Anthropologists have many challenges that they have to face while studying and evaluating different kinds of society. People say that anthropologist should keep an open mind and try to be understanding and non judgmental about other cultures. This is called Cultural Relativism. Understanding the ways of another’s culture and not judging their practices according to one’s own culture. ON the other hand sometimes anthropologists have challenges that they sometimes have to over come when it comes to understanding another’s culture. Some times they will analyze other people and their culture by their own standards and beliefs. This is called Ethnocentrism. So your judging people about what is “right” or “wrong” in their culture by what is “right” or “wrong” in your own. There were two anthropologists that ran into this problem of ethnocentrism while they were studying among the Bushman tribes in Africa.
Before one of the anthropologists left for Africa his friend gave him the book Hamlet, and told him that he should read it and try to understand it better because the people of America had difficulty with Shakespeare. But the anthropologist disagreed because he believed that the human nature all around the world is pretty much the same. So as long as you have the general plot and motivation everything is pretty clear. This however was not exactly the case when trying to tell the story of Hamlet to the Bushman tribe. They practically contradicted everything he said about any part of the story. For example when Hamlets father came back as a ghost to tell Hamlet that his brother had killed him, the Bushman however did not agree with this statement. They thought that the anthropologist was crazy because in the Bushman culture, they do not believe in ghosts, so they believed that it could only be an omen that was sent by a witch. They also believed that an omen is a matter for chiefs and elders to deal with not young boys and others. There were however a few things that the Bushman did agree with. When the anthropologist told them how the younger brother took over as chief and married the old chiefs wife the bushman said the brother did well. For it was the same in the Bushman custom that when the brother dies one of the other brothers marries his wife and becomes the father of his children. One of the Bushman even said that they knew if they found out more about the European cultures they would be very much the same as their own. For the rest of the story however the Bushman understood the story differently then how the anthropologist wanted them to understand it. In this case both the Bushman and the Anthropologist were being ethnocentric.
The other anthropologist ran into a slightly similar situation. As his last Christmas there he wanted to buy that cow that they have for the annual feast. Knowing that the Bushman tribe had little food because they had little money to buy food and because they had to hunt for it, he wanted to find the biggest and fattest cow there was. When he thought he found it he bought it without asking any of the bushman for their opinion on it. A few weeks before the feast the people in the tribe discovered that he had bought the cow for the feast but teased him when they found out which cow he bought. They said that he had made an awful choice and that it was the skinniest cow of all. This really confused the anthropologist and he thought that they were crazy because it was the fattest cow out there. So he tried to find another cow but couldn’t. When it came to the feast they cut open the cow and it was amazing how much meat there was and how delicious it was. The anthropologist said, “see I told you it had plenty of fat on it!” and all the bushman started laugh to the he thought it was just a joke. But he was confused by it and questioned why they would do that kind of a joke when he was giving them food. He later found out that it was part of their culture to talk down on others accomplishments, only to keep them humble and equal as a people. So because the anthropologist had not really tried to understand their culture from their point of view he thought they were being unkind and ungrateful, when really they were trying to help him.
I think that people everywhere have a difficult time understanding one another not just anthropologists. Its difficult to stay open minded to another’s idea and thought because we often put ourselves up as being better and knowing more than them. But if we try to understand and be open minded to other people and their culture and what they think is best, and respect that we will better be able to communicate and even appreciate one another.
