The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) [Paperback]

Richard B. Lee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0030322847 | ISBN-13: 978-0030322846 | Publication Date: 1993 | Edition: 2nd

This classic study of the !Kung San, foragers of the Dobe area of the Kalahari Desert, described changes that have come, as recently as 1991, to the Kung rituals, beliefs, social control, marriage and kinship. It documents their emerging determination to take hold of their own destiny - despite exploitation of their habitat and relentless development - to assert their political rights and revitalize their communities. Use of the name Ju/'hoansi (meaning real people) achnowledges their new sense of empowerment. Features: * Substantiates observations with empirical evidence. * Combats anthropological myths about the Dobe Ju/'hoansi by presenting them as a people with much aplomb, a zest for living, but with human failings indicative of all people. New to this edition: * Documents the emerging political consciousness of the Dobe Ju/'hoansi, including the freeing of neighbouring Namibia Ju/'hoanse from South African rule, and the revitalization of aboriginal communities in North America, Australia, Russia and elsewhere. * Respects their new sense of empowerment by retitling this edition with their self-appellation, JU/'HOANSI rather than the name anthropologists assigned them, !K UNG or SAN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt College Pub; 2nd edition (1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030322847
• ISBN-13: 978-0030322846
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #702,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Summary of the ethnography, April 8, 2010

By 

K. Viles - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

Richard Lee's ethnography The Dobe Ju/'hoansi is a detailed account of the culture and history of the Ju/'hoan people living in the Dobe area of southern central Africa. The book illustrates both the rich history of the Ju and how the traditions of the past are central in the present, but also the problems facing the Ju/'hoansi as they move toward the future.
The first half of Lee's ethnography focuses mainly on the past and the "present", circa the 1960s, when Lee himself spent time living with the Ju/'hoansi, a practice known as participant observation. The first major element Lee expounds upon is the harsh environment in which the Ju live. The climate consists of very warm, rainy summers (86-104 degrees Fahrenheit) contrasted against moderate, cool winters with no rainfall at all. Because the amount of precipitation can vary as much as 500 percent (Lee 29), droughts are frequent. The severe weather patterns combined with the unforgiving Kalahari Desert influence all other parts of the Ju/'hoansi way of life.
The Ju people are classified by archeologists as hunters and gatherers, moving around multiple times per year instead of living in permanent settlements. Skilled adults can identify as many as 100 species of edible plants (Lee 43) and can "deduce many kinds of information about the animal he is tracking: its species and sex, its age, how fast it is traveling, etc" (Lee 50). The author discovered that the Ju only have to work about 20 hours per week to hunt or gather enough food to sustain the population (Lee 54). I was amazed at this statistic, having previously thought that hunting and gathering took up many more hours per week to feed an entire band.
Lee moves on in the ethnography to discuss the intricate kinship connections the Ju share. Even though groups or camps only consist of about 30 members at a time (Lee 61), they are constantly changing so that the relationships are complex and spread throughout the entire Dobe area. Individual camps are usually made up of core siblings, their spouses, any siblings of their spouses, and finally the spouses of these siblings. The overarching principle of sharing is visible through the social organization of the Ju. Name relationships and kin relationships seem to tie everyone to everyone else in this egalitarian society.
The customs surrounding marriage and sexuality are next in the book, followed by an explanation of the "complaint discourse". Both chapters are very interesting in that they reinforce the classless and equal nature of the Ju/'hoansi society. The second half of the book shifts in focus from the way things have been to how times are changing in the lives of the Ju as more organized institutes, like the states of Namibia and Botswana, encroach upon the ancient tribes.
The most significant change of the Ju culture has been from hunting and gathering to settled farming and the raising of livestock. By planting crops in one area, the mobility of the population is restricted. "It is not as easy for family members to go on an extended foraging trip or to pay visits to relatives at distant camps" (Lee 158). Other Ju/'hoan people have found new ways to make a living in mining, craft making, or well digging. These factors, as well as many other issues have had many repercussions, but the most important effect is the breakdown of sharing among the Ju, a practice and ideal that sustained the culture for hundreds of years. This shift in beliefs and social principles will definitely cause problems for the future survival of the Ju/'hoansi.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, March 11, 2008

By 

Raman (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

I read this book while taking an undergraduate sociocultural anthropology class. Several years later, it still stands out in my mind as a crisp, fair ethnography in a field full of opaque and often pejorative books.

Richard B. Lee's accomplishment here is to balance a scientific and human approach. Realizing how strongly a physical environment can impact a culture, Lee smartly and dispassionately details the basic facts of the Ju/'Hoansi's past and current situation - the geography and ecology of their home in the Kalahari desert, their food supply, etc. On this canvas, he paints a picture of the culture of this people. This sweeps from the physical layout of their camps to their language (including a thorough exposition of those interesting click consonants) to their handling of mortality and sexuality to the privileges and "complaint discourse" of older members of the society. Then Lee qualifies this whole portrait by describing recent developments, including enroachment of other cultures, erosion of the traditional lifestyle, and the dispossession and advocacy that has defined the Ju's recent relationships with the Namibian and Botswanan governments.

What amazed me about all this is that Lee remains tenderly human during this rich exposition. He writes of the Ju with great respect and humbly describes vigniettes of his interaction with his subjects - like when he got his pet name and when he had crushes on various native women. He avoids sentimental exoticism when describing how the culture began to fall apart due to pressures on their territory from Black herders. Instead, he documents the painful transition with precision and observational detail and even finds sources of hope. For example, he connects Ju women's lower-than-average HIV infection rates with the culture's respect for women, arguing that Ju women's assertiveness make them more likely to insist on condom use. Also, rather than arguing that only the old way could be good for the Ju, Lee looks forward, advocating the Ju's integration into the larger society and adaptation of modern land-use patterns.

In this book, Richard Lee shows himself to be one of the rare anthropologists who do a good job portraying their culture of study but resist the possessive urge to lament its change and adaptation over time. For me, it recalls many happy hours reading in college, taking in the sunshine while struggling through all the click consonants. I heartily recommend it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Informative, December 23, 2011

By 

Brandon - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

A thorough and informative ethnography that is absolutely packed with fascinating and comprehensive information that is revealing and leaves one with a sense of getting to know the people under study.