classic concepts in anthropology

279 Pages·2017·2.74 MB·English

Valerio Valeri
CLASSIC CONCEPTS IN
ANTHROPOLOGY
EDITED GIOVANNI DA COL AND RUPERT STASCH
CLASSIC CONCEPTS
IN ANTHROPOLOGY
Hau
BOOKS
Editors
Giovanni da Col
Sasha Newell
Editorial Office
Faun Rice
Sheehan Moore
Michael Chladek
Michelle Beckett
Justin Dyer
Ian Tuttle
www.haubooks.com
CLASSIC CONCEPTS
IN ANTHROPOLOGY
Valerio Valeri
Edited by Giovanni da Col and Rupert Stasch
Hau Books
Chicago
© 2018 Classic Concepts in Anthropology by Valerio Valeri and its content is
licensed under CC-BY N.D. NC 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode (embed link in the license)
Cover and layout design: Sheehan Moore
Typesetting: Prepress Plus (www.prepressplus.in)
ISBN: 978-0-9905050-8-2
LCCN: 2014953506
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Hau Books is marketed and distributed by The University of Chicago Press.
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Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
Contents
Acknowledgment and sources vii
chapter one
Belief and worship 1
Translated from the Italian by Lynn West
chapter two
Caste 27
Translated from the Italian by Nicholas DeMaria Harney
chapter three
Ceremonial 51
chapter four
Cosmogonic myths and order 67
Translated from the Italian by Sarah Hill and revised by Alice Elliot
chapter five
Cultural relativism 85
Translated from the French by Eléonore Rimbault
vi CLASSIC CONCEPTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
chapter six
Feasting and festivity 89
Translated from the Italian by Sarah Hill
chapter seven
The fetish 103
Translated from the Italian by Sarah Hill
chapter eight
Kingship 121
Translated from the Italian by Lynn Westwater and revised
by Alice Elliot
chapter nine
Mourning 155
chapter ten
Play 169
Translated by Nicholas DeMaria Harney
chapter eleven
Rite 181
Translated from the Italian by Stefano Mengozzi and revised
by Alice Elliot
appendix
Marcel Mauss and the New Anthropology 219
Translated from the Italian by Alice Elliot
Bibliography 247
Acknowledgment and sources
Originally published in Italian and French across a number of dictionaries and
encyclopaedias, this volume showcases Valerio Valeri’s (1944–1988) formidable
scholarship with a series of dazzling comparative essays on core topics in the
history of anthropological theory. A timely and invaluable pedagogical resource
for students, teachers, and researchers in anthropology, this collection is a tribute
to the inimitable genius and erudition of the author.
We wish to thank Janet Hoskins, Sean Dowdy, Nicholas Harney, Alice Elliot,
Eric White, Rebecca Frausel, Zachary Sheldon, Ned Dostaler, Magnus Fiskesjö,
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Marshall Sahlins, and all others who assisted in the
production of this volume. We are also grateful to the publishers and copyright
holders of Valeri’s work who have generously granted Hau permission to trans-
late and reprint the material in this volume. The original sources and copyright
information for each chapter are detailed below.
Chapter One is a reprint of Valeri, Valerio. (1992) 2001. “Belief and worship.”
In Fragments from forests and libraries: A collection of essays by Valerio Valeri, ed-
ited by Janet Hoskins, 33–56. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. © 2001
Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the
copyright holder, Carolina Academic Press. http://www.cap-press.com.
viii CLASSIC CONCEPTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
Chapter Two is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1977. “Casta” Enciclopedia
Einaudi 2, 688–707. Torino: Einaudi. © 1977 Einaudi Editore. All rights re-
served. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
Chapter Three is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1977. “Cerimoniale.” Enci-
clopedia Einaudi 2, 955–67. Torino: Einaudi. © 1977 Einaudi Editore. All rights
reserved. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
Chapter Four is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1995. “Miti cosmogonici e
ordine.” Parolechiave 7 (8): 93–110. © 1995 Parolechiave. All rights reserved.
Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Parolechiave.
Chapter Five is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1991. “Relativisme culturel.”
In Dictionnaire de l’ethnologie et de l’anthropologie, 618–19. Paris: Presses Univer-
sitaires de France. © 1991 Presses Universitaires de France. All rights reserved.
Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Presses Universitaires de
France. http://www.puf.com.
Chapter Six is a reprint of Valeri, Valerio. (1979) 2001. “Feasting and festiv-
ity.” In Fragments from forests and libraries: A collection of essays by Valerio Valeri,
edited by Janet Hoskins, 1–14. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. © 2001
Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the
copyright holder, Carolina Academic Press. http://www.cap-press.com.
Chapter Seven is a reprint of Valeri, Valerio. (1979) 2001. “The fetish.” In
Fragments from forests and libraries: A collection of essays by Valerio Valeri, edited
by Janet Hoskins, 15–32. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. © 2001
Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the
copyright holder, Carolina Academic Press. http://www.cap-press.com
Chapter Eight is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1980. “Regalità.” Enciclope-
dia Einaudi 10, 742–71. Torino: Einaudi. © 1980 Einaudi Editore. All rights
reserved. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND SOURCES ix
Chapter Nine is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1979. “Lutto.” Enciclopedia
Einaudi, 8, 594–604. Torino: Einaudi. © 1979 Einaudi Editore. All rights re-
served. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
Chapter Ten is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1979. “Gioco” Enciclopedia
Einaudi, 6, 813–23. Torino: Einaudi. © 1981 Einaudi Editore. All rights re-
served. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
Chapter Eleven is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1981. “Rito.” Enciclopedia
Einaudi, 12, 210–43. Torino: Einaudi. © 1981 Einaudi Editore. All rights re-
served. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Einaudi Editore.
http://www.einaudi.it.
The Appendix is a translation of Valeri, Valerio. 1966. “Marcel Mauss e la nuo-
va antropologia.” Critica Storica 2: 677–703. © 1966 Critica Storica. All rights
reserved. Translated with permission of the copyright holder, Critica Storica.
First English translation published as: Valeri, Valerio. 2013. “Marcel Mauss and
the new anthropology.” Translated by Alice Elliot. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic
Theory 3 (1): 262–86.
Giovanni da Col and Rupert Stasch