it is a showpiece for a clear top-
sition which to some extent took up the down approach within the political sys-
arguments of the foreign community while tem.
the government got hooked on argu-
As the chapters deal with rather di-
ments about the non-adaptability of de-
verse topics and entail rather different re-
mocratic institutions to an African context.
search methods it seems neccessary to
The oppressive stand of the government,
introduce them separately. Chapter one
coupled with its inability (due to interna-
and two deal with the political controversy
tional pressure) to suppress opposition
of the early 1990s. It seems to be mainly
altogether, sparked off a heated cultural
based on informal interviews, numerous
debate which entrenched popular music,
newspaper clippings and a vivid partici-
theatre, and religious life with political
pation in Kenyan urban culture. While
topics. It is here that Haugerud's study
dissident voices had been muted under
begins and from these recent disturbances
the colonial power as well as under the
she works herself down the history of po-
Kenyatta and the early Moi regimes, in
litical culture in central Kenya. Although
the early 1990s these silences were 'shat-
the study is mainly focused on the politi-
tered' and gave way to 'explosive speech'.
cal upheavals of the 1990s, several chapters
Singers, actors, developmentalists, mem-
are based on a historical contextualization
bers of the financial elite felt as much
of information and deal with precolonial
entitled to speak out on politics as the
wealth differences or the British impact
humble shoe cleaner and taxi driver. The
on the political culture and on rural stra-
baraza which had always been an instru-
tification. In a similar way Haugerud shifts
ment for politicians, were frequently co-
the time perspective of her study several
opted by political dissidents now. Personally

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 306 Book Reviews

I remember very well that in those days are analysed. While we have learnt how
one did not have to look actively for in- silences were shattered after 1990, we
formation on political opinion. Inevitably now get an idea of how these 'public sil-
one was supplied with rumours and opin- ences' were construed. The baraza as a
ions from the very moment one left the symbolic key institution of the oppressive
aeroplane at Jomo Kenyatta Internatio- colonial and post-colonial state is the
nal Airport. A political culture of dissent arena to display ritual deference to the
was rapidly developing looking for shelter president and to state officials. Haugerud
in theatres, in churches and at funerals. relies on archival material for the analy-
Demonstrations, sit-ins and open shows ses of the colonial barazaand on transcripts
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of opposition added to a heated atmos- of several baraza from the 1980s which
phere. In a fascinating way Haugerud she visited herself. In a detailed way phys-
captures this 'intensification of cultural ical setting and spatial arrangements, stra-
production' (p. 27) which comprised the tegic modes of code-switching (between
construction and reinvention of numerous English, Swahili and Embu), typical speak-
political symbols which were taken from ers and speaking styles are discussed (pp.
all over the global village. Helplessly the 6ifF). The political ritual is analysed as a
government first tried to ban 'seditious' text authored by an authoritarian state.
music and theatre performances. More Quotations from 3flr<22w-transcripts flesh
effective were constitutional changes which out the discourse analysis. The second
designed an electoral process that ensured part of the chapter takes on salient topics
the ongoing dominance of the government ofbaraza of the 1980s: the bedevilling of
party. Perhaps the most efficient govern- political opposition, the evocation of sim-
ment strategy was to play the ethnic card. plistic antagonisms between chaos and
Allegedly 'ethnic' clashes between 'Kalen- political stability, between accountability
jin warriors' and Kikuyu settlers in the and severe forms of corruption, between
Rift Valley in 1992 had a high death toll modernist stands and traditional, beer-
and uprooted more than one hundred thirsty opinions. The jyj*zy<?-(footsteps)-
thousand peasants. Images of'traditional philosophy which legitimized Moi's suc-
warriors' were to show the outside world cession to power was transmitted to the
that Kenya was not fit for a multi-party public at these gatherings. The barazav/as
democracy. During this time of political essential to sustainingthe 'imagined com-
disturbances not only the national economy munity' of the Nyaycrstate Kenya. However,
suffered but local patron-client networks this state-run ritual also showed suscep-
came under severe stress too. Patrons in tibility towards dissent. In a convincing
the central Kenyan context were not simply analysis of transcripts Haugerud shows
rich people, but habitually wealthy seni- how political opinions diverging from
ors with close relations to political agents the dominant government stand could be
and state coffers. Although the close re- smuggled into speeches without arous-
lation between wealth and political influ- ing an immediate repression by the state.
ence was maintained, these networks be- The fourth chapter discusses the emer-
came partially restructured due to chang- gence of stratification in the 19th century,
ing political affiliations. and its transformations during the early
phases of colonialism. Wealth was embed-
The third chapter goes one step back ded in the networks of a moral economy
in time and focuses on a narrower agenda: which may well be subsumed under the
everyday forms of political domination heading 'Reciprocity and accumulation
in a rural landscape (Embu) before 1990

