Bibliografie preistorie

7/25/2019 Bibliografie preistorie

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Cl. Levi-Strauss- Tropice Triste

Una dintre primele lucrri de amploare ale antropologului ,Tropice Tristetinde s se apropie mult mai mult despecificul unui jurnal de cltorie cu caracter etnografic dect de o lucrare tiinifica cu caracter structuralist.

!escrierea detaliata din Tropice a acestor societati a repre"entat piatra de temelie pentru cercetarile si operele

ulterioare, mai ales in ceea ce priveste metoda de anali"a numita structuralism. #n $ntropologie structurala Levi-Strausscitea"a pasaje intregi din Tropice, pe care le e%plica cu ajutorul demersului structuralist. Studierea tri&urilor primitive l-aajutat pe autor in definirea miturilor si relatiilor de rudenie, in descoperirea de raporturi cau"ale si structuri ale gandiriiprimitive' aspecte pre"entate pe larg in ()andirea sal&atica si ciclul (*itologice

+outatea tiinific adus de tropice triste consta mai ales in aportul original si innovator prppus de autor pentru acunote cultura,cutumele ,o&iceiurile unor popoare primitive,putin cunoscute lumii stiintifice si mai ales pu&liculuilarg.Claude Levi Straus a cercetat "onele ra"iliei, pupulatate de civilitati aflate inca in stadiul primitive, incercand sa leaduca la cunostinta pu&licului si intr-o oarecare maniera sa e%plice modul de viata si cultura lor ,care desi necunoscutapana atunci s-a dovedit a fi nu mai putin fascinante decat alte culturi.

entru a-i cunoate pe sl&atici, nimic nu ne folosete s ni-i apropiem fi"ic' tot ceea ce tre&uie s facem este s lereducem e%presiile culturale la modele a&stracte de relaii (!orisem s merg p/n la e%trema sl&ticie' speram s fiurspltit din plin printre aceti graioi indigeni, pe care nimeni nu-i mai v"use naintea mea i pe care nimeni, poate, n-avea s-i mai vad dup mine. La captul unui parcurs entu"iast, m apropiasem mult de aceti sl&atici. !in nefericire,prea tare c0iar. entru c, de fapt, e%istena lor nefiindu-mi revelat dec/t n ultimul moment, nu putusem s le dau timpulacela a&solut necesar pentru a-i cunoate. 1esursele precare de care dispuneau, starea de degradare fi"ic n care negseam, eu i tovarii mei, 2... 3 nu-mi permiteau dec/t un scurt (c0iul de la coal4, n locul unor luni de studii. 5rauacolo, pregtii s-mi arate o&iceiurile, i credinele lor, iar eu nu le tiam lim&a. Tot at/t de aproape de mine ca i propria-mi imagine n oglind, puteam s-i ating, dar nu s-i i neleg. rimeam, prin urmare, din partele at/t recompensa, c/t ipedeapsa. Cci nu era oare vina mea i a meseriei mele s cred c unii oameni nu sunt ntotdeauna oameni ca oricare aliic unii merit mai mult interes i atenie doar pentru c pielea lor e (colorat4 i o&iceiurile lor ne mir6 5ra, ns,

suficient ca eu s-i intuiesc, pentru ca, de ndat, ei s se despoaie de toat stranietatea lor a fi putut la fel de &ine, atunci,s rm/n n satul meu4

5tnologul, pare s spun L7vi-Strauss, este prins ntr-o capcan a dilemei el i poate (atinge4 pe sl&atici, dar nu-i poate(nelege48 Suntem departe de optimismul epistemologic al lui 5vans-ritc0ard. entru L7vi-Strauss, e de dorit s serenune la pro%imitatea nt/lnirii cercettor - indigen cercettorul tre&uie s se oriente"e mai degra& ctre produciacultural atemporal, precum miturile, ritualul ori literatura, care sunt singurele demne i n stare de a fi transformate ngenerali"ri n (universalii4. Lumea real i concret se vede, prin urmare, redus, la L7vi-Strauss, la c/teva i"omorfismeori opo"iii de tip &inar' actorii sociali se vd (di"olvai4 n c/teva opo"iii formale.

Cartea de&utea"a cu fra"a !etesc calatoriile si e%ploratorii. Si iata-ma gata sa-mi povestesc e%peditiile,autorul

manifestandu-si inca de la inceput dispretul fata de superficialitatea povestilor de calatorie. $ventura nu-si are locul inmeseria de etnolog, este doar o servitute care copleseste munca in sine cu timpul pierdut pe drum saptamani si luni de-arandul, cu povara foamei, a o&oselii, uneori a &olii.

