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    Untitled

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    Jason King

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 442
    Tristes Tropiques » CLAUDE LEvI-STRAUSS ad ee of hn nt “have sought a bumen society reduced to its most baste expression” His search as taken Claude Lévi- Strauss, eminent Fresch anthropologist. land one of the founders of structural “anthropology, to the fr comers ofthe ‘earth, not a5 &supeciial sightacr, bat ‘sa close student af man and the varied cultures he has erecad around himself ‘While a profesor at S80 Paolo Unive sity in Bazil, M. LévsSteauss traveled extensively through the Amazon basin and the dense upland jungles of Brazil to the "Tests Tropiguet” of hi tte, 1 yas here, among the most prime ‘of the Amerindian tribes, that he found thetasic human societies he was seeking. ‘rites Tropiques is the slory of his experence among these wie. Here ace intricate, deiled accounts of the Caduveo, and the elaborate painted designs behind which they hide shee natural” faces... the righ hier archiealsoeaty of the Bororo «the Nambikwara, who win asort of eurity by giving wives to thei chief - the isese and superstion-idden Twp Kawahib, whose weird tribal dances sometimes last for dae TRISTES TROPIQUES gen. 166 ansr fovi-Gtrauss ge Tristes Tropiauee — \ \ cc kansas city public library 7 er tion of fibraxy rer Pane Teo waked dacs and ewe (Sistas of the Ro rage Got ae do aed Ba patbcly ad eats ane Etre lect nor Bote ieee c. LEVI-STRAUSS Tristes Tropiques ‘Teanlated by JOHN RUSSELL CRITERION BOOKS - NEW YORK ‘agin euion © ecient vey Cpe Cay Cat Namie rey pay patie Pc nde ee ‘oe Te ts eo on Pre Gt ie ae? 6115758 Loat FOR LAURENT ‘Nec minus ego ante ae gua t cecdere,exdntgue, Lucretius, De Rerum Natur, 1, 969 ae? 6115758 3 u 6 0 Contents vant DESTINATIONS Departure ‘On Boaed Ship ‘The Anslles "The Ques for Power FROM A LOG-BOOK [A Backward Glance How I becsme an Anthropologist Sunset THE NEW WORLD ‘The Doldrums Guanabara Into the Tropics, Sto Paulo ALAND AND ITS PEOPLE ‘Town and Country ‘The Pioneer Zone THE CADUVEO Parana Pantanal alike ANutive Society and its Style ” ar 38 sé 65 7 8s 34 3 133 ur 131 160 8 19 20 3 25 26 27 28 30 3 32 3 a“ 35 36 PART VI THE BORORO Gold and Diamonds ‘The Good Savage ‘The Living and the Dead PART Vit THE NAMBIKWARA ‘The Lost World In the Sertio On the Line Family Life A Woting Lesson Mea, Women, and Chiefs PART VII THE TUPI-KAWAHIB By Canoe Crusoe Country In the Forest, ‘The Crickess' Village ‘The Japim Bird Takes the Stage Amazonia Seringal PART 1x THE RETURN ‘The Apotheosis of Augustus ‘A LLitle Glass of Rum Conclusion Bibliggraphy Idee 383 198 214. 235 249, 262 22 286 298 383 323 332 342 349 357 363 373 38r 393 399 400 Illustrations Frontispiece Two masked dancers and two gicls, Cansjé-Indians sELWHEN PAGES 96 AND 97 THE CADUVEO 1 Virgin forest in Parana 2 The Pantanal 3, Nake capital ofthe Caduveo country ‘45. Caduveo women with painted fices 6 A Cadaveo belle in 1895 (afer Bopyiani) 17 Face-puinng: an orginal drawing by a Cadaveo woman 8 Another fce-painting, drawn by a mative 9 Another fice-pinting, draw by a mative 10 A Cadveo gil dressed and painted forthe rts of puberty THE BORORO 31 The Bororo village of Kejra: inthe centre the Men's House; at ‘the back, some of the huts of the Tugaré moiery 12 A Bororo couple 13, The author's best informant in fll egalia 14 A meal inthe Men's Howse 15, Faneral dance 16. Dance ofthe Paiwe chan 17 Preparations forthe mariddo dance 38 Funeral cremony THE NAMBIKWARA 19 The Nambikwara tribe on the move 20 Resting 3 as ” 8 9 ‘A leaf shelter in the dry season ide gil witha monkey Building «ha forthe any season ‘Two Nambikwars men, Note the cgaete rolled ina leaf and ‘cked though the bral on the uppe arma Saband the oreet Chief Wakletoge Preparing care ‘The Nambikwara postion of the ight band in drawing the bow: the so-aled secondary postion. Cf. plate 52 [A Nanbikwara woman piecing tothenof peal from the river for earrings ‘he Nanbikwara a work: grading pearl, ereadng them, and, inde background, waving A polygemons family ‘A woman sucling ber child in the native manne A Nambikwara family Siesa Conjugal ficty