Everything is Relative

Everything is Relatives - William Rivers (1864-1922) (Royal Anthropological Institute) 52 minutes.

Abstract: Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series was filmed all over the world, from the frozen Canadian Arctic to the dry outback of Australia, from New Guinea to India, Africa to the South Pacific. The programme makers retraced the steps of the pioneering anthropologists in those countries and, by following the life story of each scholar, they reveal how social anthropology has contributed to our lives.Copyright Message: Copyright 1986. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.Cultural Group: Todas & Torres Strait IslanderCultural Place: India & Torres StraitDirector: Singer, AndreDuration: 52 minutesEthnographer: Dakowski, Bruce & Singer, AndreGeneral Ethnographer: Bruce Dakowski & Andre SingerGeneral Subject: Scientific method; Polygamous marriages; Tribal and national groups; Anthropologists;Scientific research; Archaeological artifacts & Field work for anthropologyKeyword: Discrimination; Culture & Kinship

Place Discussed: India & Torres Strait IslandsProducer: Singer, AndrePublication Place: London, UKPublication Type: Serial Component PartPublisher: Royal Anthropological InstituteRecording Location: Torres Strait Islands & IndiaRelease Date: 1986Responsibility Statement: Directed and Produced by Andre Singer and Presented by Bruce DakowskiSeries: Strangers Abroad 2Series Number: 2Video Narrator: Dakowski, BruceVideo Type: Documentary

Language of Edition: EnglishPerson Discussed: Rivers, WilliamPlace: India & Torres Strait Islands

RAI ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE © Copyright reserved. Any unauthorized copying, hiring, theatrical performance, radio or broadcasting and use on intranets of this video is prohibited. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY Distributed by: The Royal Anthropological Institute [email protected] CENTRAL

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STRANGERS ABROAD

Bruce Dakowski At the turn of the century a British anthropologist surprise his colleagues by claiming that the culture of tribal people like this, depended entirely on how they were related to each other.

EVERYTHING IS RELATIVES Written and Presented by BRUCE DAKOWSKI

Bruce Dakowski One of the most and important and interesting personalities in the development of scientific thought, spent his working life as a dorm here at St. John's College inCambridge. And although he was a shy and retiring personality, Dr. William Rivers move with greatest between several branches of science. He started of as a doctor, did research into the nervous system and into the action of drugs on the human body. Became a leading psychologist, and went on to make a major contribution to psychiatry. NARRATOR But it was almost by charms that Rivers develop the interest in the new discipline of anthropology. In academic circles, curiosity have been kindled by the work of one Cambridge scholar, Sir James Frazer. His widely read book on anthropology the "Golden Bow" had caused tremendous interest in Cambridge during the 1890's. Bruce Dakowski One particular topic that was been discuss in and out of Rivers' his room was an exciting and imaginative project. An expedition to investigate the cultures on a remote group of islands in the Torres Straits between Australia and New Guinea. The expedition was been made up of Cambridge man, and Rivers was to be the psychologist. His brief was to investigate the mental characteristics of the islanders. It was Rivers' systematic approach to this psychological testing that wants to bring a scientific method into anthropology.

NARRATOR The man behind this new approach to studying native people was strange enough physiologist called Alfred Cort Haddon, who'd been trying to gain support for the project to 10 years.

Prof Sir EDMUND LEACH King's College, Cambridge

Prof Sir Edmund Leach Ah, in 1888, Haddon made an expedition to the Torres Straits on his own as a zoologist. Ah, and it was he who studying zoology became aware, when he came to think of it. Yes, there a lot of strange species here that dying hard. But the human beings are dying hard even faster than the species and he, he thought of ah, cultures, strange groups of people, as if they were species of animals and that they have the same idea that species of animal and branches of, of human culture are, is that were analogous. And the things that were dying out fasters were the human cultures.

THE CAMBRIDGE EXPEDITION TO TORRES STRAITS NEW GUINEA TORRES STRAIT MURRAY IS. THURSDAY IS.

Yesterday an expedition of peculiar interest left England, travelling scholars are often in off sent out by both Oxford and Cambridge, but this is probably the first time that a real exploring expedition has been sent out by other University. The expedition is bound first for Torres Straitsbetween Australia and New Guinea.