Te%tele lui L7vi-Strauss sunt opace' el nu dorete ca noi s privim prin intermediul lor pentru a putea vedea cum trieteun popor. opulaiile concrete, vii nu sunt o&iectul su de studiu' el nu are de g/nd s ne familiari"e"e cu organi"risociale concrete. Cci, pentru un astfel de scop, efortul de a nt/lni sl&atici nu tre&uie s ai& loc su& tropice aceastaventur prin lume, #n ncercarea di a descoperi omul, este, n adevratul sens al cuv/ntului, o cutare "adarnic'surprindem, din aceste cuvinte, de"gustul su, e%primat c0iar n prima fra" a crii (Ursc cltoriile i e%ploratorii4.


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artea a noua 91eintoarcerea inc0ide cartea .$ceasta parte este mai mult de facture filosofica cuprin"and reflectiidespre rolul antropologiei ca stiinta ,despre efectele si importanta calatoriilor pentru om si despre cele doua mari religiiorientale islamismul si &udismul,autorul incercand sa reali"e"e o comparative intre acestea .

:n paralel cu toate acestea, specialitii, crora le place s-i re"erve domenii inaccesi&ile, au afirmat c Tropice Triste nueste opera major a lui L7vi-Strauss i au privit-o cu oarecare condescenden, consider/nd-o puternic literar, de aceeagsindu-i cu greu locul n mijlocul unei opere a&stracte i teoretice, n restul lucrrilor sale, autorul nu transpareniciodat' n plus, i acest lucru este nc i mai straniu, nu gsim n ele practic nicio referin la datele etnografice pe care

le-ar fi putut culege n cursul (e%pediiilor4 sale, dup cum se spunea la vremea aceea. ntreaga sa oper se &a"ea", deci,pe anali"a etnografiei altor autori. rin urmare, e%ist acest contrast aparent ntre teoria lui L7vi-Strauss i aceast (cartede cltorii auto&iografic4 ;Leac0??, Clifford )reet" pu&lic un remarca&il voluma, @orAs and LivesB n care sespune c Tristes Tropiues este nu numai cea mai &un lucrare a lui L7vi-Strauss, ci i cea care i clarific cel mai &inentreaga oper, c0eia care desc0ide uile cele mai ntunecate ale operei sale. $adar, este interesant s-= urmrim pe acestantropolog american n ceea ce dorete s demonstre"e.

III Bororo

rima civili"atie primitive cu care autorul intra in contact este civili"atia ororo.$cesta este impresionatinca de la inceput de locuintele impunatoare ca dimensiune care par a fi lucrarea unor arti"ani.

Satele ororo sunt alcatuite din DE de case; ce au acoperisul din crengi


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privilegii de ca re dispune o ginta astfel incat fiecare ginta are &la"oane ce permit indentificarea 9po"itiei sociale a unuianumit individ.$ceste privilegii constau in o&tinerea unor anumite tipuri de pene care le permit sa-si decore"earmele,poadoa&ele sau coli&ele,Lui Claude Levi Strauss i-a placut sa-ii divi"e"e in 9rafinati si 9rustici.1eferitor lapro&lema impartirii sociale a tri&ului ororo ,*anolescu spunea ca populatiile &ororo si-au re"olvat ;sau mascat

Totemismis one of t0e essaBs ;along Hit0 The Savage Mind< in H0ic0 L7vi-Strauss laid t0e foundations of structuralistant0ropologB. #t &egins Hit0 a &rief description of t0e 0istorB of t0eories of totemism, and e%plains H0B totemism HasfinallB discredited as an organising principle ;4Totemism4 is a 0eterogeneous collection of facts rat0er t0an a fundamentacategorB.< L7vi-Strauss t0en looAs at several of t0e attempts to e%plain 4totemic4 p0enomena, Heaving in details of 0isoHn structuralist vieHpoint in as 0e goes.

Qe gives a sBmpat0etic summarB of 5lAinRs acute o&servations of $ustralian totemic sBstems, &ut argues t0at 5lAin goes

too far in 0is cutting up of t0e data in order to avoid t0e criticism of previous t0eories. T0e functionalist and naturalist

t0eories of *alinoHsAi and 1adcliffe-roHn are criticallB ;&ut again sBmpat0eticallB< discussed, and t0e intellectualist

ideas of Fortes, Firt0 and 5vans-ritc0ard and t0e later HorA of 1adcliffe-roHn are seen as precursors to a structurale%planation. T0roug0out t0e discussion t0e et0nograp0ic data on H0ic0 t0e t0eories Here &ased is presented and

reanalBsed from L7vi-StraussR oHn point of vieH. FinallB it is pointed out t0at a structural e%planation of totemism Has

prefigured in t0e HorA of ergson and 1ousseau.

