Top Banner

of 9

BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

Apr 07, 2018

Download

Documents

Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    1/9

    Introduction:the bizarre and themystical in modernsociety

    The hidden dimension of organisationPsychological and culturological explanations

    I

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    2/9

    2 3

    INTRODUCTIONI n th e f ie ld o f in te rp er so na l r el ati on sh ip s, n ume ro us s tu die s h av eb ee n c ar ri ed o ut o f e xt en de d k in sh ip r ela ti on s, d if fe re nt ty pe s o ffrie nd sh ip , ritu alis ed re la tio ns hip s, a nd a . h os t o f o th er ty pe s o f'in fo rma l', n on -c on tr ac tu al, r el ati on sh ip s th at p er va de th e whol ef ab ri c o f s oc ia l lif e. E x te ns iv e s tu di es i n t he USA and UK show t h ata g reat de al o f b usin ess is ~ ng ed and reg ulated , n ot by the law o fc on tr ac t, b ut b y n on -c on tr ac tu al me ch an ism s. S tu die s o f t he C ityo f L on do n h av e in dic ate d th at m illio ns o f p ou nd s w orth o f tra ns -a ct ion s a re conc luded dai ly w i thout t he u se o f document s, t hr ought he me ch an isms o f c us tomar y r ul es a nd p ra ct ic es t ha t a re o bs er ve dw ith in a d is tin ct c ultu re g ro up -th e C ity m en .In th e fie ld o f ritu al, th e re viv al o f re lig io us a ctiv itie s amo ng ala rg e p ro po rtio n o f th e p op ula tio n o f th e USA h as b ee n re po rte db y s ch ola rs . I n th e UK , a lt ho ugh Sunda y a tt en da nc e i n c hu rc h h asdwin dle d, th e d em an d o n o rg an is ed r elig io n fo r rite s o f p ass ag econ ti nue s w i th l it tl e change (Wil son 1969 :22 ). About f ou r mi ll ionAmer icans and three-quarters of a mi l lionBr i tons are af fi li a tedwi th-i n wh at h as b ee n d es cr ib ed a s th e g re ate st s ec re t s oc ie ty o n e ar th -F re ema so nr y (Dewar 1 966) .T h e o ve rwh elmin g ma jo rit y o f t he sem en are from the w ea lthy an d professio nal classes. T hey m eetp er io dic all y i n th en l oc al c en tr es a nd , b eh in d t he l oc ke d a nd we ll-guarded doors of their tem ples, they wear thecolourful ande labo ra te ly embro ider ed r ega li a, c ar ry t he j ewe ls , swords and o the remb lems o f o ff ic e, and pe rf orm the ir 'a nci en t' r it ua ls . These r it ua ls ,a nd th e b elie fs th at a re a ss oc ia te d w ith th em , a re a s d rama tic a ndas strange as those found in any tribal society in M rica. The'red isco ve ry of th e su perna tu ral' ha s been disc ussed b y m anyw rite rs (see, for exam ple, B erge r 1 96 9) an d su rv eys of su per-s tit io us b el ie fs a nd p ra ct ic es i n mode rn s oc ie ty h av e b ee n made byo th er s ( se e J ah od a 1 969) , in dic at in g ma ss iv e p re oc cu pa tio n w it hs uc h e so te ric a ct iv iti es a s f or tu ne t ell in g, w it ch cr af t a nd s or ce ry .In a re ce nt o ffic ia l do cume nt, S ir J oh n F os te r re po rts th at a la rg en umber o f p er so ns i n B rit ai n t od ay a re membe rs o f 'S ci en to lo gy ',a p seudo -r el ig iou s, p s eudo- sc ien ti fi c o rgan is at ion (Fost er 1971 ).O ne m ay also m en tio n he re the m any typ es o f 'h ipp y' g ro up ing st ha t have been formed du ri ng the l as t decade, w i th t he ir own b randso f ecs ta ti c and mys ti ca l pu r su it s. You th s f rom Europe and the USAhalt th ei r u ni ve rs ity s tu die s t o t re k r ev er en dy t o th e my sti cs o f t heO rie nt h op in g t o f in d n ew f ormul ae f or e xp la in in g t he me an in g o fl if e i n modern soc ie ty .

    INTRODUCTIONIn nume ro us c as es , r itu al b eh av io ur me rg es in dis tin gu is ha bl yw ith so -calle d cere mo nial b eh av io ur. In eve ry h our of th e d ayp ub lic d rama s a re e na cte d b y th e sta te , b y g ro up s o f a ll so rts, a ndby p er so ns i nt er ac tin g w it h o th er p er so ns . On e may i nc lu de u nd erth is h ea din g s uc h p atte rn s o f symb olic b eh av io ur a s th os e m an i-fested ~n~nn er s, e ti qu ett e, d re ss , g if t a nd v is it e xc ha ng es , e ati ngand dnnk ing toge ther . As Goffman (1969) shows , a ll ou r behaviou r

    i s i n f ac t couched in endl es s s er ie s o f d rama ti c pe rf ormances .. Ano the r t ype o f symbo li cbehav iou r can be found in the o rgani sa -tiO n of p lay o f all so rts, sp orts an d leisu re-tim e activ ities. Y eta no th er impor ta nt r ela te d f ie ld o f a c tiv ity i s t h at o f p opul ar a rt a ndd ram a th at is daily presen ted to m illion s o f p eo ple in cin em as,ra dio a nd te le vis io n p ro grammes , n ew sp ap ers, b oo ks a nd o n th estage.Al l th is i s t rue , not only of capital is t socie ties,as Marx main ta ined ,b ut a ls o o f s oc ia lis t s oc ie tie s th at a re o ff ic ia ll y o rg an is ed u nd er's cie ntific c ommun ism '. H ere emb lems , s lo ga ns , b an ne rs , m as spar ades , t id es , p a tr io ti c musi c and songs and , i nev it ab ly , t he 'wo rl d

    view ' o f d ialectic al m aterialism -these and a h ost o f all sorts ofoth er sy mb olic fo rm s p lay th eir p art in th e m ainten anc e o f th epo litic al order. T he co st in tim e, effo rt an d reso urces for bo thi nd iv id ua ls a nd g ro up s in s ta gin g a nd p er fo rm in g th es ; s ymbol icactivit ies is colossal .P sy ch olo gic al a nd c ul tu ro lo gic al e xp la na ti on sS om e o f th ese p atte rn s o f s ymbo lic a ctio n h av e some tim es b ee nexpl ai ned , o r r at he r eXp la inedaway , h is to ri ca ll y, a s ' cu lt ur al l ag s' .H ow ever, alth ou gh m an y o f th em are in deed surv ivals fro m th ep ast, th ey co ntinu e in to th e p rese nt, no t be cau se of inertia o r o fc on se rv atism, b ut b ec au se th ey p la y im po rta nt ro le s w ith in th econt empo ra ry soc ia l s e tt ing s. I ndeed someo f t hem a re r ev ived f romth e pa st to serv e in the sam e w ay . O the rs are o f recen t orig in an dyet others are being continuously created for new , or for old,p ur po se s. T h e h is to ry o f a c ult ur al t ra it w il l t ell u s v er y li ttl e a bo utits s oc ia l s ig nif ic an ce w ith in th e s itu atio n in w hic h it is fo un d a tp re sent . Thus a s I show lat er ( pp . 91 -8 ), a lt hough e thn ic it y i nvo lve sth e e xte nsiv e u se o f o ld c us toms a nd tr ad itio ns, it is n ot its elf th eou tcome o f cu lt ur al conserva ti sm or cont inu it y. The con ti nu it ie s o fcu sto ms are certain ly the re, b ut the ir fun ctio ns hav e ch ang ed .

