Dancing Skeletons Katherine Detwylers Summary

III. Anthropological Topics Covered: Many of the anthropological topics the author Katherine Dettwyler covered in the book, Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa, are “ethnocentrism; the evaluation of other culture according to preconceived notions originating from one’s own cultural customs and beliefs, culture shock; subjected to an unfamiliar way or life or set of attitudes, population control, breastfeeding, child care, the meaning of disability and child death in different cultures, female circumcision, women’s roles in patrilineal societies, the dangers of fieldwork, and facing emotionally draining realities” (Dettwyler, 2014).
One of the main cultural aspects of Malian society that I believe is noteworthy and worth illustrating and expressing in further detail are the diseases and illnesses that are associated with the direct malnutrition and lack of proper healthcare education and accessibility within the West African regions. The cultures
These painful, severe practices are a physical means of male control of female sexual behavior within the Bambara culture. Female circumcision is usually traditionally performed when a girl is about six months old, by cutting the outer edges of the labia majora, then stitching it together forming a permanent layer of scar tissue, preventing sexual intercourse. Once a woman is married to her husband the scar tissue is cut open then allowing for sexual intercourse. Therefore, accepting the possibility for many children. Bambara cultural traditions and practices are considered unknown and strange to most western societies, appointed specifically to those who struggle to understand the lack of significance that individuals assign to sex and sexual pleasure in other