Eating Christmas In The Kalahari Summary
OR:
EGO & OX DUNG IN THE DESERT
In his article "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari" (1969), Richard Borshay Lee tells of his three years spent living with the !Kung San Bushmen, of some of their customs, of how they celebrated Christmas and of how they dealt with 'gifts ' or rather his gift to them in particular.
Lee explains that the local people thought him a miser because he "maintained a two-month inventory of canned goods" (p 111) which was in direct contrast to the Bushmen "who rarely had a day 's supply of food on hand"(p 111), and it appeared he was determined to correct this view.
Lee writes that it "is the Tswana-Herero custom of slaughtering an ox for his Bushmen neighbours as an annual goodwill gesture" (p 111) at Christmas. …show more content…
I do not believe that words and terms such as; "arrogance"(p 114), "hogging"(p 112), "nevertheless"(p 114), "scrawny" (p 112), "rascal"(p 113), "braggart"(p 113), "you have always been square with us" (p 111), "sack of guts and bones"(p 111), "old wreck"(p 111), "I suppose"(p 112), "feeling as we do"(p 112), "another one pipes up"(p 113), "you must respond in kind"(p 114), are part of the native language as Lee would allege in his quotes of conversations with the natives. These quotes are peppered with language that is more attributable to a certain class of native of the UK, not one of the Kalahari.
From my reading of Lee 's article, I believe it is nothing more than a poorly veiled attempt to elevate his own importance in the mind of the reader and perhaps even his peers. I feel that Lee has done a huge disservice to not only himself and his own credibility but also to that of the profession of anthropology. What does Lee 's article say about his observational strengths in the field if after three years he fails to note what appears to be a very powerful and meaningful hunting
EGO & OX DUNG IN THE DESERT
In his article "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari" (1969), Richard Borshay Lee tells of his three years spent living with the !Kung San Bushmen, of some of their customs, of how they celebrated Christmas and of how they dealt with 'gifts ' or rather his gift to them in particular.
Lee explains that the local people thought him a miser because he "maintained a two-month inventory of canned goods" (p 111) which was in direct contrast to the Bushmen "who rarely had a day 's supply of food on hand"(p 111), and it appeared he was determined to correct this view.
Lee writes that it "is the Tswana-Herero custom of slaughtering an ox for his Bushmen neighbours as an annual goodwill gesture" (p 111) at Christmas. …show more content…
I do not believe that words and terms such as; "arrogance"(p 114), "hogging"(p 112), "nevertheless"(p 114), "scrawny" (p 112), "rascal"(p 113), "braggart"(p 113), "you have always been square with us" (p 111), "sack of guts and bones"(p 111), "old wreck"(p 111), "I suppose"(p 112), "feeling as we do"(p 112), "another one pipes up"(p 113), "you must respond in kind"(p 114), are part of the native language as Lee would allege in his quotes of conversations with the natives. These quotes are peppered with language that is more attributable to a certain class of native of the UK, not one of the Kalahari.
From my reading of Lee 's article, I believe it is nothing more than a poorly veiled attempt to elevate his own importance in the mind of the reader and perhaps even his peers. I feel that Lee has done a huge disservice to not only himself and his own credibility but also to that of the profession of anthropology. What does Lee 's article say about his observational strengths in the field if after three years he fails to note what appears to be a very powerful and meaningful hunting