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    3/9

    INTRODUCTIONWi th in th e c on tempo ra ry s it ua ti on e thn ic it y i s e ss en ti al ly a po lit ic alph eno men on , as trad ition al cu stom s are used on ly as idio ms an d asm ec ha nisms f or p olitic al a lig nm en ts .S im ila rly , a lth ou gh s ymbolic a ctio n is a lw ay s in vo lv ed in p sy ch icp ro cesses, p sy ch olo gy ca nn ot b y itself ex plain th e n atu re o f th ~sesy mbo lic fo rm s. C ollectiv e ritu al is n ot the prod uct of recu rnn gs po nta ne ou s in div id ua l c re ativ ity r es ultin g f rom r ec ur rin g p sy ch icstates. O n the contrary, for the m ajority of people it is the ritualth at re cr ea te s c er ta in p sy ch ic s ta te s in th e m in ds o f th e p ar tic ip an ts ,not the other way round. The ritual m ight have been originallyt he s pon ta ne ou s c re at io n o f a n i nd iv idu al w ith e xc l. us iv e a u tonomoussubjective experience, like a prophet or an artIst. B ut once thecrea te d symb ols a re a do pted b y a g ro up , th ey are n o lo ng er su bject-ive or individual. They becom e objective, in the sense that theyco nfro nt th e m em bers o f th e g ro up as th in gs th at ex ist o utsid e th eirpsyches an d th at w ill con strain th em in th eir beh avio ur. T hey alsob ec om e p ub lic , th e c olle ctiv e r ep re se nta tio ns o f a .g ro up .

    A s I sh ow la te r, p sy ch olo gy ca n ce rtain ly sh ed lig ht o n th e n ~tu reo f th e p sy ch ic 'o rig in ' o f s ym b o~ c a ctio n in g ~n er al. I t ~ contrl?~tes ig nif ic an dy towa rd s th e a na ly sI s o f s ym bo lic a nd a rtis tic c re atlV ltyan d o f th e p sy ch ic ex perien ce w hich is i?d u~ ed .b y th e p erfo rm an ~eo f c erem on ials an d ritu als. B ut th e so cIal slg mfic an ce o f s ym bo hcactio n can b e d isco vere d o nly w hen it is stu died w ith in th e co nte xto f s ocial relatio nsh ip s. S ym bo lic actio n is a n esse ntial p ro cess fo rth e d ev elo pm en t o f s elf ho od , b ut its p atte rn s a re p ro vid ed b y s oc ie tyan d are alw ay s lo ad ed w ith so cial co nse qu en ces , m an y o f w hich areu nin te nd ed b y th e a cto rs. T hu s th e sam e p atte rn o f symb olic actio nh as b oth p sy ch olo gic al an d so cia l co nseq uen ces at o ne a nd th e s a~ etim e. T o p ut it d iffere nd y, th e sam e p hen om en on , n am ely symb oh caction, can be eX plain ed psy cho logically an d so ciolog i~ l!. B utthese explanations are different and are developed W lthin tw ose parate co nce ptu al sch em es. E ven if th ey m ay some tim es s up po rto ne an oth er o r sh ed lig ht o n o ne an oth er, th ey sh ou ld n ev erth ele ssb e kept analy tically sep arate an d n ot co nfused on e w ith the o th er(se e L each 1 95 8; G lu ckman 1 96 4, 1 96 8; T urn er 1 .9 64 ). .S om e serio us atte mp ts h av e b een m ad e to e xp lain symb olic fo rm sin th eir o wn rig ht, in term s o f th eir o wn 'lo gic'. T wo m aj~ r o ~i~ nta-tions can be mentioned here. The one of a number of mdiVldualsch olars w ho env isage the develop men t of a 'science of sy mbo licb eh av io ur '. S om e in te re stin g, in te llig en t a nd im ag in ativ e f ormu la -

    INTRODUCTIONtio ns in th e 'interp retation' of sy mbo lic form s hav e b een m ad e b yth es e s ch ola rs . B ut th es e f ormu la tio ns h av e o fte n b ee n c on je ctu ra l,n on -v erifiab le, n on -cumu lativ e, 'm ean in gs' attrib uted to symb olsand are m ostly arrived at by sheer intu itio~ an~ indiv id ual, g ue~ s-work. The studies by these writers have mevl~bl~ been undIs-c ip lin ed ', in th e sen se th at th ey h av e h ad ? o s pe cif i~ a lI ~ o r fr~~ ofre fe ren ce an d h av e o ften w an dered in d iffere nt d ireC tio ns, m 1Xmgmeta ph ys ic s w ith lo gic , a rt, p sy ch olo gy , ~ he olo gy , lin gu i~ tic s. ~ ndhistory, frequently m arshalling im pressIve arra~s of m spm ngs ta te men ts in tu itio ns ap t illu stra tio ns an d q uo tatlO ns. A bo ve all,th ey o ff er ~ o c le ar p ro ~r amme f or f ur th e~ r es ea rc h a?~ no indic~t ionh ow th e su bject is to b e d ev elo pe d. I b eh ev e th at th IS IS w hy w nterslike L ang er (196 4) and G eertz (1 96 4), w ho ho ped to develop such as cien ce , comp lain o f h ow little h as b een a ch iev ~d . , .The other orientation is the m ore system atIc attem pt by LeV l-S tr au ss a nd b y th e p ro life ra tin g 's ch oo l.s ' o f h is f ollowe rs , to ~ xp la insym bo lic beh avio ur in te~ s. o f a 10 glcal .s~ ucture un derly mg allh um an th in kin g. B ut, as I m d1 cate la te r, th 1S 1 Sm ad e at th e ex pen seo f ig no rin g th e so cia l acto r - p olitical m ~n - w i~ h th e r~ su lt th at th eanalysis fails to deal w ith the dynam 1cs of m teraction betw ~enmen in society. Sym bols in Levi-StrauSs's system are lOgicalcategories, w hile in the dynam ics of socio-~l~al life they.are'v ale nc es ', b ein g n ot o nly c og nitiv e, b ut a ls o a g1 ta tiv e a nd c on ativ e.

