Notes on Anthropology and Intercultural Community Work

Complete Table of Contents

Number 13 (January 1994)

Front Matter

From the editor

The Huichol and modern medicine^*

Indigenous medicine

Modern medicine and its sociological aspects

A comparison of Western and Papua New Guinean leadership styles

Attributes of Western leaders

Work-related characteristics

Talents in relating to followers

Character traits

Managerial abilities

Task-related skills

Other important leadership traits

Summary of attributes of Western leaders

Attributes of Papua New Guinean leaders

Work-related characteristics

Talents in relating to followers

Character traits

Managerial abilities

Task-related skills

Other important leadership traits

Summary of attributes of Papua New Guinean leaders

Cultural distinctives

Differences in leadership styles

Cross-cultural application

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Review: Transculturation, the cultural factor in translation and other communication tasks

Review: Family ties--genealogy program

Number 14 (April 1994)

Front Matter

From the editor

The care and feeding of anthropological science: Toward a methodology for SIL fieldworkers^*

Causes, functions, and explanations

Facts, data, and evidence

Scientific methodology and Participant observation

Participant observation in an SIL context

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

A comparison of the culture of the Yao people in China and Thailand

The relationship between migration and culture

A comparison of Yao villages and houses

Differences between Thai and Chinese Yao dress

The “Emperor Ping's document”

Conclusion

An introductory study of music among the Kera

Instruments

Wind instruments

Drums

Strings

Church instruments

Use of music in festivals and village life

Festivals

Funerals

Work and village songs

Use of music in the church

Characteristics of Kera music

Conclusion

Back Matter

Appendixes:. Examples of church songs

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Appendix V

Appendix VI

Appendix VII

Number 15 (July 1994)

Front Matter

From the editor

Changing authority patterns among the Chachilla¹

The deer and the toad

The setting: Chachi authority patterns in 1910 and 1960

The challenge: Recent developments

The chaitala

The uñi

The plan

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Why analyze folktales? or what Came the female cannibal taught me

Analytical methods

Narrative styles

Cultural insights

Significance of the narrative to the cultures

Irianese/Papuan cultural elements

Translation applications

World view implications

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Appendix 1:. Sobei version of the Came legend

Introduction

Text

Appendix 2:. Propp's 31 functions

Number 16 (October 1994)

Front Matter

From the editor

Toward a model for the evaluation of the cultural strength of various musics

Overview of the model

The interrelated complexity of the world of musics

Visibility: Who knows each music?

Transmission: How is each music known?

Power relationships: The unequal nature of the world of musics

Application of the model

Step 1: Define boundaries of study

Step 2: Determine and describe musics involved

Determining the cultural strength of a music

Four criteria

Step 3: Evaluate the cultural strength of each music

Conclusions and recommendations

Step 4: Use results to inform strategies for encouragement of musics

Model of cultural strength of a music

Back Matter

References

An experimental approach to developing music literacy in central Zaire

Cultural background: Motivation for the project

Analysis of the traditional music system

Proposed notation system

Exciting--but premature--conclusion of the project

Issues yet to be resolved

Cultural crisis and ideal values in cultural change among the Matses of eastern Peru^*

Introduction

Traditional ideal values

Banana feast as symbolic representation of ideal goal

Matses system of ideal values

Matses social structure and needs

Cultural crisis, warfare, and scarcity of women

Crisis and response

Result of the response

Return to ideal values

Back Matter

References

Number 17 (January 1995)

Front Matter

From the editor

Intercultural community work and program planning: Same or different?

The big picture

What is intercultural community work?

What is program planning?

The ICW specialist and the program planner

The overlap of ICW and program planning

Recommendations for interfacing

Summary

Back Matter

References

Building an ICW perspective into SIL field projects

Introduction

Language learning

Relationships

Involvement

Identification

Commitment

Accomplishment

Results

Uses of the model

The relevance of intercultural community work to nontraditional thrusts of SIL

What are the kinds of situations we are moving into or want to move into?

Challenges in current situation

How governments expect to work

What are the characteristics SIL projects might have as a result of moving into such environments?

What are some ICW principles and which ones have we followed?

SIL use of ICW principles in the past

What changes should be made in order to more fully implement ICW principles in new work?

Expanding the community base

Solving the right problems

Seeing the whole man

Planning for self-sustaining work

Can ICW projects be considered a tool in our approach to governments?