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews 3°7
can coexist' (p. 109). The advent of colon- presented. Embu homesteads are meti-
ialism did not breakup networks of obliga- culously described and wealth differences
tion. Haugerud's presentation gains from are traced to the different material fittings
the analysis of aphorisms alluding to wealth of the houses. Motor vehicles, paraffin-
and poverty. Obviously it is not intended burning lanterns, radios, and sofas dis-
to give an exhaustive account of histori- tinguish the houses of the rich from those
cal processes but rather to build 'bridges of their poorer neighbours. Wealthy people
to the present' (p. 109). Haugerud gives own more land (mainly from purchases)
special care to the handling of famines and more frequently rely on hired labour.
within the context of patron-client rela- However, in rich and in poor households
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tions and regional barter trade. The colo- membership is rather instable: Hauge-
nial state provided a new framework within rud traces this instability of household
which rural stratification developed and composition to structurally defined con-
did not massively transform the quality flicts between juniors and elders, between
of relations as such. One of the most im- fathers and sons, between co-wives and
portant changes was the establishment between husbands and wives. Many of
of a political elite of chiefs and sub-chiefs these conflicts circle around land owner-
who became intermediaries of power and ship. Land is scarce within this densely
used their broker position to establish populated zone. Furthermore land hold-
themselves as patrons. This new elite was ings are highly fragmented, which on the
related genealogically to historically prior onehandisa buffering mechanism against
elites. It assumed a modernist stand and climatic disturbances but on the other
established itself as a loyal yeoman peas- hand causes conflicts between different
antry opting for wage labour and cash-crop people within one household. Again pat-
production. Although there is little doubt ron-client relations are a salient topic.
that opportunities to accumulate wealth The major argument is that there is only
grew, the moral economy was not dis- a 'fuzzy boundary' between morally em-
banded. Normative forces to distribute bedded relations and exchanges based
wealth and to care for poor relatives and on material incentives.
dependants were kept alive. It is a major
Haugerud's study is another important
success of this chapter to argue against
contribution to the political economy of
the generalizing view that market orien-
the African peasantry and together with
tation, accumulation and stratification ne-
contributions from, for example Bates,
cessarily destroy reciprocal, kinship-based
Ensminger, and Lonsdale forms a pro-
forms of exchange.
found body of literature on peasantiza-
The last chapter is devoted to household tion and economic stratification in rural
economics in an Embu community. Al- Kenya. While her study lacks the theo-
though the macro-level perspective is still retical rigour of Bates's and Lonsdale's
maintained, it is now put into the back- studies she adds the perspective of a de-
ground. The data are based on a detailed constructivist approach to political culture.
study of economics and social organiza- The 'sliding scale' of analysis she adopts
tion of an Embu neighbourhood in the in order to show the relationships between
early 1980s and a restudy of the commun- macro-level and micro-level processes is
ity in the late eighties. While in the other pathbreaking and highly innovative. Al-
chapters the argument is qualitative, here though the contents presented here some-
quantitative data on wealth differences, times seem to break the confines of one
on landownership and on production are book it apparently portrays fairly well a

