The Anthropology of Landscape: Perspectives on Place and Space (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

265 Pages·1995·11.67 MB·English

by  Eric Hirsch

This book is published by Oxford University Press thanks to the general
editorship of Howard Morphy, University Lecturer in Ethnology at Ox
ford and Curator at the Pin Rivers Museum, and Fred Myers, Associate
Professor of Anthropology at New York University.
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The Anthropology
of Landscape
Perspectives on Place and Space
EDITED BY
Eric Hirsch and Michael O'Hanlon
CLARENDON PRESS · OXFORD
1995
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PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This volume had its origins in a conference convened by Eric Hirsch and
Alfred Gell on 'The Anthropology of Landscape', held at the London School
of Economics and Political Science on 22-3 June 1989. The fact that contri
butors from a range of disciplines found as much to talk about as they did
suggested that this was a topic whose time had come and that the proceedings
merited publication. Alfred Gell's commitments prevented him from acting
with Eric Hirsch as co-editor; subsequently Michael O'Hanlon, who had been
a discussant at the original conference, joined Hirsch in this capacity.
With the exception of the introduction, all the chapters were initially pre
sented at the conference and all were substantially revised for publication. The
introduction arose out of a 'position statement' produced prior to the confer
ence and has developed in conjunction with the revisions of the individual
essays. Sadly, Nicholas Green, the author of the first of the essays, did not live
to see the publication of the volume; however, he revised his essay before his
tragic death from an AIDS-related illness.
The original conference also benefited from the contributions of the other
discussants. Here we would particularly like to thank Brian Morris, Jonathan
Parry, Dick Werbner, and James Woodburn. Stephen Daniels also presented a
paper at the conference, but due to prior commitments he was unable to include
his contribution here. The Press's anonymous reader provided especially help
ful comments on two separate drafts ofthe volume. After the volume's accept
ance by the Press, we learned the identity of the reader so are able to offer our
particular thanks to Jimmy Weiner. Linda Frankland also provided invaluable
assistance over the period of revision. Finally, we would like to thank Peter
Momtchiloff and Jenni Scott no less than the contributors themselves, for their
support and patience during the volume's long gestation for which, while there
may be no excuses, there are plenty of reasons.
The original conference was made possible by a grant from the Economic
and Social Research Council to whom we are most grateful.
E.H.
M.O'H.

CONTENTS
List rif Figures viii
Notes on Contributors X
INTRODUCTION: Eric Hirsch, I.andscape: Between Piau a11d Space
I. Nicholas Green, Looking al the Landscape: Class Formation
and 1h e Visual 3 I
2. Peter Gow, Land, People, and Paper in Western Amazonia 43
3. Maurice Bloch, People into Places: Zajimaniry Crmctpts ofCit~ri~y 63
4. Christopher Pinney, Moral Topophilia: The Significations of
Lands.-ape in Indian Oleographs 78
5. Tom Selwyn, Landscapes of Liberatirm and Imprisonment:
Towards an Anthropology of the Israeli Landscape 114
6. Caroline Humphrey, Chiefly and Shamanist Landscapes
in Mongolia 135
7. Christina Toren, Seeing the Ancestral Sitts: Transformations in
Fijian Notions of the Land 163
8. Howard Murphy, Landscape and the Reproduction of the
Ancestral Pasl 184
9. Robert Layton, Relating to the Country in the Western Destrl 210
10. Alfred Gell, The Language of the Forest: Landscape and
Phonologitallconism in Umeda 232
Index 255
LIST OF FIGURES
3.1 The Zafimaniry village emeTJing into clarity from the forest below. 66
3.2 A carved central post and a heanh from a Zafimaniry holy house. 69
3.3 Male and female standing-stones on site of a Zafimaniry village. 72
4.1 Product no. 3399. 80
4.2 Calendar print with actresa Hema Malini. 84
4.3 GRASIM mural (Genenl Office building), Nagda. 86
4.4 GRASIM mural (near Viscose Division), Nagda. 87
4.5 Shiv Shankar (oleograph). 90
4.6 Saraswati (oleograph). 95
4.7 Ambedkar (oleograph). 97
4.8 Suhhas Chandra Bose (oleograph). 98
4.9 Hong Kong (calendar illustration). 101
4.10 Calendar print entitled 'Village Scenery'. 102
4.11 Mahatma Gandhi (oleograph). 103
4.12 Calendar print of young soldier and farmer. 104
4.13 Calendar print entitled 'Agricultural Baby'. lOS
4.14 Calendar print entitled 'Agricultural Beauty'. 106
5.1 Adverti!ICntent from an S.P.N.l. brochure: the landscape of the Book. 123
6.1 Inner Asia. 136
6.2 Idealized representation of nomadic circuilll. 143
6.3 Modem Mongolian painting showing circumambulation of
mountain cairn. 147
6.4 Shaman's burial site of the Western Buryalll. ISS
8.1 Narritjin Maymuru walking through a valley in the Snowy Mountains,
Australia. 18S
8.2 A painting ofDarawuy. 191
8.3 The shark"'"""'" at Wurlwurlwuy. 194
8.4 Dumdiwuy Wanarnbi and the ancestral mangrove tree. 195
8.S Roy Marika on the cliffs at Pon Bradshaw sights a crocodile in
the water. 198
8.6 The genealogical basis of the sociocentric clan relationship terms. 200
8.7 A sand sculpture used as pan of a house purification ceremony at
Yirrkala. 202
List of Figures ix
9.1 Uluru (Ayen Rock). 211
9.2 Witapula with Atila (Mt Conner) in the background. 215
9.3 Kapi Yularanya Pulka, a rock hole where two anceatral tncka croaa. 21B
9.4 Men of the Kikingkura country near Docker River. 220
9.5 Social kinship between local groups. 226
10.1 The Triple Analogy. 244
10.2 KOhler's figures. 247