Affectionate frolics and sruggles meas only in fn Looking frie ‘Young woman with a monkey Pregnant worn doing Cuying a cid The spinner intecrpted “he sree’ two wives in convertion ‘Nambikwara youth with nal omament anda sf fibre lip log. “The day-teamer A Nambizwars smile ” 8 ° 50 sm 2 s 3 38 6 37 8 9 6 e 4 THE TUPI-KAWAHIB Going up the Rio Pimenta Busno ‘The Mundé village amidst plantations ‘The Mundé village square A Mandé man with lip-plugs of hardened resin ‘The dome ofa Mandé hut seen fom inside Mandé archer; note the postion of the right hand (@he ‘Medi- terraean eles’) which dfer ffom that adopted by the Botoro and Nambikwara, mest ofen found in Americ. Cf plate 28, ‘Two young Mundé mathers ‘A Mandé woman and her child whose eyebrows are coated with ‘wax ready for plocking Sharing camp with the Tupi-Kawahib on the edge ofthe Rio ‘Machado Tocinds [ATTupi-Kawahib man skinning a monkey. Note ce bly, a reent ‘BE, and he prainsheath ‘Tapers, chef ofthe Tupi-Kawahib Kunhatsin, chief wile of Taperai, with er child Pwrerers, Tapers’ son Penhana the young wif ofthe two brothers “Maraabico-wife (wither daughter Kunhatsin) of Chief Taperahi Carrying canoe o by-ps sapids on the Rio Ge-Parana LINE DRAWINGS [A figs found at Pompei (the tp of the thumb has been broken) 13 ‘A rustic calvary in the interior of the State of Sto Paulo decorated with various objects representing the insta sents of the Pasion 17 Oxeart ate m0 Kaingang pottery ne 5 Water, decorated in bright eed and varnished with black 6 Three examples of Ceo pottery 7 Two wooden statues: she Ltde Old Man (ef) and the ‘Mother of the Twins (cight) {8 Caduveo jewellery made of hammered coins and chimbles 9 Stauetes of mythological pesomnages in stone (lef) and ‘wood (cght) ost Cadaveo designs 12-13 Motif wed in body-psinting 14-17 Mote motifs wed in body- painting 18 Drawings made by a young Cadavean boy 19. Another drawing by the same artist. 2 Tes Seep lx he of ene by we poe pn wich preen—and ae pled on ar upperlip a1 Design punted on leather 32-2} Body-pantng: on the left as recorded by Bogan in os and onthe right a ecorded by the authori 1935 24-5 ‘Two face and body-prnting mois 26 A ficepainting 27 Penivsheath 28. Lip-plog and earrings of mother-of-pac and feathers 29. Pla of Kejaa village 30 Wooden club used in fishing 31 Bows decorated with sings of bark in the fishion character- istic ofthe owner's din 32 Atrow shafs beariig chn omamentson between the feathering 34, Emblazoned peainsheaths 34 Black pottery bowl 38 Two examples, one single and one double, of 2 Bororo “pocker knife 36 Crecent-shaped pendant decorated with jaguar eth 154 157 157 158 159 6 1s 16 % um mm us i m8 203 207 207 37 Tmmprovised ommaments: pained crowns of dried suaw 201 38 Abulbtoarer as 49 Ceremonial earings made of pices of motherof'peat fastened tosis of bask and trimmed wit eaters and haie a 40. Boroto paintings of cal objects 2 4 Bororo painting of an offcan, erompets, 2 rte, nd ‘various oraments a4 42 Diadem of yellow and blue ara ethers carrying dan marking 27 445 Digram showing the eal and apparent social suctre of the Bororovilage au ‘ues People of ancient Mexico, on the left from the south ‘east (American Museum of Natural History), on the sight fom the Gulfcoast (Exposition d Art Mexisi, 1982) 4 46-7 Onthe left Chavin culture, northem Pera (after Tell); ‘on the right Monte Allan, southern Mexico (fro bar reliefs known as‘the dances) 243 48. Hopewell culture, eaten United States (alee Charles C. ‘Willoughby. The Turner Group of Eahrks, Papers of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Vol. VI, No. 3, 1922) 3 49 Chavin, northern Pers (afer Telo) us 50 Hopewell, eae United States (fer W. K. Moorehead, the Hopewell mound. .... Feld Museum, Chicago ‘Anthropl, Secs, Vl. VI, No.5, 1922) 247 51 Bamboo sticks guarding the approach-way to the village 340 52. Detail ofthe pustngs onthe ouside ofa hat us 53, Another example ofhu-pintngs us PART I Destinations 1 Departure "Tears eetena tno ting onan yethereTam, al set to tell he story of my expeditions, But atest I've taken long while to make up my’mind toi: ifeen years hae pased since 1 lft Breil forthe ls ime and often, during those year, I've planned to write this