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 3 o8 Book Reviews

heterogeneous world in which actors at knowledge and justice to the people. The
the same time are urbanized political story tells of accommodation and resist-
agitators and rural farmers. ance; ideals and practices and how at-
tempts to streamline peasants, workers,
Michael Bollig young and old to a national ideology are
University of Cologne, Germany thwarted, transformed yet, in the long
run, successful, although the criteria for
success are up for discussion.
Mary Kay Vaughan. 1997. Cultural Poli- Vaughan places herself in the post-re-
tics in Revolution: Teachers, Peasants, and visionist historiography of the Mexican
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Schools in Mexico, 1920-1940. Tuscon: Uni- Revolution, which questions the strength
versity of Arizona Press, xiii + 262 pp. of the revolutionary state, the homogen-
eity of the countryside and the manipula-
The constructions of modern nations are bility of the peasantry. Rejecting the top-
invariably grounded in centralized and down, clientelist models for grasping the
standardized programs of education, whose complex relations between state and soci-
purpose is not only to raise the levels of ety, Vaughan stresses the importance of
literacy, but perhaps more importantly, grasping the sociocultural processes, form-
to instill notions of a civic culture, through ing the weave on which the state-society
the concrete incorporations ofpublic spa- relations are variously mapped. The overall
ces and public rituals, which ultimately emphasis is on variation — not uniformi-
serve to create abstract identities of be- ty, on significant differences, rather than
longing and loyalty. However, the move similarities. Hence it is the diversity of
from ideology to practice is one that is Mexican society and the significance of
fraught with tensions, and hence indica- grasping this diversity in order to understand
tive of the sociopolitical powers at play. the impact of rural educational policies
Thus to study the diverse processes of which is focused on. Stress is placed on
educational policy implementation is also the specificities of local histories, local
to study relations of power, sites of con- contexts and how these articulate with
test (be they spatial or conceptual), and regional and national politics.
the issues at stake: the who, the what and Vaughan's point of departure is the Se-
the why. cretaria de Education Publica (SEP), the
Realizing the potential and importance federal public educational institution, and
of such studies, Vaughan takes this chal- how SEP policies are transcribed and im-
lenge head-on. Her book is about educa- plemented at regional and local levels.
tional policy in Mexico in the formative Through a three-tiered and comparative
years between 1930 and 1940, in the wake approach, Vaughan traces the impact of
of the Cristiada, at a time when Lazaro SEP in two states, Sonora and Puebla,
Cardenas held the reigns of the presiden- and four communities, Tecamachaloc and
cy. It is about the forging of a nation and Zacapoaxtla in Puebla, and the Yaqui in-
the roles that teachers and schools played dians and a new society of mestizo peasants
in the processes of creating a civil society (tied to agrobusiness) in the Yaqui Valley
in the throws of modernity. It is a story of Sonora. Together these societies repre-
about one of the great modernizing pro- sent a broad spectrum of rural social con-
jects of Mexico enacted through the figurations: different forms of indigenous
countless efforts of men and women, societies (Nahua and Yaqui); different in-
with book in hand, who set out to bring volvements in the revolution; different

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 Book Reviews 3°9
links to the labor and agrarian movements; as in the case of Zacapoaxtla, Puebla).
and different degrees and kinds of religous Teachers were often mediators: they were
fervor. Not only are these comparisons at one and the same time agents of the
well drawn, they also serve their purpose state and representatives of the people.
well. Relying on historical contextuali- Thus they were often controversial actors
zations, pinpointing of regional differen- and schools became contested sites. Yet,
ces, and descriptions of sociocultural pat- as Vaughan implies, the very fact that
terns, the examples are brief yet illustrat- schools become a space for open con-
ing. Vaughan succeeds in making her testation (between for example local and
point(s): how federal policies are locally regional politics, or religious and anti-
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adapted or rejected and how these local religious controversies) is in itself indica-
adapta-tions are dependent on a series of tive of the political transformation that
internal and external factors. Central to was taking place. One of the interesting
these are the relations between central details that Vaughan brings forth is the
(federal) and regional (state) authorities, introduction of the civic festival as a ve-
as the socialist and conservative forces hicle for introducing the notion of the
struggle for power. Also important are nation while at the same time fostering
the relations between teachers and state local sentiments. Teachers contributed ac-
authorities as well as the relations between tively to creating these festivals (to coun-
teachers and diverse members of the lo- ter the religiousfiestas)and schools were
cal community, the parents, children, used for flag-raising ceremonies, local
local authorities, priests, landowners, etc. sports competitions, as well as being the
The picture is undoubtedly complex, and focal centre for fostering new morality.
is at all times colored by the positioning The book is ambitious in its scope and
of the subjects. Hence, to discern the var- method, being at once a study in local,
ious processes at work, to locate the in- regional and national histories, while at
stigators, to comprehend the tactical and the same time addressing the complex
strategic alliances at play, is, at times, a relation between state and society and
difficult task. between structure and agency. It is about
a system, the ideology which characterizes
Vaughan shows the educational policies it, as well as the persons who people it.
as these are envisioned by the policy The major strengths of the book are per-
makers - tying active pedagogy in with haps also its weakness. The detailing of
notions of social justice, land reform, processes, contexts, relations bring to life
hygiene, gender equality, health, technical and make real the fates of people, as well
skills and physical education, toward an as the causes behind these fates. Yet, the
overall goal of development. The policies same details also become overwhelming,
were explicitly directed toward the rural making it difficult to follow the progress
populations and the curriculum empha- of the events and to extract a more com-
sized class struggle, horizontal alliances, prehensive picture. Moreover, it seems
and secular values. These were the policies that the introduction perhaps promises
that teachers were to interpret, translate more than the book delivers; yet, the em-
and put into action. How this was done pirical material yields more than is ex-
would of course depend on the person of pected. To my mind, the organizing con-
the teacher as well as on the local context cepts of negotiation and hegemony run
(whether they were positively met, as in up against some empirical problems, while
the case of the mestizo settlers of the the issue of shared language is far from
Yaqui valley, or met with open hostilities,