    4

    O rien ta tio ns in s oc io lo gy an d p olitica l sc ie nc eS ymbo lic a ctio n ca n b e s ystema tic ally a na ly se d o nly w he n it isrelated to other variab les w ith w hich it is significantly in ter-connect ed . Publ ic , o r col le ct iv e, symbol s a re e ss en ti al ly obj ec ti vea nd a re in tima te ly r ela te d to s oc ia l f ac to rs . S o~ e. impo~an t c on -tr ib uti on s t o th eir a na ly sis h av e b ee n made w It hin SOC I0~ogy ..AsP ar so ns ( 19 51 :1 -1 6) p ut s i t, 'th e. c e~ tr a~ co~c e~n ~ f, soc1?10!pcalt heory i s w it h t he phenomena o f ms t1 tu tlOna li sa tlOn . I ns t1 tu tlOn-a lis atio n' w rit es B la u (1 969:6 7, 7 1) 'r ef er s to th e p ro ce ss es th atp er pe tu at e a s oc ia l p a~ er n a nd make . it e nd ur e. . . a nd th us o ut la stth e l iv es o f h uman b emg s. ' Unde rlymg t he who le p he nomenon o finsti tutionalisation is the symbolisation process. Social relations aredeveloped and ma in ta ined through symbol ic f orms an~ act ion . Theg reat soc io log is ts , among them Marx , Weber , Du rkhe~m, EdmundBurke, greatly il luminated the sociologicalinterconnectIOnsbetween

    5B

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    4/9

    INTRODUCTIONs oc ia l r ela tio ns a nd s ym bo lic a ctio n. Mo re r ec en dy , s om e im po rta ntc on trib utio ns in th is re sp ec t ha ve b ee n m ad e b y so cio lo gists in th estudy of norm s and vaJues, in the developm ent of the sociology ofreligion, of art, ando thought system s. B ut a num ber of factors -p ra ct ic al , t he or et ic al , m e th odol og ic al a nd epi st emo lo gi ca l - haveseriously thw arted the developm ent of a sociology of sym bolicb eh avio ur (f or a d is cu ssio n o f s om e o f th ese p ro blem s s ee D un ca n1 96 8 a nd 1 96 9) .Sociology has been developed in the study of the advancedso cia lly d iff er en tiate d in du stria l so cie tie s o f th e W est. T he se a reh ig hly comp le x s oc ie tie s w ith a be wild erin g a rra y o f fo rm al a nd o fl es s f ormal g ro up in gs , r ep re se nt in g a v ar ie ty o f i nt er es ts , c ompet in g,f ed er atin g a nd m an oe uv rin g to a ch ie ve th eir e nd s. O ft en in cr ea sin gdifferentiation an d specialisation result in the separation betw een ag ro up a nd its le gitim atin g cu lt o f sy mb olic fo rm atio ns . In th is w ayid eo lo gie s b ec om e s ep ar ate ly o rg an is ed a nd th e lin ks b etw ee n th emand the groups that created them becom e blurred or 'hidden'. Indue course the now autonom ous sym bolic cult is adopted by otherin te re st g ro up s a nd its f un ctio n m ay th er eb y b e d ra st ic ally c ha ng ed .M or e fre qu en dy , th e s am e cu lt c an se rv e diffe re nt in te re st g ro ups ,p ro vid in g e ac h w ith d if fer en t o rg an is atio na l f unc tio ns . F ur th erd if fe re ntia tio n le ad s to th e f ra gm en ta tio n o f th e c ult in to s pe ci alis eds ec to rs , e ac h p romo te d b y a s ep ar ate o rg an is atio n. A n in te re st g ro upm ay thus construct its cult from draw ing on the form ulations ands er vic es o f d if fe re nt c ult o rg an is atio ns lik e c hu rc he s. F or e xamp le ,in th eir e ff or ts to a rtic ula te a n in fo rm al o rg an is atio n to c o- or din ateth eir p olitic al a ct iv itie s, th e C re ole s o f S ie rr a L eo ne h av e a do pte d avariety of beliefs and practices from organised church religion,f ro m th e F re em as on ic or der , a nd fr om o th er s pec ia lis ed o rg an is a-tio ns (fo r de ta ils s ee b elo w p p. 8 3-4 , 1 7 -9 , 1 12- 18 ).

    The com plexity resulting from all this is further intensifiedth ro ug h th e d yn am ics o f change whic h a ff ec t th e d if fe re nt e leme ntsof a group organisation differently, so that som e elem ents w illc ha ng e, w hile o th er s w ill h ar dly c ha ng e, th ou gh th eir f un ctio ns m ayalter. A nd, as these societies are large in scale, a holistic view ofs ym bo lic f orms a nd s oc ia l r ela tio ns hi ps w ill b e a lm os t im po ss ib le .

    A t the sam e tim e, sociologists hav~ inevitably been forced tos pe cia lis e, s om e in d iff er en t ty pe s o f s ocia l re la tio ns, o th er s - fe win n um be r - in s ym bo lic s ystem s. A nd a s s oc io lo gists h av e o fte nb ee n k ee n to d ev elo p th eir r es ea rc h o n 's cie ntif ic li ne s', th ey te nd ed

