sharing
Belittling Success Fosters Equality
The Ju/’hoansi cherish their egalitarian traditions so strongly that they have a hard time assuming any leadership roles, yet they have one of the most successful civilizations in history. At least that is one of the central arguments made by James Suzman, an anthropologist who has been studying them for over 20 years. On October […]
Semai Foods Help Keep the Peace
The fact that the Semai cherish the foods they prepare from the forest was the topic of a Malaysian TV program and, last week, a brief newspaper article. According to the newspaper report in The Star, chef and TV host Nurilkarim Razha, in his documentary series “The Local Kitchen,” showed viewers an obscure forest fruit […]
Treasures of the Nubian Museum
Despite all the problems suffered by the Nubians in Egypt, at least the Nubian Museum in Aswan celebrates their thousands of years of rich history and civilization. An article last week in The Arab Weekly highlights some of the treasures in the museum and the meaning of them for the Nubian people. The museum building, […]
Nietzsche versus the Batek
A blog post published last week by Psychology Today compared the beliefs of the nineteenth century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche with the way of life of the Batek. The author, Matthew J. Rossano, a professor of psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University, made it clear that many people would profit from gaining a greater understanding of […]
Potential Improvements for the G/wi
The government of Botswana continues making the right noises about improving the lives of the San who remain in their ancestral areas of the Kalahari Desert. News about the way Botswana has started taking some responsibility for helping the G/wi and G//ana San people—at least for ending its repressive policies toward them—was reported in this […]
Inuit Woman Revitalizes Sharing
Sharing with others is a very strong ethical value in the cultures of many peaceful societies, including that of the Inuit. A news report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation posted on December 24 illustrated that tradition, but with an up-to-date twist.
The Mbuti and Ayn Rand
Last week, Eric Michael Johnson described the way the Mbuti censured the abhorrent behavior of Cephu, a story told originally by Colin Turnbull in The Forest People, one of the classics of modern anthropology.
Children Learn to Be Peaceful the Batek Way [anthology chapter review]
The central, organizing spirit of the highly peaceful Batek society, at least in the mid-1970s, was a moral commitment to sharing any and all foods with everyone else who happened to be in camp. This “moral unity,” as Karen and Kirk Endicott so evocatively put it, required children to be constantly scampering about carrying meals […]
Huarime Festival in a Piaroa Community
Last Thursday, Katiushka Borges uploaded to Youtube an effective video she produced about a Piaroa community and their upcoming huarime festival, to which visitors are cordially invited. Ms. Borges gives her email address and welcomes contacts from viewers who are thinking of attending. The video is clearly intended for a widespread audience, for comments made […]
Chewong Choices: Modern or Traditional Values [anthology chapter review]
Chewong elders are often dismayed when animals that are killed in the forest are not shared in the village, a result of the economic and social changes occurring in their society. Signe Howell describes those changes, and the ways the Chewong are coping, in a recently published article. Starting in 1977, Howell spent 18 months […]