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 3io Book Reviews

resolved. However, the notion of the peas- With the 1960s recessions in the world
ant script - and the hidden transcript - economy, beliefs in progress and econo-
could perhaps have been followed through mic growth were undermined. As a con-
more explicitly, with greater empirical do- sequence of these recesses, we have wit-
cumentation and, for an anthropologist, nessed a shift in concepts toward more
more emphasis on emic (indigenous) cate- relativistic ones. Nation building has been
gories. replaced by the more limited concept of
This book is rich in many ways. It is a nation making. Simultaneously, the focus
very good illustration of the complexi- has shifted from state intervention to sub-
ties of social processes. Thus, we not only jects and their 'authentic' identities and
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learn about educational policies, but how interests. The new situation also involved
educational policies are tied in with and a shift from an idiom of planning to one
reflect other social processes. We learn of guidance, and from a focus on economy
what we need to know in order to under- to culture. Robert J. Foster's book Nation
stand the scope and meanings of such Making: Emergent Identities in Postcohnial
policies. We learn about the importance Melanesia is part of this shift.
of context - and the dangers of overcon- Though nation forming was part of a
textualization. This book is first and fore-worldwide process of economic expan-
most a book for scholars familiar with sion and domination, with extensive re-
Mexico, and in particular for those who sults for all involved, the book takes a
are specifically interested in educational more symbolic approach to the problems
policies and their implementations. But, faced by the new nations in the Pacific.
as should be apparent, it is also a book forFollowing the shift in focus toward culture
those who are interested, even remotely, and relativism the book understands na-
in nation building or in the tracing of in- tions and nationalism in the idiom of Be-
terlocking local, regional, and national nedict Anderson. Thus, nations are invent-
politics. The descriptions offered aptly de-ed and nationalism consists of narratives.
monstrate that the nation is more than This is both the weakness and strength of
an imagined community. It is a particular the book.
lived experience which inscribes the body In spite of the initial circumstances of
(and not just the mind) in its concrete nation invention, nationalism takes on
elaborations. different forms in different nations. The
Marit Melhuus book has no problem with this — at the
University of Oslo, Norway symbolic level. In Foster's own contribu-
tion, advertising is seen as an active agent
in nation making. Foster argues that ad-
Robert J. Foster (ed.). 1995. Nation vertising acts as a vehicle to further the
Making: Emergent Identities in Postcoh- inter-penetration of capitalism and na-
nial Melanesia. Ann Arbor: University of tionalism. His argument is that the so-
Michigan Press, vi + 280 pp. cial relations of commodity consumption
that is part of advertising entails some
The Second World War was followed by particular definitions of personhood and
a period of optimistic nation building in community that supplement or altogether
the colonies. This was a time of evolution- displace such definitions that were formerly
ism. In these days everyone was on the grounded in social relations of kinship
same road to prosperity - although with and locality. With some very fine examples
different strides. taken from Air Niugini, Ramu Sugar and

