Ardener, Shirley

English

Oxford University Research Archive

BOOK REVIEWS Brenda Johnson Clay. Pinildndu. 1977. Chicago and London:. University of Chicago Press. xviii. 1730 £100500 Ethnographies of matrilineal groups who believe the substance of children to be derived sol~ from the father are somewhat rare o An ethnography of such a people in which no direct reference is made to this state of affairs must be unique. Pinikindu is an attempt· to cast ethnography in a different mould, to escape from the const­rictions imposed by traditional frameworkso It is introduced as 'an interpretative analysis of cultural symbolisations of the Mandak people' of New Ireland, focussing particularly qn those symbols· 'through wliich the Mandak define and articulate interpersonal and intergroup relationships' (1)0 Dru Clay tries to describe Mandak soc~ety to us through its central cultural symbols, the shared understanding of which constitutesthe reality of Mandak experience. The problems she tackles are those of the definition of social unit boundaries and the regulation of relations between themo .. Inevitably, this involves detailed consideration of kinship and reciprocity. Dr. Clay refuses, however, to treat matters in these terms and stead­fastly pursues a course of obfuscation in which the reader is faced with a bewildering mass of Mandak terms, an exhaustive and exhausting account in which no reference is made to the work or even the term­inology of other anthropologists. The reason for this seems to lie in concern for the transmission to the reader of an unprejudiced impression of Mandak lire. Dr. Clay assumes that the use of anthropological terminology would work aga~nst this o More particularly, kinship terms are rejected on the gro~nds that genealogical terms are not a valid translation of Man~ak categorieso The use of such bald terms as 'cross-cousin' or 'lineage' is studiously avoided,and Dro Clay demonstrates instead how ideas of 'nurture' and 'substance' are linked with those of 'sharing' and 'exchanging' to define units and the relations between them~ Her avoidance of kinship terms seems based on a confusion about their use. She worries that 'the Mandak themselves do not thin~ in terms of genealogical frameworks' and that 'genealogical definitions of Mandak categories add little if anything to comp­reharision of their cultural signification'(43)0 It is evident that the Ma...rlda,k do recognise categories of persons related to each other in defi~able ways, that these categories can be seen to conform to terms in general anthropological usage, and that they could usefully be labelled as sucho As Needham has remarked, 'The circumstance that two societies can be described by the same means does not argue any significant similarity either sociologically or semantically, between them. Still less does it maan that the relationships in question are genea,logical or that they are so conceived by the actorso' The UBe qf kinship terms need not destroy the interpretation the ethnographer seeks to provide; their abandonment plunges the reader into an impossible dilemma, forced to use indigenous words without a knqwledge of the language of which they are a part. Dr. Clay's description of Mandak society is centred on a cluster of complex mataphors in terms of which social relationships are expressed 0 The focal symbol is that of 'nurture', which is associated with female, sharing, sustenance and the generalised reciprocity of the exogamous group. Female nurture is a long term process, a life­long obligation to sustain and support, in contrast to 'paternal   . . . .   -rks.  l   Q  l I ). •.--er  .  a d,  ries.r. -ti '(43).rlin' e . rmrs.o. -- 115 .. substance', associated with formal exchanges and the more balanced reciprocity existing between exogamous groupso This dichotomy is the fundamental category division of Mandak society, it embraces all social relationso The symbolisation of 'female nurture' as the metaphor of clan membership is one of the more arresting notions in the book, but it is divorced from any attempt to show what this image of selfless provider might mean to the women themselveso Dro Clay's work was primarily with the men; women were too busy with their many tasks and, anyway, women were 'reticent in talking to strangers and not as adept as men in articulating their own culture'(xv)o There is much reiteration of the symbolic associations which ~o Clay feels to be central to an appreciation of the Mandak wor~do Unfortunately the general circumvention of nearly all anthropolog~cal concepts places burdens on both author and reader throughout the booko So much of the text is taken up in precisely the sort of explication which the shorthand of terminology avoidso As a result, a sense of frustration assaults the readero We are denied access to information which Dro Clay evidently has in her possession, as question after question remains unansweredo New Ireland ethnography is sparse and it is a pity that an obviously sensitive fieldworker should have chosen to present potentially fascinating material in such an inaccessible manner. Lynette Singero Jean Baker Miller. Towards a New Psychology of Womeno Boston:Beacon. 1976. $ 9.95. The latest book by Dro Miller, who is presently working at the Tavistock Clinic in London while on leave from Boston, Masso, is welcome for the constructive way she deals with potentially dis­piriting material, fmnding 'strengths' where others find 'weaknesses' and offering hopeful solutions to seeming intractable problems in the way ahead. Her approach, while novel, is in tune with some anthropological work being attempted in England, and it is stimulating to find distinguished scholars in other fields making valuable analyses, informed with their different academic histories and spGoia•. list modes of discourse, on common problems. Throughout her admirably concise book Dr. Miller keys her theory to particular caseso She shows sympathy for all involved in them: there are no devils in her scenarios. She evaluates the different impact such ideas as 'service~, 'power' and 'conflict' have had on the self-perceptions of women and men, and their interrelationships, and envisages possible new transformations. Unlike some past writings by psychologists, which sometimes seem to indulge in more incredible fantasies than those they so solemnly discuss, Dr. Miller's insights show that elusive 'common sense' which is a sure sign that they approach that 'auth­enticity' which she advocates. Shirley Ardener. Books Received Morris Goodman and Riahard E. Tashian ( Eds. ). Moleoular Anthropologv. 1,976. New York and !aldan: Plenum Press e @ Journal  s.. l es. r.'( v). . .olog~cal  k.  i s.  r.  r.  ered.     er.en.   r. s.-e  .... s.e~, -I . 

Review of: Miller, Jean Baker (ed.), Towards a New Psychology of Women

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Review of: Miller, Jean Baker (ed.), Towards a New Psychology of Women

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