book, but 've aways been held back by a sort of| Shame and digs. So much would have tobe sad that has no possible interest insipid deal, incidents of no significance. Anthropology is a profesion in which adventure plays no part; merely one of iss bondages, it sepresens no more than dead weight of wecks or months ‘wasted en route; hours spent in idlenes when one's informant has given one the slip; honger, exhaustion, ines as lke as not; and those housand and one routine dais which eat up most of our days to no purpose and educe ou ‘perilous existence’ in the virgin forest to 4 simulacrum of mary service... That the object of our studies shouldbe atuinsble only by continual seuggle and vain expenditures doesnot mean that we should set any store by what we should rather conser as he negative aspect of our proision. The truths that we teavel so fir to seek are of value only when we hae eraped them dean of all chis fungus, It may be that we shall have spent six months of ‘rave, prvation, and sickening physical weariness merely in order to record—ina few days, it may be, or cven afew hours—an unpublished smyth, a new marsiage-rule, or a complete list of names of dans. But that docs noe justify my taking up my pen in order to rake over remory’s tash-cans ‘At 5.30 a. we dropped anchor off Recife while the seagulls skisled around ws and a foils of small boas put out fiom the shore with exosic rus forsale...” ‘And yee that sor of book enjoys a great and, to me inexplicable popularity. Amazonia, Afca, and Tibet have invaded all oar book= sal, Travel-books, expeditionary records, and photograph-albuims > ” * Destine Shun nd sy wren cme mee mlx ert ter no em of eninge ve Ha cel tous led td, caly ws pen eof he i Soa by dou win eel guy plan Bene spots tc gh pn at ater SFemacklp ncn deste coe tee os’ sb y rr ll hee mig ute ngs nt wnyeoe wo at ben smug nd clad ght sue of pose al moving Soe peters cle i eric palo sve day tng Pte ke ape von one he toda sated the peer smn te by even fo ected a he ge For wit o tetonk he om 1? A agg, a mn oto toute mdeeaou ft ips dg as Ew top of bepaioamsenp et ie dene ety oe fre unde opie Only pene inp ad he Gece dey of bre coe tn pn ‘Sc nu tee fl ines neg ey Doss te ne esp ven get alec ener, Indamong te no y eoy te ples feu fl pot Sorat ive nh dave arsine: Mysims hove, Sue's ‘lyr te ne or saan oy, bts den ‘Eergnd nal penomenen wcrc cn cen Sieofmar oe Nox ay pope cra profiel ne 19) nd te io seed foe de tle cod out ac ou ear Toca Sle Hye bros singleton it dary cl tod duped npn ted ns pron ae fa on of She Jerdn ds Pe Once a yc he Soy of Tra of he um opted olan ol xp, fr Tinow ee Chik rtd en La lec ey ere ur eee Ms ge rtp edhe amy tw mak tt a Seal image en weniger tobe nse ‘hobo helmed bene, ertheless Zaid wih ying de Gm age poe of ang Sot lipwed ceva A gure of hur bee ape Se wavy dou re pee none weld oe he Eis sp ote nl shat el ped ct ‘cou cine goon, Jn whe lamer warnigahope {Sly fh al wud hf il wih ec, ch pce Deparwe » by mother or nanny, some dalightd bythe prospect of «fe change of sens, others merely craving reli fom the dat and noise of the frdes ouside, This mibrue of modh-aten phantoms aad impatient "Younger wat our reward fr long months of erapgle and hardship; {o them we unloaded our teaared recollections. A seson of hist twas enough to sever us for ever from sich memoria we talked on inthe halligh we le them dropping away from ws, oe by one, ike ples down a wel. TFs, ou errs, bad i Fancealsie,as much could have een ssid of our depart, which was signalzed by « banquet eld by the Franco-Americn Committee in ed peivate howe in wha is now the Avenue Franklin Roosevelt. A exter ied fo de oro, had dtvedewo hours cuir and seu hisapparses ofhoeplat and china dnd ubleslver too late, however, fr haty “sing! blow away the nench of deolaton. ‘Nols unfmlar to ws than the solemnity ofour surroundings wat the arom of fsy ted with which they were permeated There had ‘en jut dine, quite cay, ro sweep clan the crate ofthe enoemous saloon in which we were to ding and it war atthe rble—darfed ike cries by its eavranment-—thit we made one another’ scqusnt= ce for theft time, Most of us were young teachers who hud only Je begun work in provincial lye; dere had