    INTRODUCTIONto a pp ly rig oro us q ua ntific atio n to th e p he nomena th ey stu die d.G ra du ally th is h as le d to a c on ce ntra tio n o n e as ily q ua ntifia blep he nomena a nd to th e n eg le ct o f p he nomena th at a re n ot g iv en tointensive quanti tive analysis .A s s ymbol ic f orma ti on s and a cti on a re e ss en ti al ly d ramat is ti ca nd a re t hu s not g iv en t o d ir ec t a nd p re cis e measur ement, l es s a ndle ss s oc io logi sts h ave bot he re d t o s tudy t hem . Imper cepti bl y, th ephenomena tha t a re no t s tud ied cometo be rega rded assoc io log ica llyin sig nif ic an t a nd th is p erp etu ate s fu rth er th e v iew th at m od emsoc ie ty i s p re dom inandy s ecula r, m anipul at iv e and r at io na l. B uthow wi ll t he process o f ins ti tu ti ona li sa ti on , which i s r ega rded as thec en tra l c on ce rn o f s oc io lo gic al th eo ry , b e a na ly se d w ith ou t th ede ta il ed analys is o f symboli c forms and act ion?Politicalscience solvesthe problems of institutional differentiationa nd o f sc ale b y c on ce ntra tin g o n th e stu dy o f o ne v aria ble -p ow er,w ithin the total universe of the state. Instead of studying thevague ly conce iv ed 's oc ia l r ela ti on sh ip s' w ith wh ich soc io logy isc once rn ed , i t c oncent ra te s on t he s tudy o f power r el at io ns hi ps , o fsubord ina tion , supe ro rd ina tion , and equa li ty in va rious combina -tio ns. B ut o f co urse th is so lu tion is acc om plish ed b y p oliticals cie nc e a t th e e xp en se o f its b ec om in g a n e ss en tia lly d es crip tiv eendeavour . I n t he wor ds o f one o f i ts p ra ct iti on er s (Young 1968:5 ),i ts e ff or t is mai nl y 'to d eli ne at e r ele vant phenomena, t o g ener at euseful class if icationsand breakdowns, and to pinpoint the importantcharacter is t ics of pol it icalact ivi ties' . Furthermore, even the descr ip-tiv e pictu re ten ds in the w ork o f m any p olitical scien tists to b el im i ted to the organi sa ti on and ac tivi ti es o f the s ta te and of fo rma llyorgani sed groupings w i th in the s ta te .S om e po litica l sc ie ntists e xten d th e domain o f th eir stud y toinc lude the po li ti ca l a spect s o f formal ly non-po li ti ca l i ns ti tu ti ons,such as rel ig ion , and the reby comec lose r to the s tudy of the rel at ionb etw ee n s ymbo lic a ctio n a nd p ow er r ela tio ns . S om e o f th em h av ebeen concerned with the study of 'influence ', usual ly that of business,w it hi n l oc al c ommun it ie s. O th er s h ave s tudi ed poli tic al , m a in lystate, sym bols. B ut these studies have been m arginal and thescholars engaged in them are of ten branded as 'pol it ical sociologists '.T he ir re se arc h h as b ee n fra gm en ta ry , w ith ou t fo rm in g a s pe cia l's choo l' t hr ough t he a ccumu la ti on o f t he ir f in dings . T he ir a na ly si sh as n ot b ee n sy stema tic . A bo ve a ll, th ey s uffe r from a n im plic itassumption that pol it ical symbols are consciously intended symbols6 7

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    5/9

    INTRODUCTIONand when some ofthem write of 'pol it icalsocial isa tion ' their accountsa re mechan ic al a nd uni dimen si on al . And t hi s l ea ds t he d is cu ss io nto a no th er m ajo r d iffic ulty in th e stu dy o f symb olism in mod ernsociety.Mos t o f s oc io lo gy and po li ti ca l s ci en ce h av e b een d ev el op ed byscho lars stu dying their ow n societies. T his m eans that theses ch ola rs a re th ems el ve s p er so na lly c au gh t u p in th e s ame body ofs ymbo ls wh ic h t hey t ry t o d ecod e. Mos t s ymbol s a r e l ar ge ly r oo te din the unconscious m ind and are thus difficult to identify anda na ly se b y p eo ple wh o liv e u nd er t hem . A i; t he p ro ve rb s ay s: I t ishardly a fish th at can d iscover the existence of w ater. T he veryconcept s and ca tegor ie s o f thought wh ich socio log is ts and po li ti ca ls cie nti sts emplo y in th eir a na ly sis a re t hemse lv es p ar t o f th e v er yp ol iti ca l id eo lo gy wh ic h t he y tr y to u nd er st an d. It is tr ue t ha t th isp arad ox (M an nh eim 1 93 6) c an to some e xte nt b e re so lv ed b y th es low, cumula tive, empir ica l and comparat ive research . Bu t l it tl e hasbeen achieved in th is way so far . Th is i sno t on ly because socio log is tsa nd p oli tic al s cie nti sts a re d ir ec te d in t he c ho ic e o f p ro blems f orr es ea rc h b y t he d on or s o f r es ea rc h f un ds (u su ally in te re st g ro up s,in clu din g th e sta te ) an d b y th e c urren t p ro blems o f th e d ay . B utbecause there is an elem ent of n ihilism in th is line of research.S ymbo ls a re e sse ntial fo r th e d ev elo pm en t a nd m ain te na nc e o fs oc ia l o rd er . To do t he ir j ob e ff ic ie ndy t h ei r s oc ia l f un ct io n s mustrema in la rg ely u nc on scio us a nd u nin te nd ed b y th e ac to rs . O nceth es e fu nctio ns b ecome k nown to th e ac to rs , th e s ymbo ls lo se ag re at d ea l o f t he ir e ff ic acy.Th is i s o ne o f t he r ea sons why s tud en tso f so cie ty a re o ften so 're vo lu tio na ry '. B ut a ga in st th is, it ca n b ea rg ue d th at th e symb ols o f so ciety are m an ip ula te d b y in te re stg ro up s fo r th eir o wn b en efits a nd th at u nle ss w e u nd ersta nd th en atu re o f th e s ymbo ls a nd o f th e w ay s i n w hic h th ey a re m an ip u-l at ed we sha ll b e exp lo it ed wi th ou t our knowledg e. Th is o f c ou rs e i sa me ta- soc io log ica l i s sue , conce rn ing the uses o f socio logy. Bu t thep ar ad ox th at Ma nn he im p os ed is t he re a nd it is a p ro blem th at is a tt he b as is o f a ll s oc ia l s c ie nc e, mo re p ar ti cu la rl y s o a t t he b as is o f a nypolit ico-symbolic analysis.

    INTRODUCTION

    m en t o f a so cio lo gy o f symb olic b eh av io ur, h av e ~ een e~ sil~ o ver-come b y so cial a nth ro po lo gists in th e co urse o f th eIr s~ dles l~ pre-indu strial societies. T hese so cieties hav e h ad relatIvely sIm pletechn ologies, little in stitutional d ifferentiation , and have beensm all in scale. Th e anthrop ologist w ork in g on them has very oftenb een a stran ger from a different cu ltu re, .an d .w as thu~ in a.betterpo sition th an eith er th e n ati~ e ?r t he s oc lO log lS t ~ tudymg. h is ownso cie ty to stu dy th e so cial slg mfica nce o f symb oh c b eh av lO ur.