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, I998

 Book Reviews

PNG Banking Corporation, Foster shows Thus enacting the traditional ritual incor-
how advertisements implicitly construe porates the spatial surroundings of the
the nation as a community of consumption. Fuyuge. Since Port Moresby is increasingly
It follows that citizenship is acquired by part of Fuyuge spatial relationships, Hirsch
participating in the life-style presented in argues, the associated consumerism of
advertisements. At the same time, this the market there tends to get integrated
consumerism opens for distinctions on into local practice. It is much the same
the basis of unshared consumption prac- argument which Foster advocates. But it
tices. The argument here is that images could also be that Fuyuge ritual subsumes
can be an active agent in transforming the things and the place-name ofPort Mores-
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self-understanding of consumers and en- by under local ontologies, i.e., under the
hance nationalism. Thus, the study focuses power to continue to be Fuyuge.
on an emergent urban consumer culture From the vantage point of a local com-
and the processes of nation making in munity, Nguna, Vanuatu, Ellen Facey ar-
Papua New Guinea. gues for the same kind of national symbols
Christine Jourdan's contribution illus- penetrating local culture. Her chapter is
trates this point. In the Solomon Islands concerned with how images and narratives
she finds three stepping stones to develop of nationhood that are generated through
the ideology of nationhood: schooling, nationwide political processes are inter-
community of language and popular cul- preted and used by local communities.
ture. She finds these preconditions in the To do this she looks at the party program
urban setting. Here children go to school, of the Vanuaaku Pati and argues that it
learn pidgin and participate in popular fitted local ideals of unity and continuity.
culture. Jourdan argues that this is the In the process local kastom was turned
situation that informs new definitions of into material icons which were used to
self and allows for new shared meanings, compete and compare acceptable iden-
symbols and representations - such as tities at a national level. Thus, kastom was
advertising. Thus her analysis rests on politicized and local cultural ideals of
socialization in an urban context that cre- unity and continuity and their relation to
ates new forms of selfhood. Cities, she ar- the Pati's rhetoric of 'kastom within
gues, allow for new negotiations of mean- Christianity' opted for a wide support of
ing to take place while at the same time the Vanuaaku Pati.
allowing for wider circulation of new Henry Rutz takes us to Fiji where he
symbols and modes of identification. In continues this line of thought by looking
the urban setting people have to shape a at rhetorical strategies. His aim is to see
future away from custom and tradition. Fijian narratives of nation as a contest
To Erik Hirsch, nation making is an un- about tradition. To do this he looks at the
intended consequence of local cultural tactic that captures tradition in such a
projects. The Fuyuge have a central ritual way that it is compelling to a constitu-
called 'the gab'. It is acted out to hold ency. It is a battle between royalist nar-
things together: men, women, and objects ratives linking the aristocracy to the Brit-
from diverse locales coming into a single ish authority and a strategy of common-
village for a period of theritual'senactment. ers in which this link amounts to a betrayal
In this ritual experience, images and names of Fiji. These are mediated by a third stra-
associated with Port Moresby are recon- tegy that tries to reconcile chiefs and com-
textualized to local cultural processes con- moners in the idiom of Christianity. To-
necting the local and the metropolitan. gether, Rutz argues, these strategies form

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 312 Book Reviews

a narrative about collective identity as an local context and ontology of public con-
internal dialogue of a Fijian nation. testations, there might be room for a Me-
To Martha Kaplan ritual has to be lanesian Way.
added to political narratives if the narra- Steen Bergendorff
tives have to pave the way for nation Roskilde University, Denmark
making. Her field of investigation is ritual
politics and the nation in independent
Fiji. She argues that, as magic has to be Tom G. Svensson. 1997. The Sámi and
acted, so narratives of nationhood have TheirLand: The Sámi vs the Swedish Crown.
to be sustained. Thus rituals sustain the Oslo: Novus forlag. 213 pp.
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narratives and make them appear of a