setched before ws damp winter, with lodgings i 2 second-rate hotel in markettown sd anallpervading smal of grog, cells, and sale wine. And now, George Duma ighlypervene whims were to whisk ws away Eom all dst and set os down in kaxuy-line headed for che top set fn expecince which wat to bear only the most distant resemblance © the stock notions of wave which were already forming within us. Thad been one of Georges Duras saulentsatthe tine ofthe Tratt de Payehologi. Once» wesk~Thursday ot Sunday morning, I can't remember which—the philosophy sradeats would go and heat him in one of the lecrre- balsa the Hopital Sxinte-Anne. The walls facing ‘he windows were covered wih hiaron painings by madmen; these set, from the very beginning, peclisrly exotic note, Dumas was robosly bul, with «body lke a illhook and great batered head that looked kes huge rot which had ben whitened and pared down. by a sojou on the sub, He had waxy complexion that united bis whole fice withthe white hair dit he wore very short and en bros and he lite beard ao whit, thst grew i al directions at once A cusious agment of vgetable mater, one Would have si, with ts 2 Destinations rootes sill adhering to it, had not the coal-black gaze affirmed chat, ‘twas beyond doube ahaman being. The stiphoay of black and white recurred inthe contrat: between the white shirt, with ts arched and of then? Iti af their cartons and institions seemed to chem t0 fimetion mechanically: lek, chance and een at of no aval and the than who wie o wre something fom Desiny must venture into that peows margincountsy where te norms of Society count for nothing and che demande and guarantes ofthe group are no longer vai, He mas eavel to where the police ave no sway, tthe Hmits ‘fps resieance and the Bx poi of physic nd moral suring. Once inthe anpredicuble bordedand 2 man may van, never °0 rerum; or he may soqite for hime, ftom amoag the immense perory of uierploited fores which surounds any welbreglted tockty some penona provion of power and when this happens 20 ‘erwin oc order may be eanceled in our ofthe man Iw has ked everything “This wodld bey none the les, » superficial interpretation. The i Destinations Gqistion among the Nort American tbe i ot one ofthe anti TSS berween vidual convedonsand he dcrins of Soy. The Sede sng deal toes he cvtoms sad the philosophy of the group, From ine group te india esas is eso he bee in ran spss the teaon of the gro, abd Socity a a woe Siti ie’ menber dat Gc ly hope of ulvaon, within the ihe oc ony sin an sbsed and essing atempt wo get Ses of hat ore. ‘Gute dey the elton brwern the French publ of way ands votre explores ins ave vot of Dis sacent convention. eres He te of ie Noh Arar eis Gong gece, by one means or sno, of ciaton. Some Gtuntin some fo fr blow goad ott ape hain fly and pence sme ttt and. Ox maybe thatthe ough Sot exseny ls inthe onl spre; some choose be putin Stason v0 aie thay, os tw we can now tl, they cot pool vive them ‘Soclrys completely indir thin contequnces fone may so dete tem, ofthe sven, Sciatic dacovery plays to pat in tems Nos can they beconiered ro enh he ‘reat of Shc apanson' fx very On hy are aboriaby rien 1 he cp that coun bd oti objet. Once gain the purl is ery clo ny young nn who utes ital fr few wero oes ffom dhe grosp sad exons himel oa exere ation oy sor may oat on beng nveted on Be rsim, with «Hed of magic forte: (ome of ctr comemporr ae an of snee conven, Enc are dyad eeltng: ce re icine cover in peimive ‘ocala ou worl the omer comes ota newpaper rl, evcling books and leans wih ot an empty sate all. ftogic cates evident nthe proces of suremnpiicaon ofthe tooup andy the group which in every ene, the fs of the Flcornenon, Lofy ad lnaive ate te Trcic ese Soung men dew Sn sot enemies of Soe tages mowbound Pale, Become carey, sod ipeneile fretswhich, Sodery Clipe to nnobe xe wery moment at which as robbed ther of tii power to ham, Nob thy at olay, but when they were rely the adver of Socery they apie only tor and dg Today the mrage of the Amazonia fre ate cag, Eke gare= birds in he tap of our mechanic bation. Ten actpe st incvlabl de dtmscon of thae wobble and owes beng, ‘The Ques for Power 6 ‘what Iwill not be deceived by, onthe other han, ithe ‘lack magic’ sore ply even than thee own, which brandthes before a eager publican albumin “fl calou’. Now hat the Indias’ make have fen deswoyed, these albums have taken thie place. Perhaps out reades hope, by the itermediacy ofthe colour plates, to tke om something ofthe Indians harms? To have destroyed the Indian isnot nnugh—the public may, indeed, nt realize that the destruction has taken pace—and what the reader wan is satisfy, in some sore, the cannibal-instncs of the hisorial proces to which the Indians have sleeadysoocumbed. ‘Myra the alealy grey pedecenor ofthese ‘explore’ Tay well be the only whiee travel to have broughe back nothing bur ashes fiom my joumeyt, Pechape my voice alone wil be heard to ay dt travel no longer ofes an cape? Like the Indian inthe legend I bave teen tothe words ead and there asked questions of peopl, and of| things and ike him Twas dppoined with whae I Hea And he seood there, in tears paying aad groaning aloud. And he heard no mysterious sounds; noe di he ill adeep, tobe eased away mule slexpng othe temple ofthe mage ails He could doube no longer 20 power, fom any sure, a bem given thi... Misiones od to speak of dreams a “the sarage’s go’, bur thzough my hands a any fate they have always lipped ike mescary. ‘Where did sense some snail part, some giterng patil of thei power? A Cubs, were the cath once yield gold by the nugget? ‘At Ubsmibs, the nowe-dserted por where two centuries go the great falleons putin co load? ying over the Arabian dese, piskeand- roer-scekel like dhe motheofspelyexcshl? In America ot in ‘Asa? On the Newfoundland bans, the ptsux of Bolivia, or the his on the Coates of Burma? I chooses fandom a name sl charged swith the ssthoriy of legend: Lahore. ‘A landing-gound, vaguely in the suburb; interminable sven, steele, vil-bordered; andthe, in an enclosure, an hotel remin- scent ofa Normandy stud-Grm, where anumber fides buldings, with door opening ditedy on tothe road, were li ox ike vo maby diminutive stables Each door opened on a wniform apartment Sizing-room, bedcoom, bathroom, Hila mile or more amy, along the avenue, war ide square, sch a one finds in a French market town andatcomidenble mtervalsalong the avenuesthat etched 08, ‘e-wie romthatsguaretheewerethrec or fur shops: chemistphoro- gapher, books, watchmaker. A capuve in these unmesningfl i Destinations expanses, I fle my objective slipping beyond reach. Where, could it be, the old, the authentic Lahore? To get to it, at the fir end fof the badly laid-out and already. decepit suburbs, one had to ‘rots a Tengthy bazaa-ates, in which were to be found commetis, tmedicines, imported plastic materials, and shoddy jewellery—made, this last by the operation of mechanical saw on gold the thickness of “white Lad AST sought fr the ‘real Lahore’ tthe end of those shaded “lleys Thad constant to atten myelf against che wall: locks of sheep ‘were pusing sheep with pink and blue ligus in theix wool—or bails, each as big a three cows, of, most often, lorries. Pethaps the secret lay with the wooden buildings that were fling to pieces from Sheer old age? Icould have appreciated che lacy, finely chislled working ‘of the wood had [not boen kept at a distance by the meelic spider’ ‘eb of primitive cect wing that evosed and crispcrosed from one ‘yall tothe next. Fom time to time, too and forthe space of two oF three paces, an image or an echo would se up from the recess of time: in che lite sect ofthe beaters of silver and gold, fr inseane, there wasa clear, unburied inkling, asf djinn witha thousand arms wat absent-minded practising on a xylophone. No sooner was I out ofthis labyrinth chan came to the atea where hoge avenues have been Sheiched out among the ruins (Ase, the, to the riot of the recent yan) of houses five hundred years old. So often, however, have these houses been deszoyed and patched together again, so absolueis their ” 2 From Lapook amonnt of ler expr in any ie, cin prevent me for el ‘ikng of Bead eam of ung soe ‘Now tat look back onthe tte igen longer sem to me sv sbiry have ert htc tat of sy gen stom does tt ilo much to apt Graton Bo tat pa snd EnedonatedGlacon wich the equvocd sn of bing ent tr erage lady ning me tpn pac, The so boop Sr iy i nny bya symbolic anon