    I m ust hasten to say that even un der these m etho dolog ically an de pis temo lo gic ally f av ou ra ble c on ditio ~s ,. s ~c ia l a nth ro po lo gy h asn ot y et d ev elo ped in to a w ell-d efin ed d lsclp lm e. S ~m e ?f w ha~ ~ oeso n un der its b anner is d escriptiv e ethn ograp hy w Ith h ttle o ngm ala naly sis o r th eo ry . S ocio lo gists are sometim es rig ht in say in g th atw hat saves som e anthro polog ists is their ethn ography . R ead ers o fan th ro po lo gical m on og rap hs u su ally fin d in trin sic in terest in th eaccoun ts of the strang e custom s o f o ther peoples, even w hen theyfind little or no theory in these monographs. If you take ~waye th no gr ap hy f rom s om e a nth ro p? lo gi~ al.m o no gr ap h~ ~ he re w ill b ev er y l it tl e l ef t wh ic h is o f s oc io log Ic al s lgm fi ca ?c e. T h is I S~~ly pardydue to the em phasis placed by anthropologIsts on e~pm cal fiel~d ata an d to th eir in itial reserv atio ns ag ain st sp ec ulatIv e arm ch al1 'th eo ris in g. S oc ia l a nth ro po lo gy b e~ an b y c ritic ~s in g s ~c io lo gy f orhaving a m ethodology but no subject-m atter; It has It~elf so. faren ded by h aving a great deal of subject-m atter ~ ut relatIv ely li~ em eth od olo gy o r th eo ry . In deed a fe w lead in g .s~ ~lal anthropol~gtstsh av e ex pressed se rio us d ou bts ab ou t th e p osslb lh ty o f d ev elo pm g as cie nc e o f s oc ie ty , a nd E va ns -P ritc ha rd ( 19 63 ) h .a s g ?n e s o f ar a s. tostate that a w hole century of extensive studIes m com paratIvesocio lo gy and anthrop ology h as yielded not a. s ing le fo rm~la ti o~s im il ar t o t ho se d is co ve re d b y th e n atu ra l SC Ie nc es .And, m hisrecent Frazer Lecture George M urdock (1972) described allth eo ris in g in a nth ro po l~ gy a s b ein g my th olo gi~ al, p hilo so p~ ic al. o rth eo lo gica l, a nd co nclu ded th at an th ro po lo gy s o nly co ntrIb utIo nt o know le dge i s i ts c olo ss al e th nog ra phy . ., .T h es e e xt reme v iews howeve r a re c once rn ed p rmc lp al ly W i th p rob -lem s fac in g all th e so cial scien ces an d n ot an th ro p~ lo gy a!o ne. D e-s pi te i ts ma ny s ho rt com ing s, s oc ia l a nt hr opo logy ha~ made Im~o~nta ch ie vemen ts i n t he s oc io logi ca l a na ly sis o f s ymboh sm . Cons ld ermgth e sm all n um be r o f its p ractitio ners an d th e v ery lim ite d res ou rcesth at h av e b een allo ca te d to its d ev elo pm en t, it h as b een u niq ue in th e

    T he ap pro ac h from p olitica l a nth ro po lo gyT he m eth od olo gic al p ro blems o f d iffe ren tia tio n, sc ale an d th ep ar adox o f s oc io lo gi ca l k nowledg e t ha t h av e impeded t he d ev el op -8 9

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    6/9

    INTRODUCTIONwho le h !sto ry o f so cio -cu ltu ra l s tu dies in th at it h as p ro du ced acumu lanve body o f hypothe se s about t he soc ia l s igni fi canceo f t hesymbo lism of 14 nship, ritual and cerem on ial. It can thus shedsubs tan tial l igh t on the na ture and processes of inst itut ional isa tion~ th in a w id e c ompar ati ve p ers pe ct iv e. What is mo re , a nth ro po lo -g ts ~s :u -e n o ~onge r c on fi nin g t hems el ve s t o. th e s tu dy o f tr ib alSOCIe ne s.T he ir r es ea rc h n ow ext en ds to c ov er p ea sa nt s oc ie ti esu nd er th e g re at l ite ra te tr ad itio ns o f I sl am , H in du ism Buddh ismand Chr is tia ni ty . T he re i s a lr ea dy a g re at d ea l o f a nth ro po lo gic all ite ra tu re o n c ommun iti es i n I nd ia , Burma , t he M iddle E as t Nor thM rica a nd L atin America . In M rica a nd e lsewh ere re sea rd h is n ol on ge r c on fin ed to ru ra l a re as b ut is b ein g c ar rie d o ut a ls o i n u rb ancen tr es t o dea l w it h more int en si ve and comp lex a reas o f soc ia l l i few he re th e s tru gg le fo r e co nomic an d p olitic al p ow er w ith in th ef ramework o f mode rn s ta te o rgan is at ions i s i nt en se . As F ir th point sout (195~:18), a ltho~gh i ts techniques are 'micro-soc io logica l' , i tsformulanons. can be macro-sociological '.Bu t t he que st ion shou ld s ti ll b e exp lo red whethe r soc ia l anthro-po l?~ can .adap t i ts~l f t ~ t h. e s~dy ~f mo?e rn , l ar ge -s ca le comp lexsoc~enes wtth?~t los t~g t ts tdent tty, I .e . WIthout thereby becoming.socIOlogy,pohncal SCIenceor economics.

    S~al anthrop?log is ts . a re t hemse lves being . f o rc ed by a var ie ty?f CIrcumstancesmto facmg this ques tion . The 'pr imi tive ' societ iesI~ w,hoses tudy they ha~e spec ia l ised are be ing rapid ly incorpora tedWI th in t he new developmg s ta te s whose formal s tr uc :t ur e i s s im i la rto th at o f th e more d ev elo ped c ou ntrie s. T he n ee d to a na ly se th ep roce ss es under ly ing soc io -cul tu ra l change in both the develop ingand the developed soc ie ti es has become c ruci al .I t i s s ympt omat ic o f ~ ll t his th at s tu de nts o f a nt hr op ol og y a re n olonge r mtel le ct ua ll y s tImul at ed by e thnog raph ic sub je ct -ma tt era lone . Many o~ th em now come to th e u niv er si ty a fte r h av in g b ee nexposed to for eIgn cul tu re s, and the accoun ts o f t he b iz ar re cus tomso f t radi ti onal t ri ba l soc ie ti es no longer exc it e t he ir imag inat ion . I nth e a ge o f th e jumb o je t, o f in te rn atio na l y ou th o rg an isa tio ns, o fsc hemes fo r th e e xc ha ng e o f stu den ts b etw ee n co un trie s a nd o fmass medi a o f i nformat ion and communica ti on , e thnog raphy i s nolo ng er n ew s. The le ss on o f c ult ur al r ela ti vism th at o ur c ultu re isnot the only valid one, has already sunk in. indeed som e of ou ryouth con ti nue to be conce rned wit h exo ti c cul tu re s but , p ar adoxi -cally enough, they do so in an attem pt, not to learn about the

    INTRODUCTIONcustom s of th ose cu ltu res, b ut to gain insig hts into the m ean in g ofth e life of m an in con tem po rary society, th e ration al and the n on -ratio nal in h is beh aviou r, his creativity an d d estructiven ess, h ispo te nti al it ie s a nd h is u lt im a te d es ti ny .