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Bruce Dakowski Straits were dotted with small tropical islands, each with its own distinctculture features. In the recent past, the islands has had a notorious reputation for cannibalism. Which prompted a remark from the University Vice Chancellor at the farewell dinner for the expedition. "We have come to see the members of the expedition eat their last civilized meal," he said, "Who can say how soon conditions might be strangely reverse in the members of the expedition might be the civilized food of certain of the lower orders of creation."

[non-English song]

Bruce dakowski In fact, Christianity had already been preached in the islands for over 20 years, when the expedition arrived her on Murray Island, that first base. One of the deacons in the church today is Sam Pasi(ph), he is descended prominent forman used by the expedition. Buteven he has a good idea of how things were before the arrival of a Western God.

Sam Pasi My grandfather he was the first to-- he and the grandmother were the first to marry in the church, when they stalked everything from ah, in a put a paint here and say alright youhusband and wife. That was all gone now, and grandfather and grandmother were the first to come into the church and, and marry. He, he was the high priest of even God. And he might have ah, head of Malobumay(ph) cult ah, grandfather was the high priest of that cult. And from there he live their life of Christian all through.

Bruce Dakowski He sounds played quite a large part in the church here, I mean you are a deacon.

Sam Pasi Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski Aren't you?

Sam Pasi Yeah, and, ah, his son Poy(ph) ah, was made a deacon and then priest. Ah, he and his cousin Joseph Louie(ph) ah, they were the first to, to be ordained as Anglican priest.

Bruce Dakowski So the father has been the high priest of, of a different set of Gods.

Sam Pasi Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski And his son became the first -

Sam Pasi Anglican priest.

Bruce Dakowski - Anglican priest out here, it's fantastic.

Sam Pasi That sort, so sort of the timing, how I (crosstalk)...

Bruce Dakowski There's been big change on this island.

Sam Pasi Let it be-- yeah.

Bruce Dakowski Is it all for the good?

Sam Pasi Well grandfather said to me, ah, he reckon that he was very good at serving his God and he said ah, his God was made of little shell and all that, and he said to me, "Your God is a true God why can't you worship him in a true way, proper way." And he was right.

[non-English song]

NARRATOR This remote part of island has an important place in a history of anthropology. The ancestors in this congregation provided the raw material for that early attempt to understands native culture in its own setting. A contemporary news paper reported to the aims of theexpedition. Their beliefs and superstitions will be studied that said. And in short, every variety of observation made in order to obtain a complete conception of the condition of a people at thestage of those in the Torres Straits. Each member of the expedition will have a particular department to attend to. Two of them will study native psychology and the field as it were. Dr. Miles(ph) will attend to native music while decorative art will be the specialty of Dr. Haddon. We still are able study the languages while the wonderful photo of the Torres Straits people will be recorded by Dr. Haddon himself, who already has a wonderful store of interesting stories. Some aspect of that culture still survive today. As do some of the stories. It's one of the ways that tradition on this island has been preserved.

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There was an island called Murray, and on this island live (inaudible ), they lived at a village call Las(ph). They had four children, who were all boys.

[ non-English song]

NARRATOR The dance recreates the traditional method of sardine fishing, the technique now remembered only by a much older generation. But it was a feature that was well-documented by the expedition.

In the Murray island at various times of the year, large shows of small fish called tap(ph), come very close to the shore, usually forming dense masses which look like a dark shadow in the water.

[non-English song]

When a shawl of tap(ph) has seen in a suitable spot, two of the men cautiously advance andfling themselves into the sea, holding their poles with extended arms. In an instant, the fish are huddled together within the triangle form by the men in the post. This critical moment has seized by the third man who dives into the sea and scoops up as many fish as he can.

[non-English song]

We scoop them, we use the bush rope... cotton-rope I mean,...

Bruce Dakowski How long ago did you use this? Many years ago?

.. all from ages up to our time, then we finished. War time, war time then we finished. After warwe buy nets. We use nets. This thing is useless now.

Bruce Dakowski Is everyone forgotten the old ways.

No they're thinking but they are not used to make it... because the white man is here now, this time. We always think about these things... because, I mean, culture is a weapon for us. They catch sardines, hard skin ones and soft skin ones.

Bruce Dakowski Are you teaching your sons?

Yes, I always teach them.