higher order. In this view, narratives are In this volume, Tom G. Svensson brings to
the ritual requirements of nationhood. an English-reading public one privileged
To Kaplan the national rituals make the witness's report about the most lengthy
narratives of identity. (1966-1981) and substantial set of legal
Advertising, party programs, rhetoric, confrontations anywhere focusing on abo-
and place-names infiltrate local cultures riginal land claims to date - the Taxed
and bring them on the road to nation- Mountains Case in Sweden. The three-
alism. Local cultures become so many linked and escalating actions (District
versions of Hannerz's creolized culture. Court, Court of Appeals, and Supreme
They get invaded by signs, symbols or Court) did not produce verdicts support-
things, and it opens them up for hybrid- ive of the Saami land claims, yet many
ization and national culture. would agree that the Saami were fortu-
According to Michael Jacobsen the in- nate in their witnesses.
tegrity of local cultures prevents or even First of all, many historical documents
subverts nation making in Papua New came to light, and were reinscribed in the
Guinea. He points to the fact that nation- present and for future reference. Also,
al ideologies alone do not create nation many living persons assisted with expert
states, one also has to take governmental testimony, and a larger public — Saami
institutions into account. Michael Jacob- and non-Saami alike — witnessed these
sen claims that the process of nation witnesses, in the chambers and through
making is coming to a halt because of the the media. The cases have generated
integrity of the local communities. He ar- much discourse, and will continue to do
gues that nations and nationalism need a so, particularly buttressed with a docu-
capitalist economy to bring them into ment such as this volume.
being. Such an economy exists only spar- Most of all, the parties are fortunate
sely in PNG. Thus the subsistence mode that the Saami (through an organization
of production is the main obstacle to na- of Swedish Saami, the SSR) selected an
tion making here. This, however, would ombudsman in 1962, and that this indi-
still mean there can only exist one kind of vidual, Thomas Cramer, a Swede, had
nationalism. begun his own research on Saami usu-
The argument of the book is summed fruct, tenancy, ownership, and other land
up by Edward LiPuma andjohn Kelly. To rights already in 1956. By 1966 he was
these authors nation states exist only as uniquely primed to further the Saami
they are imagined, institutionalized, and cause. His archival efforts matched his
contested in the public sphere. It is a nar- expertise in contemporary legal strate-
rative about collectivity. Considering the gies; this case became a calling. Svens-

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews

son's book has to be as much about the cused the Saami from paying the costs of
Saami Ombudsman, the SO, as it is about the winning party, namely, the State. The
the contested land claims: like the dancer 1976 verdict from the Court of Appeals,
and the dance, these are inextricable. The at 48 pages, was curt and dismissive. The
office of the SO and the person of Cra- Supreme Court's 1981 verdict put aside
mer served as brokers, sensitive to Saami much of the evidence, to deal with ratio-
customary law, historical precedents, sub- nales behind its unfavorable conclusions.
sistence requisites, ecological patterns, The worst-case scenario would be the
and personalities. ratification of the status quo. While the
Hence, foregrounded in this account is Saami were not awarded ownership rights,
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the role of the ombudsman who devoted they retain usufruct rights, and gain many
the bulk of his professional life to the Tax- insights into the history, politics, and legal
ed Mountains Case. While the Saami con- systems of both cultural groups — as do
stituency appeared to wane in its faith in we.
the dominant society's legal system, Cra- In the 1981 verdict, we encounter more
mer persevered. His indefatigable efforts about witnessing as well (pp. 124-125).
as legal counsel might convince anyone, Can witnesses be objective, or are they
it appears, except for the Swedish courts. advocates in scanty disguise? The Supreme
Of course, one more witness must be Court distanced itself from expert testi-
recognized, that of the ethnographer- mony on both sides, because of this dis-
ethnohistorian in the wings: Svensson, comfort. This means the courts, being sus-
who, like Cramer, had established his picious, were closed to informed opinion
authority on matters Saami quite aside and arguments from lived experience — a
from this legal battle. It took Svensson 15 situation to which we must ourselves wit-
years more in bringing this account of ness as we continue to mull over this case.
that 15-year-long legal contest to a glo- Even though ethnohistory, as history,
bal audience. suggests an arrow of time, Svensson opts
Svensson follows the case through three to present the three main events, their
levels of the Swedish legal system: the antecedents, and their consequences, in
District Court (verdict 1973), the Court a refreshingly nonlinear manner. After a
of Appeals (verdict 1976), and the Supreme preface and a prelude, and 16 plates (14
Court (verdict 1981). Specific Saami claims figures and two maps; one figure is also a
were not supported in any of these verdicts, map), the 11 chapters cover an introduction;
but Svensson maintains there remain con- a brief chronological account of the case;
siderable gains when viewed through cer- ecology and land rights; the court as an
tain acknowledgments of the courts, and arena and the issue of ethnicity; the legal
through public awareness of the deep argumentation; rhetorical devices; the
cultural-historical issues alongside the verdicts; the communication of ideas and
current ethnopolitical ones which carry knowledge; the role of the Saami Om-
issues into the future. budsman; the aftermath; and concluding
In retrospect, the first District Court remarks. The slightly redundant organiza-
verdict featured more positive points than tional warp and the tight, compositional
did later verdicts. This 1973 verdict was weft draw in the careful reader to share in
more generous in detail (574 pages) as Svensson's command of a 15-year-long
well as in findings, nuanced by five histo- ordeal, including its front- and back-stage
rical periods starting from before the seven- complexities. In addition, besides the in-
teenth century. In addition, the court ex- evitable (but minimized) bureaucratic ab-