    Equally symptomatic, though for different reasons, are thein creasing d ifficu lties w hich anthrop olog ists en cou nter now ing ettin g a ccess to th eir 'trad itio nal su bject-m atter'. T he n ew s tateso f th e T hir d Wo rld h av e a cc umu la te d a s tr on g d is lik e o f a nth ro po lO "-g ists w hom th ey often asso ciate w ith reaction and im perialism .A lthou gh m an y o f these states can and do b enefit a g reat d eal fro mth e w ork o f an th ro po lo gists , th ey are m ore in terested in th e stu dy o fth e p ro blems o f th e d ay : e co nomic d ev elo pm en t, p olitic al m od er ni-satio n, urb anisation , m igration and em plo ym en t. It has recen tlyb ec om e d if fic ult - in s om e c as es in de ed im p os sib le - f or a nth ro po lo -g ists to get entran ce p erm its to m any o f the develop ing coun tries.E ve n wh en a n a nth ro po lo gis t is 'f os te re d' b y a u niv er sity d ep ar tm en tin the country where he wants to do research, he has to wait forsev eral m on ths to get an entry perm it. A lth ou gh this seem s to be anu nreaso nab le p olicy o n th e p art o f th ose g ov ernme nts, it ca n ea silyb e see n as an in dex to a fu nd am en tal b ias in an th ro po lo gy , resu ltin gfrom th e. e xp erien ce o f th e co lo nial p erio d. U ntil v ery rece ntly , th ea nth ro po lo gis t h as u su ally b ee n a c itiz en o f th e c olo nia l p ow er w hilethose studied by him have been natives of colonies or of form ercolonies. This has been imperceptibly built into the verym eth od olo gy an d co nc ep ts o f fie ld w ork an d o f an aly sis. E ven w hena few anthrop olog ists carried o ut their stud ies w ith in dev elopedc ou ntries , o r w ith in th eir o wn c ou ntries, th ey w ere le d b y a n um be rof factors to study groupings that are regarded as low in socialstatu s, lik e farm in g settlem en ts, w ork in g-class u rb an ce ntres an dimm ig ra nts fr om u nd erd ev elo pe d c ou ntrie s. T he s am e te nd en cy h asb ee n o bs er ve d w ith in s oc io lo gy its elf . S oc io lo gic al 'f ie ld w o rk ' h asvery often been carried out by sociologists from a m iddle-classs oc ia l b ac kg round among wo rk ing- cl as s popu la ti on s.

    Mo re s ig nif ic an t th an th es e 'e xte rio r' f ac to rs is th e th eo re tic al a ndme thodo log ic al c ro ss -r oa ds a t wh ic h s oc ia l a nt hr opol ogy f in d s i ts el f.T here a re m an y so cial an th ro po lo gists w ho are n o lo ng er sa tisfiedw it h me re c or re la ti on s b etwe en i ns ti tu ti on s w it hi n a s ta ti c s tr uc tu re ,or system , but seek now to probe deeper into the processes ofin stitu tio na lis atio n its elf, in to th e u nd er ly in g n atu re o f o blig atio n,in to th e a ll-p erv ad in g p ro ces ses o f symb olisatio n an d h en ce ofthe

    10 II

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    7/9

    INTRODUCTIONd ia lec tic s o f s oc io -c ultu ral c ha ng e. A nd this c alls fo r the d eve lo p-ment of a more dynamic, more experimental, more analyticala pp ro ac h, th an th at o f 's tr uc tu ra l- fu nc tio na lism' w hic h h as h ith er top re vailed in o ne fo rm o r a no th er.

    The main' obstacle to the development of such a dynamicap pro ach is th at d ur in g its fo rm ativ e y ea rs so cial an th ro po lo gy w asconceived in such a way as to make its methods and conceptsapplicable to the study of m ainly 'prim itive' societies. This w asneatly sum med up by Fortes (1953:38) in his inaugural lecture inC am brid ge in 1 95 2:

    INTRODUCTIONtheoretical issues involved by adopting the motto: 'we are allsociologists' .

    B ut m any others who for ('ne reason or another are com mi~edto th e s oc ia l a nth ro polo gic al a pp roa ch , an d w ho ar e at th e sa me tIm ein te re ste d in th e stu dy o f m od ern comp le x s oc ie ty , a re n ow p rob in gin to th e p ote ntialities o f th eir c on ce pts an d te ch niq ue s fo r the stu dyo f c on tempo ra ry i nd us tr ia l s oc ie ty .This is of course not just a matter of labelling disciplines.Academically it will make little or no difference whether thea na ly sis o f s oc io -s ym bo lic in te rd ep en de nc e w ill b e r eg ar de d a s p ar tof sociology or of political science or of social anthropology. T heproblem is m uch deeper than that. Social anthropology is not thes ocio lo gy o f p rim itiv e s ocie ty a ny m ore th an s ocio lo gy is th e so ciala nth rop olo gy of m od ern so ciety . A nth ro po lo gists sp ec ialis e in th esystem atic observation and analysis of the dram a of custom , or ofsym bolic behaviour generally. T hey pose m ajor questions aboutm an , s ocie ty a nd c ultu re, b ut se ek to ta ck le th ese qu estio ns t~ ro ughin te ns iv e f ie ld w or k in sma ll a re as o f s oc ia l lif e a nd th ro ug h n go ro usc ompar at iv e a na ly si s d ev el op ed i n t he c ou rs e o f e xt en si ve c umu la ti veexperience in the study of a variety of cultural codes in differentp arts o f th e w orld .

    The first line for probing into the potentialities of socialanthropology in the analysis of the dynam ics of socia-sym bolicp he nomen a in c on tem po ra ry ind us tria l s ocie ty is to re -e xam in e them ajo r m eth od olo gic al a nd th eo re tic al a ss um ptio ns o f th is d is cip lin ein the light of nearly four decades of cum ulative developm ents inb ot h t he ory and sub je ct -ma tt er .