@0et0er one agrees Hit0 all of t0e details of t0e structuralist e%planation of totemic p0enomena presented ;and it seems

plausi&le enoug0, alt0oug0 it does seem to suggest as manB uestions as it provides ansHers


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reading for a different vieHpoint cogentlB argued. Totemismprovides an introduction to manB of t0e different strands of

modern ant0ropologB as Hell as a good e%planation of t0e &asic ideas of structuralism.

Totemism is a theoretical concept of structuralism that aims to observe the belief of kinship

between a certain group of people, or an individual in that group, and a natural object like a plant

or animal (Bardnard 2000). evi!"trauss believed there were four terms in totemism including#

groups, categories, individuals and particular animals or plants that could all be inter!related.

Totemism is a useful theor$ as the evi!"trauss model does link a vast spread of societies andcultures for logical and scienti%c comparison. &adcli'e!Browns functional eplanation of

totemism onl$ uses the terms of group and animal and can be seen as a weakness of the

discipline for not having a means of wide comparison across a range of societies. evi!"trauss

Totemism model makes the assumption that ever$thing is connected. *or eample# the

relationship between +ategor$ and +ategor$ B is analagous to the relationship between -roup

and -roup B (escola, 200/). This doesnt leave much room for discrepencies and outliers in

the relationships. This theor$ suggests uestions about the identit$ of particular groups, their

spiritualit$, customs, histor$ and religious beliefs. B$ stud$ing a societies attatchment to animals

and plants, a lot can be learnt about ritual and tradition as well as collective and individual

spiritual ideas and beliefs. The ideas of totemism are focused on particularl$ amongst tribal andhunter1gather societies where kinship between people and nature is most prevalent. The

boriginal ustralians are a great eample of a group of people having spiritual relationships with

their environment that serve in ritual, tradition and their cosmolog$ (Bodle$, 200/).

T3 "4-3 567

The Savage Mind, b$ +laude evi!"trauss takes up the issue of religion, m$th, and what

the$ are, from where urkheim seems to have left o'. *rom the outset, "trauss begins the

daunting process of pealing back the la$ers of belief, eposing concepts, ideas, semiolog$

language, and eventuall$, the human mind itself. 3ver$ word of this thick!with!thought book is

necessar$ and points to his ultimate goal, of re!framing the *unctionalist argument espoused b$

urkheim, into a "tructuralist view of religion, and religious practice, and the beliefs contained

within.

evi!"trauss, in the ver$ %rst chapter of this book, The "cience of the +oncrete, begins to

reverse all thought we have had up until now regarding belief and understanding of the world

8hereas we have been lead to believe b$ 9: thcentur$ thinkers that the natural world is an

orderl$ place, and that human thought and belief s$stems are a re;ection of that order, evi!

"trauss, through eamples and thought eperiments, turns upside down and begins to reverse

this entire h$pothesis in the space of one chapter. 6nitiall$, we have been lead to believe that


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religion and belief are the functional outgrowth of understanding the order we see around us in

nature. 8e are to understand that humanit$ sees the connections between natural phenomena,

other species that surround us, and plant life and its uses, and applies a belief s$stem to make

sense of these things, thereb$ ordering the world using ideas as a re;ection of that visible order.

8hile this is a compelling view, there is another view that evi!"trauss %nds beneath these la$ers

of belief and meaning. That of the concepts embedded within the human mind and the language

itself.

This area of concepts comes from within the human mind itself. 6n a sense, evi!"trauss is

contending that mankind is creating meaning out of meaninglessness, appl$ing order to chaos,

through language and belief. The ideas and concepts that are embedded in language transcend

an$ real or concrete meanings found in nature. The$ become entities in and of themselves.

These ideas and concepts, then take on a life of their own, being transferred to other ideas, and

concepts, forming belief s$stems. This is how 6 read evi!"trauss, at least. This is the meaning

that 6 have gleaned from what 6ve read so far. This dangerous idea that there is no meaning but

the meaning that we give the world, through our own language and transference of ideas and

concepts through language, could lead one to believe that nothing is real, that there is no

meaning at all in the world


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language, like the la$ers of an onion, or indeed, as weve mentioned in class, like a pomegranate

broken open, our minds and intellect have evolved this means of making sense of the world

around us as a means of survival, both cultural survival, and biological. 6t could be that this is

the %gurative corpus collosum that formed between being and knowing, that brought humanit$

into a new realm of cognitive development. ?r, it could just be something that 6 see as 6 read

these tets. To be sure, we see meanings and patterns as humans, sometimes where there are

no patterns at all to see, but sometimes we hit on a concept or a thought that holds true, that

makes sense, at least to us.

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