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 3*4 Book Reviews

breviations and a bibliography (of eight tive, however, and especially because of
pages), there are two appendices, one ex- this, an index would be invaluable.
cerpting the 1751 Codicil (for Saami, a These omissions and commissions not-
'Magna Charta') figuring in the case, the withstanding, Svensson's chronicle should
second an important 1980 resolution of stand as the authoritative assessment of
the Swedish Saami Union (SSR). thisfirstmajor case interrogating aboriginal
Svensson points up the relevance of land claims. It should also serve as a mo-
the Case for the particular Saami it con- del for thorough ethnohistorical and eth-
cerned, but also for other Saami, for in- nographic documentation of other cases.
ternational law, and for aboriginal rights We at largebenefit from Svensson's bringing
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in general. Svensson weaves in references knowledge and 30 years of his life to wit-
to litigation taking place concurrently in ness those witnesses.
other parts of the Fourth World. Fortuna-
tely for many of us, Svensson chose to Myrdene Anderson
present his research in English. Specialists Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
will find the detail they need to make
comparisons and to extend agendas into
the future. Pamela J. Asquith & Arne Kalland (eds).
The volume's quality production match- 1997. Japanese Images of Nature: Cultural
es the quality of its contents. Except for Perspectives. London: Curzon. 220 pp.
an occasional 'it's' for 'its', there are few
printing glitches. One might prefer to This collection edited by Pamela Asquith
have the endnotes incorporated into the and Arne Kalland offers a diverse array of
text. The plates would benefit from more perspectives on images of, arrangement
accessible captions. No explanation was related to, and practices involving 'na-
given for the spelling for 'Sami', which ture' and 'things natural' inJapanese soci-
relies on a diacritic absent in English. ety. Part of a series of edited volumes that
Also, the text was sealed against inquiry have resulted from meetings of the Japan
into the cultural construction of'rights', Anthropology Workshop (JAWS), this spe-
the historical origin of reference to 'land cific publication originated in the associa-
and water', the nuances of'intensive' and tion's seventh gathering which was held
'extensive' land use, the privileged posi- in 1993 in Banff, Canada. It is the first pub-
tion of reindeer livelihoods, and the ap- lication, moreover, to come out in the
parently monolithic Saami sentiments. new series on 'Man and Nature in Asia'
Indeed, the initial Saami support of the that is being issued by the Curzon Press.
ombudsman seems not to have matured While it is hard to do justice to the full
into appreciation, but these patterns hide complexity of the arguments found in
the dynamics beneath the surface of his- the different papers, let me provide a cur-
tory-in-the-making. It is not uncommon sory review of the various contributions
in social life to find resentment emerge in order to depict their richness and vari-
when some parties cannot sufficiently ety. In the introductory essay the editors
reciprocate benevolent actions with gra- set out an analytical framework that in-
titude. tegrates the contentions and arguments
The braided and nonlinear text chal- found throughout the whole volume (I
lenges the reader, and draws one into the will return to this point presently). Peter
thick of the case. This successful presen- Ackermann offers a nuanced account of
tation makes piecemeal readingunproduc- the place of the 'four seasons' injapanese