whch Twas noe et able nmol cnt. apron otso mach atc of veg te trond of digg bath the ais chance Hagens of and pe momenta tans of Hy efectos engi om te wg — tb ct hing chat sone mae pombl fro ended snd Iniepethocaos which would oer Lae noching to ofr, ue ote problems mean rided ithe wld promise which Boop had made nc How cold Bae come pone ae Sio Pale, orn oki coped satire sent? Does vrs contin it th Mexico City or Tegucoip, Thepieopter ‘Th had wien bout on te ate opine la wie wonder Ig frome moment ft pul nowt bet ogo thee and efor ce (vt ou he ly pw bed eed os pore of 9277 “hatin he Rx of everest bans hat eat Ge) wn he than to supe te condition othe Mian nave ou yi ‘Sina enol sa: Nor wa ete oly ae of ioe?” Iocclogi profs is ndifernce: ets of he bred ae ll “ae Be that ay, wt too inno nt to wee an illson thas happy seconded ony intents Georges Dama ait happened srs ego normed be edna router Bel aa when ‘iceland orcove he ha expe the scey maging in thc reps, Saag elie ad Meco Tas erefnevry uch reed to brat, a2 Incheon pay tole Vicor Margit ad hen mayne pont of view i sich macers The vpesker was the Brian Amba Pa “dan bed ‘Aln my Sa yh nin bell bon dead ad obeys yo etd peda ene ry of my conn. Baste aga loi inthe Steet centr were rt mony ot. Who see to pone them ify behaved an cvesyone ee bebe th tine? Tiny ed f gabhold ofthe lad te thn sh cnnon oath nd low A Backward Glance a them to pieces. That's how they went, every man Jack of them. ‘There'll be plenty to interest you, 26a socclogs,in’Brailbat as, forthe Indians, you'd better forget about them, because you'll never, finda single one. "Today it seems to me increible that even «gro fino, and even in 1934, should have eaked in this way. But at that time—chings are ferent now, Ym glad to sxy—the Braslian upper dasies could not Dear to hear the natives mentioned. The primitive conditions which existed in che intrioe of Brail were kewise taboo, wet it were 2 ‘question of admitting—or even suggesting —that an Indian great grandmother might have been responsible for 2 certain barely per ‘cepsble exorcism of feature. There was never any mention of those ‘drops, or rather chose pints, of back blood on which thei ancestors of the Imperial era had prided themselves, bat which they now preferred to forget. And yetit wat undeniable, for instance, that Lis de Souza Dantas was of predominantly Tadian descent; he could, indeed, have afforded to bosst of it. Bur he was an ‘export Brian’, and France hhad been his adopted country ever since his adolecence. He had lose, allcontace with the rel Bra, prefrcing to subiat frie ayefigure ‘of ofcialdom and high breeding. Certain things he could hardly have forgowen: but n0 doubt he found it mare convenient to blow upon the memory ofthe Brazilian ofthe siateenth century than to tel his [hearers of the way in which the men of hs parent’ generation —and ven, in some eats, those of his own—had amused dhemselves. Their favourite pastime kad been to all ache hospital for the clothes left behind by those who had died of small-pox: these they would then stew, together with other presets, slong the lime sll wed by the natives, This brought abou the following beiliane result: chat whereas in 1918 two-thirds ofthe State of Sto Paulo (a big as France, by the ‘way) wat marked on che map as ‘unexplored territory, inhabited only by Indians’, not one single native Indian was left at the ime of my atrival in 2935—with the exception of a few isolated famallis on che coat, who sold soiled ‘curios’ every Sunday on the beaches of Santor. So that chere were no Indians inthe outskirts of Sto Paulo; but Tuckily they were sill to be found some two thousand miles away in the interior cannot pas over this period without kindly mension of a quite diferent world. Ie was Vietor Marguertto—the same who introduced te to the Brazilian Ambasador—who made it posible for me 10 limp it. I had been bi secretary for ashore while during may last, 2 From ¢ Leg-book Ye dade seminal wre My EULE Shipolnnon tsb tear Pans hind ohne fe rDev ok Shims (ewido free) nd Biced Er ene Tian eensnd pgp ee pon hh gi geno wo nd Geen’ eg ot ill eocate: Vit Mas tbo eau og ttl nem wl bs bce (rs cs mb dl da sa tg isp rf econ, ced ita hls ol wld nests