Only young generation, they give up. Our children's days now, they come like you white man.Easy days, but they don't use culture... like you white man. You make things more easily,... but you must get culture. Culture, I mean something like habit. God he give me the habit.

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NARRATOR The scientist of all kinds of facts about native life seriously, whether it was technical skills, like sardine fishing or the games the natives played.

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NARRATOR The islanders were expert navigators, for although they grew their own food, they diet depended on food fish from the sea. Their technical skills in coping with their environment especially their seamanship was never contested. But their mental capacity was, it was start to be inferior. The scientist on the expedition tended to inquire how the natives were inferior, rather than if they were. Rivers was to distinguished between two types of thought which in his day, what believe to separate civilized man and rude savages. People like the Murray islanders were thought only to be able to handle concrete facts. Western is on the other hand could also handleabstract ideas. One apparently innocent pastime raised question about this assumptions. A game played with the piece of string.

String figures allied to our catch cradle are universally played by the children and sometimes by adults. Usually one person played it alone, in some cases using the toes as well as the fingers and often bringing the mouth in the right position. The patterns are very varied and many are extremely complicated in manipulation, although the final result maybe simple. NARRATOR As he unravel the complex maneuvers of their string games. Rivers began to challenge this naive concept of inferior mentality. Several of the movements was so complex that they obviously involve memorizing intricate abstract forms. They were cataloged in detailed.

[non-English narration]

NARRATOR The house that was the expeditions first base is now a ruin. It must have been a strange scene to witness those six Victorian scholars, using interpreters ensuing their own particular scientific interest right in the middle of daily native life.

Bruce Dakowski It was a breathtakingly ambitious project to attempt in the relatively short period of time that they spent here on these islands. Languages, customs, activities, technical skills, music, mythologist, disease profiles, even the games that the natives played were recorded anddescribed. They also made what is a now famous collection of object from native life. Both the fantastic and the mundane. This were eventually to feel forty crates which will ship back to England. But apart from the usual notebooks, artifacts, and photographs. Those crates contained two kinds of data that haven't usually didn't brought back from the field. This were the sound recordings that they made using wax cylinders. And the first anthropological cine film footage ever to be shot.

[sil.]

NARRATOR Like so much the early material shot by the pioneers of cine film, most of the Torres Straits footage has been lost damage to be on repair before the need for conserving films talk was realized. Of all fascinating ceremonies on activities that they witness, only a tantalizing fragment of film remains. Fortunately more of the sound that they recorded has survived.

Alfred Cort Haddon By the aid of a pornograph records of many songs were secured. And this have been subjected to detailed examination. Some of the songs are religious invention(ph), others relatively modern. Some are songs of games others are dancers.

[non-English song]

NARRATOR The natives of the Torres Straits were recorded in their own language, speaking phrases, reciting mythologist and singing their songs. But Rivers task was examining the mental characteristics of the islanders, and this he did by examining their senses. And hestarted with the one he knew most about, vision. He taken along with him the latest apparatus for examining visual accuracy and special in color perception. After several weeks he thought that he was observing a pattern of differences emerging. In the way that the Murray islander perceived a named different colors.

Buce Dakowski What accounted for this differences? Well, one of the possibilities that occurred to Rivers was that the variations in native color perception, that is the way that they saw, describe, and named different of colors. Might run in families. To evaluate this he had to find out exactly how

people were related to each other, and so he went about collecting family trees or genealogist. Several things impressed him. First of all the people of this island having extensive and precise knowledge of exactly who their relatives where, both living and dead, they could trace their family trees back many generation with great accuracy. Then he noticed that the way that they group or classified their relatives was different from the way that he was used to. But most interestingly of all, he realized that the categories that they used to describe their relatives aunt, uncle, cousins, mother, father, brother and so on. When they just simple biologically expressions about how people were related to each other. They gave insights into the way that socialite itself was organized.

NARRATOR It's obvious that Rivers was collecting genealogist very early on. This is one of thevolumes of the expeditions report. And here are all those pedigrees that were recorded on Murray island.

Bruce Dakowski Chief can you tell me what these names are down the side here?

Ah, that meant name for the village.

Bruce Dakowski So this…

Uhm.

Bruce Dakowski - are all of the village name.

The village name.

Bruce Dakowski Would you now a man called Anou(ph) as an ancestor of yours?

