Chapter 5: Mother's Love: Death without Weeping

The story, "Mother's Love: Death without Weeping" by Nancy Scheper-Hughes, discusses infant/young child mortality in Brazil. The others of Bom Jesus guard themselves from the mourning of their children. They do not mourn them but view the frequent occurance as a patron saint claiming its angel. Each year "about 45 percent [of deaths] are of children under the age of five" (Scheper-Hughes 49). When is it safe for a mother to love her child? The seemingly callous mothers are really protecting themselves. Some let themselves cry for the death of their children but it is a sign of weakness. It is also a sign of weakening faith. To be unhappy with the fate of the child is to challenge God's plan.

In history, this process of dissociation has been a common one. English settlers, in colonial America, did not name their babies until after the first year. It was a way to protect the mother against depression if her child died. The same occurs in Bom Jesus. The nation is not medically sound. Doctors mistreat and misdiagnosed young patients. The mother's are practically powerless in the rehabilitation of their infants. The mother's are also forced to put themselves and their "strong" children first. They have to continue to work and provide. Taking care of a struggling infant is a risk in Bom Jesus.

It's hard to judge the mothers of this place. "The average woman of the Alto experiences 9.5 pregnancies, 3.5 child deaths, and 1.5 stillbirths" (Scheper-Hughes 49). To lose a child is basically unnatural. The parents are supposed to raise the child, and the child buries the parent. That is what my father has always told me when we hear of a miscarriage or the death of a child.

Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. "Mother's Love: Death without Weeping." Conformity and Conflict. 4th edition. Pearson Education Inc. 2008. pp. 45-54.

Chapter 8 - Life Without Fathers or Husbands

This week's reading, "Life Without Fathers or Husbands," by Clifford Geertz, related completely to the chapter reading in the Kottak book. The beginning of Geertz story concerns the structure of the society. There is a lot of sexual interaction between those who are "unrelated." This prevents incest from occurring in the society, as the society defines it. This tribe, the Na in China, concerns matrililineal descent. In other words, the children are claimed as the fruit of their mother's looms and join their mother's group. Children are considered the relatives of their mothers but not of their fathers. So, when a man sleeps with his daughter, he is not committing an act of incest. The Na see incest as an act of sex between two members of the same lineage, which they trace through their mother's side. More interesting is the lack of marriage. It does not exist. Instead, there are "visits" when a man comes to a woman to have sex. The purpose of sex is to procreate. And more unusual, to the very American me, is that these visits aren’t taboo. If the woman in question is of age than her visitor may simply enter her home. He can knock on the front door without any issues arising. I am not surprised, however, that a woman cannot visit a man. In so many societies, it seems that women are not pure or feminine if they actively seek out sex.

Then, Geertz discusses the “cultural revolution” that the Na experienced. “As early as 1656, the Manchurian Qing, troubled by succession problems among ‘barbarian’ tribes, decreed that the chiefs of such tribes, including the Na, must marry in the standard way” (81). The Na was forced to conform to the ideas of another culture. Those in the higher social classes, with property to maintain, married to protect their possessions and status. Those with nothing to lose continued to engage in “‘depraved,’ ‘backward’” (81) sex. As a result, 50% of adults have syphilis and many women are sterile. Later on, rules implemented by the government (such as, forcing women to marry the genitors of their children) proved “ruinous” (82) for the Na. The government later shifted its emphasis on educating the Na, rather than punishing them.

What I enjoyed more about this example than from the chapter 7 in the Kottak book, is that it discussed the way a society functioned. Kottak is limited because his examples are brief and used to explain concepts. Geertz’s chapter was a specific, extended example that was balanced. It explained the Na society and remained considerably neutral. It mentioned the dangers of such free sex. In America, I associate open sex with disease. But when reading about the Na, I did not once feel concerned for the people. I know multiple partners are dangerous but when reading, I didn’t even think twice about it. I also thought that the way the chapter ended was powerful. It documents the assimilation of a culture. Although the Na had, to me, unconventional ways, the loss of a culture is sad. I think Geertz captured that. This is my favorite reading thus far.

Mini-ethnography

For my mini-ethnography project I will do one of two things. My first choice for the project is to interview a member of a motorcycle club. This is difficult because I have to first convince the subject that his identity and the identity of his organization will be protected. There is drug use and more adult material occuring at the club's hangout areas; however, there is a lot of jargon that pertains to that lifestyle such as "1%" and "kite." "1%" is defined as "hard riding, hard partying, non mainstream type people" (Biker Dictionary). It typically refers to those who are willing to engage in illegal activity. My subject manufactured his own contact table on myspace and used the word "Kite" in place of message. I have the image stored here : http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j172/magicdust6/newcontacttable-1.jpg. Currently, I assume this means contact privately but I have yet to ask. The subject in question has been a prominent figure in my life for many, many years. He has been a member of 2 MC clubs since I was a child. There were a great deal of years in between the end of one club and the joining of another. I am curious as to why he would avoid this lifestyle only to rejoin it. He is a father and a husband, as are many of his brothers. I find it curious that they are able to juggle their responsibilities with work and family. Also, motorcycles are dangerous and leave the body exposed. My subject was struck by a car about 2 years before and has since struggled with pain-perscription addiction.

If he declines, I will likely write about a friend of mine who has taken a different path. He is intelligent in all fields of education. I consider myself to be adequate in all fields and he can exceed me in mathematics and science. History, we seem evenly matched. I am better in English. Regardless, he should do well in academia because he is of the targeted intellect. Yet, we are on different paths. He is a high school drop out who seems to have no real reasons for doing so. His parents encouraged him to do well in school and he didn’t have economic pressures forcing him to leave school. He had about the same level of responsibility as I did. I am curious regarding his academic choices. Does he regret it? Does he feel prepared for the work force? I doubt college prepares its students. Many people work in unrelated fields regardless. Also, additional training is taken by newly hired persons. But my friend’s predicament reminds me of what would have happened to me if I had not had parental support, or if I had an external force impacting my education. He is fine with being used as my subject. I would likely conduct the interview in a hookah bar because he goes to these establishments frequently. It’s also a good place for conversation. It has a café atmosphere but it has the lighting of a lounge. In my experience, duller lights lead to lower inhabitations and an increase in comfortability.

NC Rider.com. Biker Dictionary. March 13, 2009.

Chapter 10 - Life Without Chiefs

I was impressed with Marvin Harris ending paragraphs, that we evolved into the "beasts" (102) we are today. The simplistic civilizations that we can trace our ancestors to were venerable. The generation seen is something that today's society would benefit from. Man has become much more selfish and opportunistic. Eager to impress but unwilling to donate to his brothers. The "Big Man" (Harris 99) and his reciprocity did bring Communism to mind; however, it was a very admirable notion. The way everyone ate and the reasoning was comprehensible. The man who has meat today may not have any tomorrow, his generosity was done as a way to be practical. Redistribution of food is important, as we can see in our own society. We live in a hierarchical society, especially in America where equality is achieved by socioeconomic status. I love today and the America I live in but it is important for us to take a page from history and act accordingly. The homeless beggars and the starving children, of this country and elsewhere, would benefit from !Kung practices of redistribution. And by remaining humble, like Richard Lee (Harris 97) was taught to do, we will be closer to achieving absolute equality; which is better than the stratified form that we have today.

Harris, Marvin. "Life without Chiefs." Conformity and Conflict. 4th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. 2008. pp 95-103.