Anthropology of Everyday Life - Essay Example

ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENT NAME COURSE TITLE TUTOR DATE Anthropology is the scientific study of humans through a given period of time and space through consideration of environmental, physical character, social relations and culture (Morgan, 2011). In an anthropological perspective the question is whether a collection of rituals can be used to decipher the place of cultural phenomenon as an illustration of giving meaning to cultural identities. The two case studies done by Pearce (1991) and Geertz (1973) take us into a journey of discovering the place of cultural events in different settings; a village and a contemporary city. The perception of events in their study can be split as one whose aim is to give a picture and understanding of a people while another is to prove that an event is a form of entertainment, leisure activity and an activity to break monotony from the rigors and routines of everyday life. The methodologies employed by the researchers encompass observation, cross cultural evaluation and interviews. Clifford Geertz in “Deep, Play: notes on the Balinese Cockfight” (1972) begins his narrative work with the word ‘we were intruders’ in his study by taking an anthropological approach to studying cockfights as an event amongst the Balinese. Geertz documents the role of Balinese cockfighting in the society in 1958 taking a first person narration to give credibility to his study as it is a first-hand personal experience. The narrative is set is in a small Balinese village where he travels with his wife. The reception given is a cold one with stares, invisibility and they are only spectators and the attitude only changes when there is a celebration. Cockfighting in Geertz perspective represents the “the male obsessive affiliation “with animals and his in-depth analysis is precipitated when he gains trust of the community when he runs with the locals when a police raids a cockfighting match. Cockfighting according to Geertz is a celebration where the battle is staged and involves cocks as the main participants. Their culture dictates punishment for those who are attracted by animal behaviour despite their extreme passion in cockfighting and even crawling is banned amongst babies. Prior to an event the cock is prepped, the scene of the fighting is prepared and Geertz paints a picture a bloody battle. The symbolism of cockfighting is not between the individuals but it is rather a simulation of the social structure of kinship and social groups. There are rules written down in manuscripts passed down from generation to generation to give guidance on how cockfighting should be undertaken. Betting is also part of the fight depending on whether it is “deep fighting” or “shallow fighting”. Geerz admits that money is not what motivates the cockfights but it plays an insignificant role showing prestige and status. The betting is only paced ‘deep fights’ where the outcome of the fight is unpredictable, the odds are more and the financial gain is not relevant to status. “Shallow fights” are considered as own wages and little or no emphasis are placed. It is arguable that cockfighting represents the communities’ means of channelling aggression and rivalry into an indirect symbolic sphere of engagement. Balinese do not bet against the group but outsiders .The cultural practices and rituals of a community represents a text” that can be read in a way in which the society speaking to itself about itself. According to Peace, A. in “The City and the Circus: Engagement symbols and Drama in the Adelaide Grand Prix” (1991) he seeks to give a social symbolic perspective of the Grand Prix held in Australia as a popular city event. The narrative perspective introduces the various aspects of city life even though Adelaide is portrayed as a parochial place whose style and ambience is not that of a major metropolis but that of a large country town. In analysing what are the social and symbolic properties of the Grand Prix, one can see a transformation of the social face of the Australian Society in engaging in what is termed as “a collective gaze of an urban population in the months of (October and November). It is identified that the Grand Prix is an outdoor event staged through a host of capital investment that runs into millions of dollars, with a host of over a million viewers both at the venue and those who watch the event through satellite. The hosting of the Grand Prix in Australia has the ability of transforming the city to an extraordinary, cosmopolitan and international for Formula One Racing from a normal, provincial and parochial town. In Pearce elaborative description of the Grand Prix, he itemizes the pace of gender and power in the event. He specifically states that the Formula one racing is usually a male dominated affair; the drivers, the supporters of the team and the leading commentators are men. The place of women in this great event is limited since the society perceives them as household providers. Pearce quotes the “News” as publishing ‘quick convenient and easy to prepare dinners and lunches necessary over the weekend’. Moreover Peace states that their ‘status is not prominent or pubic’ and in this case the Grand Prix use their personal appearance and contemporary fashion in the images of their cars. The women do not participate directly in the Grand Prix but they cast in ancillary roles constantly supporting the male. In critiquing the approach taken by Geertz, culture is a symbolic systems consisting of practices which create shared cultural meanings (Morgan, 2012) and not only exhibited and manifested in cockfighting alone. “Cocks are a symbolic expression of manifestations of their owners self, the narcissistic male ego written out in Aesopian terms” (Geertz 1993;419). His representation of cockfighting in this setting is a simplistic western view and perspective of cockfighting rather than an ethnocentric one. Further the study by Geertz fails to reveal the role played by women in cockfighting and the implications of cockfighting have on women (Benhard, 2006). Contrastingly, Peace delves into finding out the place of women in the organization of events that are perceived to be male dominated in society and it is considered to be an ancillary and subordinate role. There is however no description of what is the views of women in relation to male dominated events. It is not only cockfighting as an event that has the ability to give an in-depth view of culture but a host of other events exists in the word. For instance the game of chess has its origin in India and China amongst royals and aristocrats to portray war, but it is strange since they had same numbers of pieces and alternate the moves. In this setting chess has never been fought but it represents the social hierarchy and order. The event however was male dominated and the place of women was still insignificant but it drew spectators from the entire state to watch chess competitions. In historical and literary research, in cross-cultural comparison cockfights are just similar as to football is to Americas or Soccer to Europeans and Latin America. Football is like an event where fans of a particular team come together to cheer up their favourite teams. In a game of football or soccer there are fixed rules and there is only one outcome “the winners and losers”. Montague and Marcus (1976;40) the game of football comprises a coach, cheerleaders, play rules and behaviour it is a real event where the best team wins, even if the “team wins and it is not the best but because it wins”. Footballs in contemporary society is associated as being a leisure event and increasingly commercialized contrasted to “village” activities where monetary value was insignificant to the participants and the society. An event is considered to be public when it is organized before a crowd of people. Cockfighting is stages at an arena of 50 square feet from the afternoon until dawn and the cocks lash at each other with fury so is football, chase, the Grand Prix and any other sport. The fate of its failure is closely linked to the failure of an individual where the heroes are crowned. The following (1973:436) owners family, the village members, fans, supporters and just those who are drawn to it by curiosity. In conclusion, the study of social cultural identities of a society is important in determining the place of cultural events in knowing a community. The role of an anthropologist is to observe content of nature, analyse and compare cultural practices. The events marked across different cultures represent their identity and it opens others to know them and understand them better. Events in modern society act as a way of passing time and enjoyment as opposed to traditional view where it was a cultural event. Identity in post-modern society is mixed and the society changes with situations however the Balinese culture remains since the village considers it an important part of culture. Civilized events draws crowds from different walks of life and the place of money is different; in modern events people pay to watch the event while in the cultural setting it is free and anyone interested in monetary value would bet for events. The place of women in traditional setting is limited and seldom talked about while in modern society women participate as well as cheer the crowd. List of References Benhard, H.R. 2006. Research Methods in Anthropology .4th ed. Oxford: Atimra Press Morgan, R. 2011. AN1001: Culture: From Nature to Cyberspace. Retrieved at; http://www.earnjcu.edu.au Geertz , C. 1972. Deep Play: notes on the Balinese Cockfight. Doedalus Fall Geertz, C. 1993. Interpretation of Cultures. London: Fontama Press. Peace, A. 1991. The City and the Circus: Engagement, Symbol and Drama in the Adelaide Grand Prix. In R.B. Browne (eds) Digging into Popular Culture: Theories and Methodologies in Archeology, Anthropology and other Fields. 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