hele temcel sr wat novell sf d's womah oes Sugita tr eral egrets Gaesapt od soatag oft pds dy, al ce we tng ‘Shiels lu hme dar even ng ek iy menial eraec or ae bre er SSSI seas ete igs cir eftbed of aclee eT on ors fh send ge o- Sse dein pmen Hews aly dd ie tok al pcos yourg mone ead pees elec scesany nl manes eae ithe npn Sonn ofall nee ae ‘Rc, a guy ad tee ke oa eho ‘ont hi nd Seatac nui ysl ny Cb ped hl to gy known loge ope pci sare orl tlurimulups spond obiy baeseteey Stk fr hin Sl pope fod sah ral eo oe ‘sy ace a elses jug ead ned ee what cha nd mi eel sme Fr oratinmunerunedé Keying Late Roped Rena te dd blo edema he earns watt nhs ny eae oe pep peed Sikes tough astond doy e'mold Sell hey tenes Som ofc higer mms eftemnpee Der: wing bout Ve Regu wa he spy wid wish bred gum op as eee wilehtaryofrshinsre Ths waclceie Pete Wea ony ss erm foe nt os ‘cle nd rebate cll dap teed etna ‘Bhtoor Zan de Goons Baga Hage wee Set A Beckward Glance 8 at the Marguerite’ as if dhey wore cls and grandparents whose appointed tastes he was "They ay Tye no syle he would cry. ‘Bat when did Balzac have syle, aftr all? And you would have chought yours in the presence of one who, himself dezended from ruling monarchs, would explin away bit outbunts by allon to the imperious temperament of tome royal forbear. legendary tempeae rent thi, which the common run of morals woud spk of not sa characteristic tht they might shar, bus dhe aczped explanation fof ome great upheaval in contemporary history Ie was with iver, but shiver of plessre, that they woud sei cebor in Monsieur ‘Margucine, ther writes have had ore alent but er, bik, bave forged for themcves 10 graceful, and above all 29 aoc, a conception of thei profexion. 6 How I became an Anthropologist Tas eating a pibophy depee—totbeawe Thad any true vocation for philosophy, but because I had sampled other branches of eaming and detested them, one and all Thad begun ry philosophy clases with a vague liking for a form of rationalise ‘monism. This [meant to si and reinforce, and to this end pulled very sting to get put up to he teacher who was epuredly the most ‘advance’ in his views, Gatave Rodrigues was as a matter of fact, an active member ofthe S.E.LO.; bu as fa 2 philosophy was concerned his misture of Bergionism and neo-Kantiansm was 3 sad disppoint- sent fo me. Arid and dogmatic ashe was, he advanced hs views with gat fervour from the fist lctare tothe lt, gesticlating the while like a man possesed. Never have I seen sich skimpy intlleceal proceses put forward with such ingenuous conviction, He kiled himself in rojo when the Germans entered Pais. Te was then that began to eam how any problem, whether grave ‘or tiv, can be resolved. The method never varies. Fst you eabich the traditional ‘two views of the question. You then put forward a ‘commonsense jniiaion of the on, only to refit it bythe other. ‘inlly you end them both packing by the we of hid interpretation, jn which both the others are shown to be equally unsaisfictry. (Certain verbal mancevtes enable you, tat to lineup the traditional ‘uithese as complementary aspects of a single reity: form and substance content and contsines, appearance and realy, exence and exitence, continuity and discontinuity, and so on. Before long the cxereise becomes the meres verbaliing, ection gives place to a kind of superior punning, and the ‘accomplished pliloiopher’ may be recognized by the ingenuity with which he makes ever-bolder play with asonance, ambiguity, and the we of those words which sound alike and yet bear quite diferent meanings 4 How T became an Anthropelegee ss Five yeas atthe Sorbonne caught me ile bu this form of mental gymmstc. 