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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
The Twilight of a South Asian Heroic Age: A Rereading of Barth's Study of Swat
Contributor:
Meeker, Michael E.
Published:
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1980
Published in:
Man, 15 (1980) 4, Seite 682-701
Language:
English
ISSN:
0025-1496
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
Among the `heroic peoples' of the Old World, resort to force and coercion became a central feature of political experience. While this problem shaped the cultures and societies of many hinterland peoples, it has not been closely studied in anthropology. This oversight is associated with presumptions that have guided anthropological methods and theories. A vision of man at home in nature and at peace with himself has obscured the darker side of institutions that stabilise injustice by organised violence. Barth's study of Swat (1958) is reanalysed to illustrate these arguments. The position that individual political decisions were the basis of a balanced, synchronic system of authority is rejected; nevertheless, the book's focus on the pursuit of personal advantage is shown to reveal how force and coercion left their mark on the political institutions of Swat. In effect, Barth's judgement that calculated selfinterest was a key to political experience in Swat is defended, but the irrational and disruptive side of this calculation is clarified.