Summary Of Do Kamo By Leenhardt

Do Kamo, by Leenhardt, explores the world of Melanesians during the 1940s through methods of observation, and exposes the workings of their world which heavily relies on social interactions. Leenhardt in his work shows that their workings are heavily mediated through their beliefs, which westerners consider to be fictitious and, therefore, label them mythic. The origin of this label is the predominant scientific rationality in the western society, which has made other forms of enquiries and rationalities less acceptable. Leenhardt, additionally, claims that mythic rationalities are inferior to that of western [scientific] rationalities in saying “…only the first dimension are at play” (Leenhardt 175 – R54). The word choice by Leenhardt here,
In order to understand mythic rationalities, we will first have to understand the development of those beliefs, but in the Melanesians case, we will have to approach this differently since we, westerners, lack the ability to understand the development of their beliefs as explained by them since, we did not experience these beliefs the same way. The use of “clear and concrete” language, therefore, stands as the only possible way for us to get an insight between the parallels of scientific and mythic rationales (Leenhardt 175 – R54). This language in Melanesian society is found in their art, which can be described as any form of representation or encoding that simplifies a larger concept into a compact form for better understanding. In understanding the relationship of Melanesian art to their rationalities and comparing them with western enquiries we will be able to further our understanding of Melanesian society and their
A westerner, at first, would not be able to appreciate mythic beliefs since his/her methods of enquiries varies greatly with that of Melanesian. With a greater analysis of concrete language, however, the western is able to understand the development Melanesian views and, therefore, is able to follow the mythic rationalities. One such language Leenhardt is able to explore in his observational study is that of art, since Melanesian art is a creation of Melanesian culture it has the ability to capture their core beliefs. Their art provides us with the tools to analyze their rationalities by comparing the view of their art with that of westerns' art. One of the greatest parallels that can be drawn between the two is from the phylogenetic tree and a prow. Adding a temporal component to this parallel, we see mythic enquiries and therefore, their rationales to be much more efficient since they were able to arrive at certain conclusions years before the scientific enquiry could. This particular example of a connection between evolution, a widely-accepted and well-supported theory, and mythic beliefs provide value to Melanesian views of nature since the Theory of Evolution's core concept intersects with Melanesians native beliefs,