    Th e t he or et ic al ly s ig ni fi ca nt f ea tu re s o f p rimi ti ve s oc ie ti es a re t he irh om og en eity o f c ultu re , r ela tiv e s ta bility a nd la ck o f in stitu tio na ld if fe re nti atio n. Wh er ev er th es e c ha ra cte ris tic s o cc ur to ge th er th et he or ie s a nd me th od s o f s oc ia l a n th ro po lo gy c an b e app li ed .T he im plic atio ns fo r th e stu dy o f c omple x s oc ie ty a re o bv io us .As thi s soci ety i s cu ltural ly he te rogeneous, cont inual ly chang ing ,

    and inst itutional ly differentia ted, the theor ies and methods of socialan th ropology do no t apply. Th is v iew f it ted we ll w i th the evolut ion -a ry formulat ions of the great sociolog is tso f the turn of the cen tu ry ,w ho saw a s ig nific an t q ua lita tiv e d if fe re nc e b etw ee n th e s oc io -c ul tu ra l n at ur e o f p rimi tiv e s oc ie ty and th at o f i ndus tr ia l c omp lexsoc ie ty . P rim it ive soc ie ty was said to be regu la ted by non- ra ti ona lc us toms, whi le indu st ri al s oc ie ty was s aid t o b e dom inat ed by th erational ity of bureaucracy. Social anthropology and sociology wereb ranche s o f compar at iv e s oc io logy . T he one was conce rn ed w itht he s oc io logy o f p rimi tiv e s oc ie ty ; t he o th er w it h t he s oc io logy o findustrial society.D urin g th e 1 96 0s some a nth ro po lo gists d rew th e o bv io us c on -c lu sions . T hos e o f th em who con ti nu ed to be i nt er es te d i n th e s tudyof 'pr imitive' societiespursued the rapidly shrinking number of suchsoc ie ti es , e i th er by concent ra ti ng on t he s tudy o f mo re r emo te andm ore iso late d p opu latio ns o r b y

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    8/9

    INTRODUCTIONm etaph ysical on th e o ther. T wo sou rces of th e o bligato ry th at arecom mon to bo th 'p rim itiv e' an d ind ustrial m an are d iscussed. T hefirst is th e co ntin uo us stru gg le o f m an to ach iev e p erso nal id en tity ,o r selfh oo d. T he sec on d is h is co ncern w ith th e p eren nial p ro blem so f h um an e xisten ce, lik e life an d d eath , fo rtu ne an d m isfo rtu ne . O nb oth fron ts m an reso rts to sym bo lic actio n, in the cou rse of w hichh e c on tin uo us ly c re ate s a nd r ec re ate s h is o ne ne ss , a nd a ls o d ev elo pss olu tio ns to th e b ig , e ss en tia lly ir re so lv ab le , q ue stio ns o f e xis te nc e.M an is th us im pelled to c reate symb ols a nd to en gag e co ntin uo uslyi n symbol ic a c ti v it ie s .

    B ut in divid ual creativity is lim ited an d m ost m en d ep end fo r them ost part on the sym bolic patterns given to them by the groups tow hich they belong and by society generally. These groups oftenm anipulate not only the sym bols that they hand over to the indi-v idu al bu t also th e inten sity o f m an 's 'need' for th ese sy mbo ls. F orexam ple, death, w hich poses a perennial problem for all m en, ish eav ily symb olis ed a nd c erem on ialised in some so cie ties an d m uchles s so in o th ers. In th e o ne cas e it is h ig hly d ram atise d, ex ag geratedand brought frequently to men's attention, w hile in others it ismuch l es s emphas is ed .Chapter 5 s hows h ow u nd er c er ta in s tr uc tu ra l c ir cum sta nc es s om ein te re st g ro up s w h ic h c an no t o rg an is e th em se lv es a s f orma l a ss oc ia -tio ns m anip ulate different fo rm s o f sym bo ls in order to articulatein fo rm al o rg an is atio na l f un ctio ns . E ve rywh er e, M a n th e S ymbolis tand M an the P olitical act on on e an other. O ften, different fo rm s o fsym bols are exp loited to ach ieve o ne org an isatio nal functio n an done , f orm o f s ymbol s i s e xp lo it ed t o a rt ic ul at e d if fe re nt o rg an is at io n alfu nction s. T he d iscussio n co vers bo th th e b asic o rgan isation alfu nction s of in terest gro up s an d th e vario us sym bo lic fo rm s th ata re o fte n e xp lo ite d to a rtic ula te th em .

    Th e abstract fo rm ulation s o f the first five ch apters are finallyd iscussed in term s of eth no grap hic case stu dies in chap ter 6 . T hisco ncentration of do cum entation an d illustration in a fin al part ofth e m o no gr ap h, in ste ad o f s p re ad in g th e m ate ria l in th e te xt, h as b ee nm ade in order to avoid giving haphazard, though plausible, 'aptillu stratio ns' tak en ou t o f th eir co ntex t. Fo r the b enefit o f generalr ea de rs w h o a re n ot f am ilia r w ith a bs tr ac t a nth ro po lo gic al c on ce ptsa nd d eta ile d e th no gr ap hy , c ro ss -r efe re nc es to th e e th no gr ap hic c as esare given in the earlier parts of the text. To ease the difficultyfu rth er, th e fo llo win g p arag rap hs g iv e a b rief s urv ey o f th e c ases.

    INTRODUCTIONA ll the cases cited are of-interest gro up s that fo r so me reaso n or

    an oth er c an no t o rg an ise th em selv es fo rm ally . T he d iffe ren t ty pe so f c ases are m ean t to d em on strate h ow d iffere nt s ym bo lic fo rm s areadopted to articulate the sam eorganisational functions underd iffe re nt c on ditio ns . F irst to b e co nsid ered are in terest g ro up s th ate xp lo it e th nic ity in th eir o rg an is atio n in th e ~ on temp or ar y s itu ati? n.T hese gro up s m anipu late v alues, m yth s, ntuals an d cerem om alsfrom th eir cultu ral trad itio n to solve th eir basic o rgan isation alp rob lem s.To t he c as ua l ob se rv er e thn ic it y i s ta ke n a s a mani fe st ati o~o f c on se rv atism, s ep ar atism a nd s ta gn atio n, w h en o n c ar ef ul a na ly sI Sw e d is co ve r th at it is a d yn am ic o rg an is atio na l m ec ha nism in vo lv in gin tensive interactio n w ith o ther grou ps. E thn icity is sho wn to bee ssent ia ll y a po li ti ca l phenomenon .E th nic ity is p re se nte d f ir st, b ec au se it th ~ows in to r elie f, o r r at~ erd ram atis es, th e m ore g en era l, b ut less o bv Io us, p ro cesses b y ~ hIc hthe sym bolic patterns of behaviour im plicit in the style of hfe, orth e 's ub -c ultu re ', o f a g ro up d ev elo ps to a ch ie ve b as ic o rg an is atio na lfunctions. This is show n in the contrasting case of the culture ofthe apparently highly individualistic groups of elites, w ith aparticular attention to the business elite of the C ity of Londo~.H ere, th e elite speak th e sam e lang uage an d presum ably p artake mthe sam e culture of the w ider society, but w hen one looks closelyinto their style of life one w ill discover subtle peculiarities - inac cen t, m an ner o f lin gu istic ex pre ssio n, sty le o f d re ss, p attern ~ o ffrien dsh ip an d o f m arriag e, etiq uette, m an ne rs - th at a re o rg am sa -tio nally in stru men tal in d ev elo pin g b ou nd arie s, comm un icatio n,an d o ther m ech anism s for th e org anisatio n o f th e gro up. Th e eliteth us c o- or din ate th eir c or po ra te a ctiv itie s th ro ug h th eir s ty le o f lif e.

