what they told her about the Tiv and herself. The Return to Laughter is a fictionalized account by Elenore Smith Bowen about her experiences with the Tiv culture in Africa. It describes her struggles to learn and understand the local culture and beliefs, and juxtaposes her own conflicts, morals and beliefs. Bowen engages in what anthropologists termed participant-observation. The anthropologist made a few mistakes that provided revelations about herself and the Tiv people. Language difficulties
Participant observation is a method of collecting information and data about a culture and is carried out by the researcher immersing themselves in the culture they observing. The researcher becomes known in the community, getting to know and understand the culture in a more intimate and detailed way than would be possible from any other approach. This is done by observing and participating in the community’s daily activities. The method is so effective because the researcher is able to directly
Anthropology is the study of cultural diversity and what it is that makes us human. In order for Anthropologists to come to conclusions they must do research. There are two types of anthropological research that exist: looking at existing studies and theories and personal interest. Ethnographic research is a unique aspect of anthropology that aims to answer questions by doing field research. Unobtrusive and participant are the two types of observations and this essay will be looking at the later
the things that interest anthropologist and it’s what makes them want to learn about society. Laura Bohannon is an anthropologist who went to visit the Tiv tribe in West Africa. While staying there she had to learn to overcome the changes in culture and ethnocentrism. While doing so she learned the idea of human nature. While going to visit the Tiv tribe Bohannon decides to tell the story of Hamlet to them because they are big story tellers, and it is a popular story in the western world. She begins
West Africa, where she stayed and interacted with the Tiv People Ethnocentrically. Bohannan is pressured into sharing the story of Hamlet to the Tiv people, even though she is not trained in the art of storytelling. As she tells the story, the Tiv people keep interrupting or mis-interpreting the story, as they are comparing the story to their own culture, and thinking their way is the best way or the correct way, thus making it Ethnocentric. The Tiv people have a hard time understanding things in the
The community should be seen as is the social bonds; the exchange of bride wealth is a form of power and wealth transference. The Tiv men who were able to overthrow the hierarchical system which involved working for older men to be able to save their hard earnings for bridewealth, by doing migrant labour in the urban areas and converting their wages into bride wealth. Money that was
Witchcraft is a social phenomenon that is prevalent among the Tiv as Laura Bohannan describes in Return to Laughter (1954). It is generally believed that witches have the power to cause harm in others by the virtue that allows them to make spiritual journeys. The belief in the power of witches allows groups such as the Tiv, make sense of their seemingly arbitrary hardships and place blame on a particular person rather than coincidence, thus leading to unfortunate allegations of witchcraft. Witchcraft
In many cultures around the world there are certain practices that distinguish that specific culture. Body modification is generally seen, by the practitioners as “self-constructive,” whereas critics see it as a “violent pathologization.” (Johncock 2012:241.) Throughout this paper I will be focusing on body modification in African cultures, more specifically, the practice of scarification. Though it is described as body modification, scarification is not seen as “self-beautifying,” like other
can study human beings’ social life through different methods such as participant observation. Laura Bohannan (Elenore Smith Bowen), the author of Return to Laughter, exercised this method by spending time in the African bush living with and studying Tiv tribe. She not only observed the locals’ daily routines and the function of their society, she also participated as one of the members of their society. In the beginning, she still distinguished herself as a European with different cultural living standard
Stuck in her own interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the idea that “human nature is (nearly) the same” worldwide, an American Anthropologist, Laura Bohannan, set off for the Tiv in West Africa (Bohannan 1). Bohannan’s original intent was to learn about the African tribe’s culture and ceremonies, but one morning, when she was sitting with the elders of the tribe, they asked Bohannan to tell them the story of Hamlet, for they have told her many of their stories and found it only fair. In an
Anthropology, the study of the development of various societies and cultures, has helped humans understand the differences amongst groups of people. Cultural anthropology, in particular, focuses on the cultural variations that have developed throughout human history. Anthropologists are responsible for studying and examining the behaviors of humankind, researching how humans interact and how they develop. Most anthropologists accomplish this by partaking in field study which enables them to experience
Embarking on a journey of anthropological fieldwork will undoubtedly include a plethora of setbacks. At its foundation, fieldwork requires developing rapport with the native people in order to gain access of genuine knowledge pertaining to the specific culture being studied. Subsequently, social communication between the researcher and the native people is a key component to the entire process; yet simultaneously it is a root of the many problems a researcher can encounter while in the field. It
about every house, business, and church, as though determined to erase Gr... ... middle of paper ... ...course or decapitate in mid-air. Then if you are lucky and get inside then you have to be heavy enough to stay on the ground. That’s where the TIV comes in. It takes time to be prepared for storm chasing. The cables all have to be hooked up to the radar, computer, and GPS’s. Even stormchasers need time to recoupe. Each day it’s a new hotel, a new city, and a new state. These little breaks give
Families, language, ancestry/birthright, and multicultural identity of self all connects to one’s heritage and identification process by giving the opportunity to self-expression. A writer who goes through the experience of self-expression and realization of identity is Emiene Shija Wright. Wright, the writer of “Say Something in African,” speaks about discrimination and prejudice but most importantly, her culture and how it helps shape her identity. With her writing, Wright exemplifies the way a
John Fage and David Tait have stated, “Oral tradition is often in reality an explanation, in quasi-historical terms, of existing or of currently relevant past social or socio-political relationships” (as cited in Showren, 2014). Thus, as reflections of the socio-political relationships of an era or a community, the oral traditions play a very important role in the study and documentation of history of cultures which otherwise relied on word of mouth transmission. But for a long time, and perhaps
acted as a barrier to cultural unity; rather it has provided an easy means of communication in an area where many settlements claim different origins. The Igbos are also surrounded on all sides by other tribes (the Bini, Warri, Ijaw, Ogoni, Igala, Tiv, Yako and Ibibio). The origins of the Igbo people has been the subject of much speculation, and it is only in the last fifty years that any real work has been carried out in this subject: ...like any group of people, they are anxious to discover
1). Ethnographic fieldwork is very important to the practice of cultural anthropology. In a 2 to 3 page essay discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this research method. In doing so, please do the following: a) Define ethnographic fieldwork and explain why it is important to cultural anthropology. Ethnographic fieldwork is characteristic of cultural anthropology (Sprandley, 6) . Ethnography entails theory of cultures. Ethnographic fieldwork is important to cultural anthropology to undercover the
An ethnographic study into the symbolism of the clown as a existence who enables anybody who adopts his persona to attain various layers of power and knowledge within sociopolitical context through implementing an anarchist tradition and attaining social justice. ‘Feast of the Clowns, Burgers Park’ the quite ominous pamphlet read as I was approaching a seemingly empty patch of green and I couldn’t help but retrieve sinister images of gluttonous clowns. Before I could enter the barricaded plot of
Introductory paragraph Nigeria has the largest population of any African country and it is the 6th in the world. Population Growth is the change in population overtime. Nigeria is also the most densely populated country in Africa, that means, nearly one in six Africans is a Nigerian. Nigeria’s population is unevenly distributed across the country and the world. In July 2001, Nigeria’s population was estimated at more than 123 million people about 345 people per square mile. The population growth
Ten main groups were recorded during the 1931 census as follows: (1) Hausa, (2) lbo, (3) Yoruba, (4) Fulani, (5) Kanuri, (6) Ibibio, (7) Munshi or Tiv, (8) Edo, (9) Nupe, and (10) ljaw. According to Nigeria Handbook, eleventh edition, 'there are also a great number of other small tribes too numerous to enumerate separately [...]'. It is a mistake to designate them 'tribes'. Each of them is a nation