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 Book Reviews 3*5
society and culture; Sonja Arntzen examines depictions of nature, medical images of
the place of natural imagery in classical death and life, the legitimation of gender
Japanese poetry; Pilar Cabanas offers an differences through representations of
essay on bijinga (portraits of beautiful the 'natural', portraits of nature in adverti-
women) as encompassing and linking cul- sing, and the philosophical underpinnings
ture and nature; Joy Hendry presents a of the Japanese view of nature. From a
very good analysis ofjapanese gardens as disciplinary point of view, the volume
'tamed nature'; Harumi Befu interprets draws contributors from such specialties
the main elements of Watsuji Tetsuro's as Japanese and comparative literature,
ecological philosophy; Margaret Lock the sociology of culture, social and cultural
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offers a fascinating essay on how con- anthropology, environmental studies and

testations over brain death imply differ- history. As the editors show, the stress on
ent notions about what is living and a diversity of topics and on a variety of
dead; Nancy Rosenberger demonstrates disciplines is intentional because it is pre-
how metaphors of the natural have been cisely the interlinkages between seem-
used to legitimate gender differences; ingly diverse areas that reveal the strength
Merry White uses commentaries found and the centrality of considerations about
in magazines for youths in order to un- nature in Japanese culture and society. In
cover notions of sexuality; Brian Moeran this point they have succeeded. The overall
and Lise Skov provide a subtle analysis of picture that emerges from this variety is
the use of nature in advertizing; Michael one of (often surprising) connections be-
Ashkenazi links the modernization of tween such ostensibly dissimilar dimen-
eating and drinking habits to notions of sions as technology and nature, the bound-
nature through a focus on soft drinks; aries between 'natural' and 'unnatural'
Okpyo Moon presents an essay on how death, or 'traditional' images of nature
nature is marketed in order to revitalize and their use by the contemporary me-
rural villages; John Knight examines the dia. Another advantage of the volume is
phenomenon of natural farming in con- that it brings together scholars working
temporary society; and finally, Joseph in Japan, North America and Europe. In
Kyburz offers a complex structural ana- this manner it represents not only differ-
lysis of the interface of nature and culture ent disciplines, but also different intel-
in Japanese thought. lectual traditions.
Edited collections are often difficult to The second criterion relates to the vol-
review. Here, I have chosen three criteria ume's internal coherence or the extent to
that seem relevant to potential users: the which it 'hangs together'. The introductory
volume's thematic and disciplinary diver- essay by Kalland and Asquith fulfills this
sity, internal coherence, and appeal to task admirably. Against the background
potential readerships. of the book's diversity, this essay explores
First, diversity. The editors argue that a major issue that runs throughout the
such complex phenomena as the rela- volume and proposes a conceptual frame-
tions between 'nature' and 'society' can- work for dealing with it. The issue is the
not be understood unless an eclectic and ambivalent relation found inJapanese cul-
interdisciplinary view is taken. Thematic- ture and society to 'nature': attitudes and
ally, the volume deals with such diverse practices related to harmony, preserva-
matters as tourism and the search for nos- tion and even veneration of nature exist
talgia, natural farming and notions of tra- side by side with outlooks and demeanor
ditional agriculture, poetic and artistic based on environmental degradation, ex-

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998

 316 Book Reviews

ploitation and depletion. As Kalland and Japan and Asia. Moreover, given the ac-
Asquith caution us, the problem is not cessible style in which almost all of the
one of how 'traditional' images of har- contributions are written, I would recom-
mony coexist with 'modern' notions of mend it not only to established scholars
exploitation. The volume does not sink but to undergraduate students as well.
into a simplistic version of modernization Finally, the introductory essay and most
theory but offers a host of propositions of the individual articles contain very
about the ambivalence and complexity at good bibliographies (often both in Eng-
heart of what are taken to be 'traditional' lish andjapanese) that can serve as useful
and 'modern', about the paradoxical and starting points for further reading.
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contradictory 'logic' of these construc- This is a good introductory volume to

tions, and about the manner by which the theme of nature in Japanese society.
they are related to concrete behaviors It is very diverse in its scope, contains an
and relations of power. excellent editorial introduction, and can
The third criterion involves the appeal serve a variety of disciplinary and scholarly
of the collection to different kinds of readerships.
readerships. In this respect, the volume's Eyal Ben-Art
internal diversity can appeal to a wide The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
range of potential audiences spanning Israel
the disciplines included in the study of

ETHNOS VOL. 63:2, 1998