The way a society counts time is an important part of their worldview, which is an essential aspect within anthropological studies. The organization of time by a society can lead to the understanding of various aspects of life. Temporal organization is used for hours, days, months, years, all relating to harvesting cycles. Harvesting is an essential part for indigenous communities as they rely on agriculture for food.
Edmund Leach’s, Primitive Calendars, he argues intercalation causes problems when used within a lunar calendar system as it does not run perfect with solar calendars (1950; 247). By having these two types of calendars match up, then it is easier to assign a day with a specific festival. Thus, this allows for a better understanding of time as there are correlations between days and moons. Leach (1950) shows that the Yami of Botel Tobago’s calendar system has the trouble of intercalation, however their system is also comparable from the lunar to solar calendars.
As we can see through this article (Leach, 1950), “primitive” calendars are based on the cyclical formation by the natural environment. This includes: weather of heavy rain, dry seasons or heavy winds, all play into the time of prime harvesting of agriculture and deep sea fishing. Also equally important are the migration patterns of animals at certain times of the year; when flying fish are more plentiful. The indigenous communities are very much in touch with the natural environment around them, and this is how they create their organization of time. In addition, an emphasis on moons is very important to signify the beginning of seasonal fishing or for celebrations.
It is concluded that the Yami calendar can be comparable both lunar and solar calendars (Leach, 1950). Thus, this shows that the “primitive” are not so “primitive” after all as their long standing calendars are in accordance to the “normal” more advanced calendar that we use today. It seems that Leach’s emphasis to compare indigenous calendars to the European standard of calendar is important to show the linkages between the societies. Through the calendars, he is able to show us that indigenous societies are not so behind the advanced societies of this time. The “primitive” calendars are essentially alike to the “normal” calendars. There should not be a large distinction and hierarchical recognition between the two.
In another of Leach’s articles, The Yami of Koto-sho: a Japanese Colonial Experiment, it is interesting to see that he explains the Yami society as “anything but indigenous” (1937; 420). Here, we see that the Yami are an isolated group on the island who strive for equality. I found it interesting that their focus on equality was so high that if they caught an uneven amount of fish they would release the extras to not cause a rift between the fishermen (Leach, 1937; 424). This emphasis on equality can also be detrimental for further economical growth for the island. The shared notion of many things can go as far as sharing the position of being police. Since there is a lack of money, there are no taxes, resulting in the due for men to take turns for a few days each year to be police officer (Leach, 1937; 431). This procedure is used as there are no taxes to pay for administration staff and thus, the community at large must be it. This is incredibly fascinating as this situation would not work in many parts of the world. I believe the emphasis on equality here is key to understanding their way of life.
Through these two articles, written by the same man, Edmund Leach; we see a variation of how the Yami live. The ethnographic portrayal of the society is shown in a light that they are not very indigenous, but at the same time, some of their societal mechanisms clearly show a side to them that are not on trend with Western ways. Consequently, by not being “Western,” then they are likely lumped into the category of indigenous with their isolated ways.
References
Leach, Edmund. 1937. “The Yami of Koto-sho: a Japanese Colonial Experiment.” Geographical Magazine 5: 417-434.
Leach, Edmund. 1950. “Primitive Calendars.” Oceania 20 (4): 245-262.
It is also interesting to reflect on how he changed. In 1937, he was interested in anthropology, but had not yet studied it. In 1950, he was teaching anthropology and thinking about his book project about egalitarian groups in highland Burma. He published that classic work in 1954.
ReplyDelete