Review by Kirkus Book Review
Not quite the exhibit of field anthropology intended--though preferable, in its naivetÉ, to overcolored reports. Werner hopes, he says, to satisfy curiosity ""about what it was like to live among a primitive tribe""; to describe fieldwork ""for introductory anthropology students""; and to vindicate his own penchant for quantification. We first get some basic information about Amazonia, its Indians, the recently-fierce Mekranoti. We hear of Werner's wait for permission to go into Indian lands and a Belgian anthropologist's providential, share-the-fare invitation to go to the Mekranoti village. Then he's nervously descending on the naked villagers: what he's going to study, or why, we haven't a clue. For a few months, he's the complete duffer--characteristically annoyed by ""the constant haranguing for presents"" (until he sets up a card file, to record goods and services received) and inevitably blocked by the language barrier (which, with convincing effort, he overcomes), but also surprisingly baffled by commonplace cultural differences (like indistinct landownership). Adapting, becoming accepted, he does provide a pleasant description of Mekranoti life: an almost idyllic blend, as we see it, of material abundance, egalitarianism, stability, and vitality. (The latter from much sexual competition, from ritual observances and outside contact.) Almost nothing, however, is made of any of this. Werner doesn't draw cross-cultural comparisons, or even distinguish between Mekranoti practices and those common to tribal societies. His biggest undertaking--measuring Mekranoti work, crops, and nourishment--yields the information (a virtual parody of such research) that ""for every hour of gardening one Mekranoti adult produces almost 18,000 kilocalories of food."" In short, ""they don't need to work very hard to survive."" And this, he generalizes, ""shows just how easygoing life in agricultural societies can be""! The frustrations, at least, are true to anthropological fieldwork (as others, from Malinowski on, have written); the Mekranoti are credibly portrayed, body-paint and all, as ""ordinary people."" But there is a void where one might expect a trained observer to be. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