Working in country X

Community involvement: The proving ground^*

Introduction

The risks of caring

Orphaned projects

Failure to achieve moral progress

Secularization

Focus on process

Personal relationships

Solving problems

Action and reflection

Contextualizing literacy

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Pressing patrons with proverbs: Talking drums at the Tamale markets¹

Genesis and distribution of drum proverbs in Dagbon

Examples of drummed proverbs: Linguistic, musical, personal, and metaphorical relations

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

Example 6

Example 7

Linguistic conclusions⁶

Musical conclusions

Closing comments on the drummed proverbs

Back Matter

References

Number 18 (April 1995)

Front Matter

From the editor

Training in the SIL context

Introduction

Current training concerns

Training in applied linguistics

Suggestions for training programs

Presuppositions concerning national training

Conclusion

Intercultural community work training: An assessment

Introduction

Personal training overview

Two areas of training needs

Suggestions for ICW training

Entry evaluation

Realistic interaction

Practical empowerment

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

My role and training as an ICW specialist

Introduction

Roles in ICW

Training and background

Evaluation of ICW training

The ICW specialist role: Searching for a niche in Senegal

Introduction

Rural development in a Senegalese context

Community development rationale in the Senegal branch

Prefield preparation of the branch ICW specialist team

Moving from ICW theory into practice

Conclusion

Community development through indigenous leadership

Introduction

The Aguaruna development program

Leadership among the Aguaruna

Two types of leadership

Leaders with different skills

Solving problems through familiar concepts

Roles of the various entities involved in the ICW process

The role of the community

The role of indigenous leadership

The role of the ICW specialist

Aguaruna leadership at work with the ICW specialist

Conclusion

Review: And thus became man and world

Review: Fieldwork in developing countries

Number 19 (July 1995)

Front Matter

From the International Anthropology Department--Dallas

Team philosophy and cross-cultural workers: Maximizing the benefits

Introduction

The team concept

Reasons for working in teams

Team commitment

Attitudes of team members

Management of teams

Team building

Time constraints

Types of teams in SIL

Areas of challenge

Possible contact points

Eight characteristics of successful teams

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

East meets West in business meetings^*

Differences between West and East

Different expectations

Different concepts of leadership

The committee chairman

Recommendations

The team approach

Introduction

The traditional way: The tribal approach

How strongly are we tied to the tribal approach?

The tribal approach in other contexts

The alternative: The team approach

Rationale for adopting a team approach

Sharing the burden

Continuity in programs

Specialization

Effective use of personnel

Nonmember co-workers

Flexibility

More limited goals

Exploiting similarities

Spreading innovations

Projects that span various dialects

The feasibility of one team per dialect

Indeterminacy in the dialect situation

Elements that make the team approach work

On-field orientation and training

A shift in the way assignments are made

Survey and historical linguistics

Temporary allocations and changing dialects

Fostering the collective consciousness

Cooperative endeavors

Challenges for a team approach

Personnel

Administration

Conclusion

Review: The skilled facilitator: practical wisdom for developing effective groups

Number 20 (October 1995)

It's all relative, isn't it?: Cultural relativism revisited

Introduction

The founding of cultural relativism

Cultural relativism reevaluated

Cultural relativism: A moral dilemma

Cultural relativism revisited

Theory affected by biases

Development of human universals

Cultural relativism swept aside

A new model proposed

The pragmatic principle

The humanistic principle

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Team development in SIL

Introduction

Teamwork in SIL and abandoned field programs

Partnership failures

Review of literature

The necessity of teams

Stages of team development

Critical areas of team development

The team and the organization

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

The impact of culture on multicultural team development

Introduction

Definition of team

Team development

Stage 1: Convening

Stage 2: Crisis

Stage 3: Cohesion

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

The stranger's eyes¹

Reflections on “The stranger's eyes” from the viewpoint of ICW/CD

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Number 21 (January 1996)

Catalyzing creativity: Nurturing a dying music through apprenticeship

Friendship and nurture

Kundi apprenticeship

Explaining the process of nurture

Nurture through analysis and catalysis

The mechanics of musical catalysis

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Postmodernism and reason in the balance

Introduction

Modernism

Reason in the balance

Defining postmodernism

Some basic doctrines of postmodernism

Some predictions of what postmodernity may look like

Is postmodernity good for Christianity?

