Viewing Notes | "Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard: Strange Beliefs"

Prepared by Devika Bordia ('02)

1985. 52 minutes, color. In the series, Strangers Abroad: Pioneers of Social Anthropology. Written and presented by Bruce Dakowski. Produced and directed by Andre Singer.

In Social Anthropology you are studying not just as an observer but also as a participant. You are not just a member of the audience; you are also on the stage. To understand the Nuer you have go to learn to think as a Nuer, to feel as a Nuer, in a kind of way to be a Nuer. And this can't be done by any kind of scientific technique. And this is why I think the Anthropologist is in a peculiar position because he is trying to interpret what he sees not just with a hint but with his whole personality, with his heart as well.

This documentary is the last in the "Strangers Abroad" series, and it concludes with the above quotation from Edward Evans-Pritchard.  The statement implies that social anthropology has developed from a concern with "scientific method" to a focus on the interpretation of the cultures and social processes being studied, from the anthropologist as the "objective observer to the anthropologist as participant and "member of the audience". Indeed, an underlying focus of this documentary is how Evans-Pritchard continuously challenged the prevailing view of anthropology of his time, in terms of both his fieldwork and theoretical focus.

Unlike most of the other anthropologists of his generation, Evans-Pritchard was from a privileged background. He studied English at Exeter College and proceeded to study anthropology at Oxford. Attracted by the sense of adventure among "exotic people," he went on to do his fieldwork among the Azande people of Sudan. Evans-Pritchard was interested in less in facts and more in ideas and how they formed coherent systems of beliefs. Central to the lives of the Azande was what was known as "witchcraft" and "magic." These were loosely defined by missionaries and colonial officials and some anthropologists who regarded them as primitive, irrational, and misguided. Evans-Pritchard began his inquiry with the premises that witchcraft was not irrational, the notions of the Azande were logical, and only their underlying assumptions differed from those of dominant Western thought.

The film explores Evans-Pritchard's mode of inquiry as the narrator goes to an Azande village and describes a case of witchcraft which may have been similar to those witnessed by Evans-Pritchard. Scenes of this incident are interspersed with Evans-Pritchard's analysis of cases of witchcraft that he experienced. Perhaps by using present-day cases and juxtaposing them with Evans-Pritchard's analysis, the documentary takes these incidents out of their specific historical and cultural context, a method about which Evans-Pritchard himself might have been suspicious.

The film touches upon the various dynamics which occur between the colonial officials, missionaries and Evans-Pritchard. At that time, the choice of area that students chose to conduct their fieldwork had much to do with the colonial influence in that area. Africa had a large colonial presence, yet Evans-Pritchard was the first trained anthropologist to conduct fieldwork in Africa. He indicated that his relationship with the administration was strained: "I do not admire the administration as much as they admired themselves". Later, however the colonial government would ask Evans-Pritchard to conduct fieldwork and in particular to study the political organization of the Nuer people in Southern Sudan, as the Nuer were resisting attempts at being governed. It is interesting to note a tension that runs through the film of a certain level of skepticism of the anthropologist toward the colonial administration, yet projects and fieldwork sites being invited and encouraged by colonial officials.

The documentary also describes tensions among anthropologists of the time. As a result of a "personality clash" with Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard was unable to secure a post at the LSE. The film suggests that it may have been a good time to be away from England as Malinowski was holding court and it was difficult to get new ideas expressed. Hence Evans-Pritchard took up the chair of philosophy and sociology at Cairo University.

Evans-Pritchard's work among the Nuer contested the prevailing view that African societies were stratified polities of slaves ruled by their masters. The Nuer had a strong sense of equality and personal autonomy. Every Nuer was as good as his neighbor and respect for themselves contrasted with disdain of others. Evans-Pritchard also studied the centrality of the cattle in the lives of the Nuer which was not only a source of livelihood but also the basis and idiom by which kinship relations were organized.

Of interest in the documentary is the interview with Gabriel Juan (sp?), a Nuer who was conducting research on Evans-Pritchard in London. He traces some changes which have occurred since Evans-Pritchard's fieldwork among the Nuer. Some Nuer have migrated to the cities and now constitute the intellectual urban group. There have been some changes for those who have remained in the South (for example, better health facilities), yet their political and social structures remain the same.