    In th e C ;ls es o f b oth e th nicity an d eliten ess, d iffe re nt symb olicfo rm s are c om bin ed to ach iev e th e sam e o rg an isatio nal fu nc tio ns.In contrast the third group of cases demonstrate the variedo rg an isa tio n~ l p oten tialities o f o ne symb olic fo rm - relig io n. H erei t i s s hown how r el ig io u s b el ie fs , s en time nt s, r it ua ls a nd o rg an is at io nb ec ome a ls o i ns tr umenta l i n c o- or di na ti ng t he c or po ra te o rg an is at io no f i nt er es t g roups .T his is f ollowe d b y c as es o f a rtic ula tio n o f in fo rm al o rg an is atio nin terms of secret symbolic activities. A detailed case study ofF reem aso nry am on g th e C reo les o f S ierra L eo ne se rv es to in dicatehow highly privileged groups almost everywhere pla~e greate mp hasis o n 'p riv acy ' a s m ea ns o f p re ven tin g g en eral p ub lics from

    1514

  • 8/3/2019 BOOK_CH1_Two-Dimensional Man - Power and Symbolism in Complex Society (Abner Cohen)

    9/9

    17

    INTRODUCTIONd is co ve rin g th e o rg an is atio na l m ec ha nisms th at e na ble th es e g ro up sto de velo p an d m ain tain the ir p riv ileg ed po sition . In all po litic als yste ms, th e m en at th e to p dev elo p a 'm ystiq ue' w hich raises themabove t he 1 p. ul ~t ud e, v al id ate s th ei r s ta tu s i n t he e ye s o f t he ir p ub li csan d also con Vlnc es the m en themselv es o f the ir o wn 'rig ht' to the irs up er io r p os itio n in th e s oc ie ty .

    T he f in al g ro up o f c as es p re se nte d in vo lv e o rg an is atio na l a rtic u-lati?n . thro ug h the m an ipu lation of fem ale sy mbo lism . In n early allsO CIeties a numb er o f role s and ch ara cteristics o f w om an ho od aremanipulated to develop the female image into one of the mostp o~ en t s~ bols w hich is eX ploited in a v ariety of w ay s in the o rga ni-sation of interest groups and in the struggle for power betweenthem: ~ ide~ lo gy :vh ich m igh t o rigin ally be an esse ntially m alecre ation IS umv ersa l~s ed -a nd v alida ted in term s of m yth s, v alu esand norm s that are inculcated, through continual socialisation inthe females of the society as well. W omen bear children and thusaffec t recru itm en t to g rou ps, a re pro du ctiv e w orke rs in th e ho use -hold or outside it, provide sexual pleasure for m en, are usuallyentrusted with the socialisation of the young and can thus affectth eir se? tim en ts , loy alties a nd style o f life, en sure sta ble dome stic~ nd s OC lo-cu ltura l arra ng em ents to en able m ales to be m ob ile, a ndin. m any. places can hold property in their ow n right and can thusa lIe na te It fr~ m m en to m en th rou gh in herita nce . T his m ultiplicitya nd . c om pleXity o f v alu es , c on tr ad ic to ry m ea nin gs , s en su ality a ndse ntIm ents, an d a ho st o f oth er ch ara cteristics of w om anh oo d ha vem a?~ it po ssible to tran sform the fe male 'm ystiq ue' in to a p ow erfulp olI tic al s ym bo l. T he p atte rn o f t h e m ov em en t o fw ome n in m ar ria gein and between groups is intimately interconnected with the? is trib utio n of p ow er in s ocie ty . R elation s o f affin ity es ta blish edin ~ne ge?er~tIon generate relationships of m atrilaterality andpatrllaterality I~ the nex t. T he allian ce estab lishe d by the m arriag ebe c.o me s a c ou sinh oo d. T he m en b ecome . c lose ly in te rrelated in ava ne ty of w ay s. T hree ca ses fro m differe nt soc io-c ultura l co ntex tsare .discusse?: The first is of a small num ber of wealthy A nglo-J~wlsh famIlIes who started, at about the beginning of themneteenth century, to exchange their women in marriage andthus developed w ithin a few decades into a 'cousinhood alliance'which was used as an organisational mechanism in the effortsto r~move the civic disabilities from which Jews suffered atthe time. The next case shows how the Creoles of Sierra Leone16

    INTRODUCTIONd ev elo pe d a 'c ou si nh ood n etwo rk ' - a ga in th ro ugh th e e xc ha ng eo f women b etwee n f am ili es - whic h th ey u se in th e d ev elo pm en ta nd ma in te na nc e o f t he ir p riv il eg ed pos iti on w ith in S ie rr a L eonesociety.. The final case demonstrates how in some Arabcommun it ie s i n I sr ae l, t he col le ct iv it y o f men, who a re mani fe st lyorganised as a patrilineage, is in fact an alliance created by asu sta in ed p attern o f m arria ge w he re by th e s am e men e xch an gea subst an ti al p ropo rt ion o f t he ir daught er s and s is te rs i n ma rr iage.A who le c ult o f 'h on ou r o fw ome n' is d ev elo pe d in th e p ro ce ss a s amechan ism for ensur ing the ma in tenance o f t hi s pat te rn o f ma rr iageand hence of the in terests that it serves. T he sam e m en becomein tensively l inked and cross l inked by patr ilatera l, mat ri la te ral andaffinalrelationships.In the conclusion, the discussion is brought to bear on thesym bolism of po wer relatio nship s in the large-scale m od emindus tr ia l society general ly . Classes are the f igments of the imagina-tion o f socio lo gists. W hat actually ex ist are large n um bers ofinte res t groups of d i ffe ren t scales and poli tical s ign if icance ,w hichcan be r anged on one cont inuum, f rom the most f ormal ly o rgan is edto th e mo st in fo rmal ly o rg an is ed , w it h mo st o f t he g ro up s f all in gin b etw een , bein g partly form al and partly in form al. P oliticalanthropo logy speci al is es i n un fo ld ing the pol it ic al impl ic at ion s o fsymbol ic f ormat ion sand act iv it ie s - t he 'mumbo- jumbo ' o f modemsociety - w hich are m anifestly non -political, in th e inform alo rganisation of interest grou ps. It can thus m ake an im po rtantcont ri bu ti on to t he soc ia l s ci ence s i n t he sys temat ic ana ly si s o f t hed yn am ic p ro ce ss es in vo lv ed i n t he i ns tit ut io na li sa ti on a nd s ym -boli sa tion of power rela tionships .