Back Matter

References

Evaluating research methodology^*

The interview as a speech event

Assumptions/problems

The place of the interview in cross-cultural research

Case studies

Conclusion

Some notes on teaching in non-Western cultures

Back Matter

Reference

Review: How real people ought to live: The Cashinahua of Eastern Peru

Back Matter

References

Review: Darwin on trial

Back Matter

References

Number 22 (April 1996)

Coca and the Mountain: Observations into the worldview of the Quechua of Panao

Introduction

The Quechua of Panao

Searching out Panao Quechua templates

The Mountain

The Mountain as a material and spiritual reality

Origin of the Mountain

The heart of the Mountain

Feeding the Mountain

Protection for crops and animals

Safety in travel

Security for the home

Benevolence for special events

Rescuing the spirit

The Mountain, an agent of sickness

Offending the Mountain

Mountain sickness

Protection from the Mountain

Protection for the defenseless

Coca

Coca, a source of debate

Coca's source of power

Coca, a source of revenue

Coca as a source of strength

Coca as a source of information

Individual use of coca

Casual use of coca

Expert use of coca

Coca, a source of health

Components of the Panao Quechua world view

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Religious worldview in an African village: Anthropological research serving the church

Overview

Purpose

Goals

Brief history of the project

Parameters

Phases

Methods

Objectivity

Terminology

Trust

Progression

Purpose: Learn the religious beliefs

Handling the data

The categories of ATR in Central Africa

Zande religious concepts

Evil beings and substances

Items of protection from evil attack

People with power to help

Spirits (atoro)

The Supreme God (mboli)

Evil ghosts (gbegbere atoro)

Harmless ghosts (zaburu)

Conclusion

Traditional religious terms in the Central Africa Republic⁹

Back Matter

References

A module on worldview

WV can be described in two ways

1.. The ethnographic model of WV: (The “bottom-up” way)

2.. The philosophical-theological model of WV (the “top-down” way)

Number 23 (August 1996)

Does cultural relativism undermine human rights?¹

The paradox

Two challenges

Challenge 1

Challenge 2

Civilization gone rotten?

Can we be good without God?⁶

An example: Human rights and the abortion controversy

Can people of religion contribute to human rights questions?

Back Matter

References

Emic postmodernism

Introduction

Postmodernism in anthropology and in critique of anthropology

Is there room for postmodern Christianity?

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

How can we use indigenous knowledge systems?

Indigenous knowledge systems

IKS affecting other development topics

Problems of integrating Western and indigenous knowledge systems

Some constraints of IKS and WKS

The ownership of IKS

Intellectual property rights

The strategy of farmers' rights

Other options

Application of IK to Intercultural Community Work

Application of IK to SIL language programs

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Other useful resources

Review^*: Nurturing doubt: From Mennonite missionary to anthropologist in the Argentine Chaco

Back Matter

References

Number 24 (November 1996)

Oral traditions: A key to understanding the community¹

Founding charters

A dynamic approach in oral traditions

Metaphors in narratives, including the trickster

Words--sacred and nonsacred

Oral wisdom literature

Oral traditions as performance

Oral traditions as social control and commentary

Discussion

Back Matter

References

Where and how to apply to graduate school: A personal testimony

Front Matter

An editorial note from Tom Headland

Back Matter

References

The longest eight days: The role of funerals in Kouya social and economic life¹

Introduction

Funeral stages

Announcement of the death

Displaying the body

The women arrive

Grieving

Sorcery

Children

Burial

Intermission

Ceremony of the eighth day⁵

Ongoing ceremonies

Role of women

Distribution of possessions

Significance of funerals in the life of the Kouya

Ritual significance

Social significance

Financial significance

Back Matter

References

Globalism and self-determination: A review article

Review: Missionaries, anthropologists, and human rights

Review: Echoes of the call

Back Matter

References

Number 25 (March 1997)

Developmental change and cultural rules

Introduction

Goals, rules, and behavior

Mossi culture

Foreign aid and the Mossi: A general view

Rules and development projects

Cereal banks

Fuel-efficient cooking stoves

Concluding remarks

Back Matter

References

Further bibliography on the Mossi people

A summary of IfE$ music in relation to church use¹

Introduction

Songs

Solo songs without dancing

Solo songs with a choral refrain

Game songs

Dances

Social dances

Specialized dances

Traditional religious dances

Conclusion

Endangered languages and SIL's role in recording rare data for posterity

Comments on anthropology workshops

Front Matter

From the editor

Dan Shaw, Fuller Seminary

Wayne and Sally Dye

Understanding specific cultural traits

Training supplemental to prefield anthropology courses

Practical help in culture discovery

Sue Harris, Malaysia branch

Constance Naish, North America branch

Pat Townsend, SUNY Buffalo

Barbara Moore, Dallas

Review: Amazon stranger

Back Matter

Reference

Other bibliographic references on Borman

Review: How societies remember

Number 26 (May 1997)

A process to guide decision making for development activities in language programs

Suggested guidelines for development activities

Principles for intercultural community work¹

Principle 1: Start where the people are.

