Evans-Pritchard relays to the reader a portion of "culture-. His words are, not only, reflective of the times, but also of the man. The audience can see where Pritchard falters and adds opinions that do not reflect neutrality. In addition, the style the author uses is showy and elaborate. While Pritchard does attempt not to show bias or opinion, I will illustrate where he does in The Nuer. I will also show the effect of that language on the perception the reader has of the Nuer.
The introduction to The Nuer is our first taste of the task that Pritchard was given. The beginning of the book reads like a manual. This is because the purpose of the book was to inform the English on the Nuer. The current political situation intrigued the governments at the time, and Pritchard served as an anthropologist and an informant. The preface and introduction are littered with references to officials and "friends- of Pritchard. While he does thank many he adds, "When the Government of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan asked me to make a study of the Nuer I accepted after hesitation with misgivings."" (7). He does realize the weight that his study will have, as well as, the reaction that he will get from the Nuer people.
While the choice of wording that he uses is far from simple, the reason for it is. The language that is used gives the impression of scientific methodologies. Science is seen as uncorrupted by human emotion and opinion. While his opinions do slip into his work, the general feeling is that his study is professionally done and excludes bias. This style and use of language was convincing enough to the readers of the time.
However, Evans-Pritchard fails to finish writing his work completely devoid of opinion. The first insight into Pritchard's opinion of the Nuer is in the Introductory;.
Their country and character are alike intractable and what little I had previously seen of them convinced me that I would fail to establish friendly relations with them ( 9).
The Nuer were very much an egalitarian community. ... The Nuer base their calendar on the environment and weather conditions. ... The Nuer had no laws or leaders. ... This keeps the Nuer in groups, also known as clans. ... Evans-Pritchard was concealing some of the truth to save the Nuer. ...
In his synthesis of the many subsequent studies, Kelly (1985) shows on the basis of historical and linguistic evidence that Nuer and Dinka are closely related since the Nuer were originally raised as an offshoot from the Dinka that eventually became influential enough to be considered as a separate tribe. ... Although lower in number, the Nuer proved consistently more successful at invading Dinka territory and at defending themselves. ... Due to their superior organization, the Nuer eventually succeeded in replacing the Dinka. ... In contrast, Dinka captives and immigrants and their descendan...
If your culture has many resources of food, like the Nuer tribe of northern Africa, you start to develop a more specialized way of dividing up labor. ... This differs than that of the Nuer tribe in the actuality that they have a more personal exchange system and trade with families and friends. ...
If your culture has many resources of food, like the Nuer tribe of northern Africa, you start to develop a more specialized way of dividing up labor. ... This differs than that of the Nuer tribe in the actuality that they have a more personal exchange system and trade with families and friends. ...
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," takes place in the Deep South during the 19th Century and is a story about the relationship between a father and son. A father with a need to burn the barns of aristocrats resulting in dragging his family down with him; along with his knowledgeable son. This story ...
Faulkner's "Barn Burning" takes place in the Deep South during the 19th Century and is a story about the relationship between a father and son. A father with a need to burn the barns of aristocrats resulting in dragging his family down with him; along with his knowledgeable son. This story presents ...
Native religions may be similar but may also be different. Native religions are also called basic religions because there is not any written information about these contemporary religions. For example, native African and American religions have similar concepts of animism and the High God. Their dif...
The organization I have worked for this semester is Lutheran Family Services, in particular, refugee services. This organization relocates refugees, the ones I worked with are from Sudan, Africa. A 20 year civil war has been raging in Sudan leaving families displaced and relocated. The war i...
Witchcraft History has shown that people always had the tendency to give an explanation to all their luck or misfortune. People always tried to explain everything that was happening in their lives. Therefore , for many years people throughout the world believed in wi...
