Ethnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethnography - Essay ExampleAn understanding of the Kabre is necessary because it enlightens and opens up advanced and different perspectives that will aid in the determination of what cause their culture.The villages of recent Kabre in West Africa issue to be very remote. They are based in northern Togo and possess all of the classic notions an man-to-man has about a remote village of African culture. Remote in the sense they exist on subsistence farming have straw roofs on their houses and perform rituals to the spirits. They appear to be very simple hoi polloi living very simple lives. Piots argument is that this village life is in fact and effect of the modern and the global. Piots tenets require further contemplation and support and that will be the basis for this discussion.In his ethnography, Piot proposes, Kabre culture is shaped as much by colonial and postcolonial history as by anything indigenous or local. (1999) He supports his premise by analyzing the daily practic es of the Kabre villagers. These daily practices encompassed both their social and ceremonial activities. He used this digest to compare modernity with traditional activities of the Kabre villagers. In his observations and analysis, Piot shows how the Kabre villagers have blended tradition with moderninity. ... To iterate his point Piot gives the exemplification using the president of Togos Kabre. The president regularly uses a helicopter to fly to this region to witness antheral initiation ceremonies. This is clearly an example of a traditional ceremony of male ritual and the presidents use of a helicopter for transportation is clearly an indication of moderninity. Piots example describes the appropriation of tradition at the state level and describes many other examples similar to this to add credence to his premise. Piot profoundly illustrates how Kabre is a culture shaped by both a modern world and one of tradition. His tenets at some points confuse anthropological theorizati ons and the put up De startlements stereotyped images of African village life, However by doing this he reiterates what he postulates about the Kabre because they are a perplexing combination of all of these. Piots objective was to show how Euroamerican theories that fail to come to terms with the fluidity of general relations in a society where persons and things are forever in motion. (The University of Chicago Press 2004) impost and ModernityIt could be argued that Piots observations occur in every culture across the globe. An example of this would be the popish Catholic Religion. The religion dates back for centuries and the ceremonies practiced by the Roman Catholics are very true to tradition. This homogeneous premise could include Orthodox Jews and a plethora of other religions and the ceremonies performed by the worshippers. However, although moderninity is very a part of a Roman Catholics life they are not viewed as rural or indigenous people that simply adhere to trad ition when they practice their religion. Whereas Piots observation saw these people as a to a greater extent complex