Principle 2: Introduce new ideas only after relationships and confidence have been established, and show how these new ideas contribute to the solving of problems the group already recognizes (Green 1976).

Principle 3: Keep the program simple and uncomplicated with only one or two major thrusts at a time. it is better to teach one new idea to 100 farmers than to teach 100 new ideas to one farmer (Green 1976).

Principle 4: Involve as many community people as possible in all activities from the start. Do not plan to do it yourself first, then turn it over to the people later because they may refuse to become involved or to take over the project.

Principle 5: Conduct training in the village, or as close to home as possible, rather than bring persons out of their home communities for long periods of time (Yost 1977).

Principle 6: Train in locally acceptable facilities and formats, using locally acceptable methodologies (Yost 1978).

Principle 7: Train trainers who can train others. It is the only way to multiply your own efforts. “Give a man a fish and you are helping him a little for a very short while; teach him the act of fishing and he can help himself for life; and if he teaches others, many are helped” (Green 1976).

Principle 8: Identify and involve local leadership, both existing and emerging. To have indigenous institutions, it is necessary to have local leadership. The identification, encouragement, and training of local leadership is a central feature of community development since the ultimate responsibility for continuing development rests with the local citizen (Yost 1979).

Principle 9: Cooperate with the local, regional, and national governments (Yost 1978).

Principle 10: Encourage interdependent relationships (among community people and between communities) rather than dependent or totally independent relationships (Yost 1978).

Personal references

Development policy of SIL

1.. Community development

2.. Program focus

3.. Methods

4.. Ethical concerns

5.. Special concerns

6.. Guidelines for program development

7.. Funding

8.. Evaluation

Grasping the concept: Emics and etics in physical anthropology

Introduction

Origins

Meanings

Emic/etic and physical anthropology

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Review: Parallel worlds¹

Review: Defilement, moral purity, and transgressive power

Back Matter

Reference

Review: Darwin's black box

Behe's irreducible complexity

Behe's model: Intelligent design

Number 27 (September 1997)

Front Matter

From the Editor

Kayapó kinship and two-way radios¹

Introduction

Kayapó access to two-way radio technology (historical)

The Kayapó two-way radio network system

The Kayapó territorial defense system

Two-way radios, leadership, and kinship

Village politics and two-way radios

Two-way radios and Kayapó kinship

Discussion

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Ethnographic questions for field workers

The questions

Education of the Mossi

Knives to razors: Female circumcision among the Supyire of Southern Mali¹

So what did I see?

Tuesday, 21 December 1993, 9:00 A.M.

Thursday, 23 December 1993, 9:00 A.M.

Excision over the past 50 years

Changes in the practice

Lapse of time between excision and marriage

The practitioners and the instruments

Isolation at the time of excision

Remnants of the excision ceremony still practised on the wedding day

New and old mats

Why have these changes happened?

Why is excision important to the Supyire?

Excision in Africa

The current debate

Conclusion

Back Matter

Appendix:. Two songs about excision

References

Review: The battle of beginnings: Why neither side is winning the creation-evolution debate

Reply to Dan Fast's review of Defilement, moral purity, and transgressive power: The symbolism of filth in Aguaruna Jívaro culture

Number 28 (December 1997)

Front Matter

Announcement

New ICW (Intercultural Community Work) Coordinator

On cultural relativism, ethics, and the concept of culture

Back Matter

References

Mipa: Explaining riddles of birth in an Andean village

Introduction

Wanca Quechua pregnancy beliefs

The mipa concept

Examples of mipa

Mipa affecting the cry

Mipa affecting physical appearance

Mipa affecting feeding and holding

Mipa affecting the birth

Mipa-like concepts in other societies

Food taboos

Maternal impressions

Marking a baby

Curing: The uliway concept

Examples of curing

Mipa as imitative magic

Conclusion

Back Matter

References

Tables

Proverbs as insight into worldview

Proverbs as they relate to elders

Using proverbs

Suggestions for researching proverbs

Review: Defeating Darwinism by opening minds

Review: A trout in the milk: A critique of the myth of the peaceful savage--a review of 'War before civilization'