Not a Hazardous Sport
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Book Overview
In 1985, Dr. Nigel Barley, senior anthropologist at The British Museum, set off for the relatively unknown Indonesian island of Sulawesi in search of the Toraja, a people whose culture includes... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0805009604
ISBN13:9780805009606
Release Date:January 1989
Publisher:Henry Holt & Company
Length:206 Pages
Weight:0.90 lbs.
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Amusing and interesting
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Obviously, there is more to anthropology than simply going to some faraway land and relating tales about one's experiences there. But there's nothing wrong with doing just that, as Nigel Barley does in this book. He starts right out, in the first sentence, by saying that "Anthropology is not a hazardous sport." Anyway, he goes off to Indonesia (actually, to Torajaland, on the island of Celebes) to live, um, non-hazardously. An incident typical of the author's misadventures comes when some of the people he's visiting decide they need to consecrate a new rice barn with blood. They plan to sacrifice a pig to do this. But when they ask him to pass them a machete, he cuts his fingers badly on it. So badly that his blood suffices; they don't need to sacrifice a pig after all. I enjoyed this book, and I recommend it.
Funny and Informative
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I am a student of African and Indonesian spiritual practices. This book, along with Mr. Barley's others, is a refreshing departure from long-winded, ivory-tower lectures. Funny and informative.
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