1s dangers ae, of couse, slfevident the mechanism is £ simple fr one thing, tht theres no sch thing asa problem which ‘cannot be tackled, When we were working for ote examinations and, above all, for tha supreme ordah the lon (n which the candidate dae subject by lot andi given ony x hour in which to prepare ‘comprehensive survey of), we ued to set one anther the bret Jiagiable themes. brought myself wo the point a whic, given en inst) preparation, I could lee for at hour on the respective ined of the wamway and the omauba and miss no one of Be argumens for ether side. The method, univer in its appliction, tacouraged the sudent to oveclook the many pondble forms and ‘arian of thought, devoting himself to one particular unchanging dnsrunene. Cenainclemencary ajurmens were all hat he needed ‘war at if msc could be reduced to one single tune, a 100m a he relied that it was played sometimes in G Major snd sometime in F. From this point of view philosophy, as taught at the Sorboaxe eet the inteligence but ee he spit igh and dey. Te ses wo me even more dangerous tp confuse the advance of nowiedge withthe growing compleity of intellect organization. We were invited wo bring nto beng » dynamic symtheisin which we would sare from the leat adequte of philosophical systems and cud by appraising the ude asong them. Dut athe same Sine (nd brcaue all our tacher were obssed with the novion of hori development) we had to explain Bow the lauer had gradually grown, ‘ut ofthe former, Philosophy wat no ania seietiary he handmaid ind sonlary of scienae explortion: ie war a kind of athe ‘contemplation of consiounes by concoumes. We watched sel ‘onsciotsnes in is progres though the ages—claborating construc tions ever lighter and more audacious, resolving problems of balance snd implication, inventing refinements of logic, andthe more abslute the techni pertecton the more complet: the intemal coherence, the "rete was the sytem in queron. le wat a ifthe student of ae tory had been eaoght thit Govhie was necesarily beter chan Romaneaue, and Samboyant Gothic beter han primitive Gothic, without stopping to wonder whit was beaul atl what was not. ‘he signification was what matered, ot the thing signified: nobody connected the one with the other. Know-how had taken the place of the pion for mit. Afr spending seven years on exercises ofthis tore found myself ll iling bac, when alone, on esophisicaed 6 From 2 Log-book convictions which T had held, more or less, since I was a boy of fourteen. I was bewer able, perhaps, to see where they fll short of may neds; but a let chey were inrruments adapted to my purpose, and war in-no danger ether of being deluded by their internal compli- cation of of forgetting, inthe excitement of watching the marvelous ‘machinery go round, that i was meant to serve practical ends Talo hid my own peronal cats for tring away in disgust fom profesional philosphy and looking to anthropology for my salvation. My first year aba tracher a che Lycée de Mont-de-Marsan had been a happy one, for I had been able to work out che syllabus of ‘my courses ar went slong. Atthe beginning ofthe next yeat went to Laon, where Thad been eansierred and was horrid to find chat for the rest of my life should have to go on giving the same lectures. Now, ‘my mind has the pariulariy—and it may well bean infrmitytht find it dificule o cancenteate ewice on the same subject. Most people consider thee University Sal san inhuman ordeal by which, whether they lke ie or not, they ean the rght to celax forthe test of cei ives, For meie was just the oppose. Though the youngest in my year, Uhad got through at my Gree tempt, eeplechasing at my cate through locrines, theories, and hypotheses. My ordeal began late: ic proved physically imposible for me to address my student if T were not Gelivering an entirely new seis of lectures. This incapacity proved an even greater embarrasment when [had to appear in te role of exam= iner; I would take questions at random fiom the examination-schedule and find that I no longer Knew even what answers the candidates should have given. Hven the Sitsous among them seemed to me to sty all cat chere was ro be said. rwas aif the subecs dissolved before me from the mere fict of my once having applied my mind t9 thers. ‘Today [sometimes wonder iT was not attracted to anthropology, however unwicingy, bya structural ainity berween the civzations hich ae its subject and my own thought process. My intelligence is neolithic: [have not the gi of regular sowing and raping, yer by year in one particular field. Like a brash-fe, my mind burns it way into teritocy which may sometimes prove unexplored; sometimes ‘hese excusions prove fertile, and I satch a3 harvest or two, leaving.

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