Ancestor, his my ancestor.

Bruce Dakowski And, in which way have you descended from him?

Harry(ph).

Bruce Dakowski Down through Harry(ph) and then -

Uhm.

Bruce Dakowski - through Tau(ph), and you're descended from this line.

From this line.

Bruce Dakowski How many generations back can you name your family?

Fifth or Sixth and Seventh.

Bruce Dakowski Five or six generations.

Uhm.

Bruce Dakowski Right. And you know exactly whom their brothers and sisters were and their children?

Yes, I know them.

Bruce Dakowski And you can named all of those?

Uhm. Yes.

Bruce Dakowski Sam(ph), come sit beside me.

Sam Pasi Yes.

Bruce Dakowski What village do you come from Sam(ph)?

Agyar(ph).

Bruce Dakowski Agyar(ph).

Sam Pasi Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski Now, where is that?

Sam Pasi Gen(ph).

Bruce Dakowski There were lot of villages, Agyar(ph). Now, whose the most distinct ancestor, the main ancestor that you can name.

Sam Pasi Kwit Postol(ph), not this one, this is the second one.

Bruce Dakowski This is Kwit(ph) number two. And what was your father's name?

Sam Pasi George (inaudible ).

Bruce Dakowski And I can tell you that his father was Pasi(ph).

Sam Pasi Yes.

Bruce Dakowski And his father was Yu(ph)?

Sam Pasi She's Yu(ph), but we call him -

Bruce Dakowski Gamalan(ph).

Sam Pasi - Gamalan(ph).

Bruce Dakowski So that, that, name wasn't quite correct.

Sam Pasi It was incorrect.

Bruce Dakowski And his father was Kaisamu(ph).

Sam Pasi Kisamu(ph).

I soon found that the knowledge possessed by the natives of their families which so extensive, and apparently so accurate, that the complete collection of the genealogist as far back as they could be traced would be interesting and might it able want to study many sociological problems more exactly that would be otherwise possible.

Bruce Dakowski Zac(ph), if you wanted to marry someone in your own village here, is that a good thing?

Zac Not really, ah, older, as far as the answer they would say ah, marry some of them outside another village, so that they ah, can exchange ideas and culture and even ah, traditional.

Bruce Dakowski So if today someone wanted to marry someone in their own village, the old people wouldn't be too happy about it?

Zac Yes, that's right.

Bruce Dakowski The importance of what anthropologist now called kinship patterns had been discovered. Rivers began to develop a way of mapping out the basic social structure of a community. And with characteristic scientific enthusiasm he gave it a name. He called it his genealogical method.

Prof. Sir Edmund Leach The importance of what he did was his very close analysis of how people in the community are related to one another. Both in genealogical descent and in marital relationships. And learning from this realizing that from this you could deduce also to other things by looking at the way, the way they describe the situation. The people we were talking to, how they describe the situation as distinct from how you saw it as a European observer. You could then as it way gain insight into how their classifications, how their system of ideas? You are, you are making getting an insight into the psychology of the way they thought about they're in society. And this with him was very important, and clearly is very important. And that this is idea that you could presents material systematically, which really is Rivers' big contribution to our subject.

Bruce Dakowski Rivers left the Torres Straits impressed with the potential of anthropology to discovering more about the human nature. In many ways for now on psychology was to take a back seat. He wanted to see if this genealogical method was of any used in understanding of a cultures. And he was to go to entirely different setting to test it.

END OF PART ONE

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EVERYTHING IS RELATIVES PART TWO

NARRATOR In one of the summer vacations, Rivers came out to Egypt to visit colleagues from the Torres Straits expedition. One of the most working on archaeological dig. Rivers was an actually curious man, and why he was out here for example, he couldn't resist the opportunity of testing the color perception of some of the Egyptians working on the dig.

Bruce Dakowski On his way back to Cairo he called on a fellow member of his Cambridge colleagues a man called Grafton Elliot Smith, who was visiting professor of anatomy at Cairo University. A passing remark that Rivers made about some of the features he'd seen on the Egyptian mummies at the archeological dig, was to send Elliot Smith off on an intellectual trial that was to cause a great divide in the world of anthropology.

NARRATOR Elliot Smith develop a theory of diffusionism which suggested that the entire culture history of the human race could be trace back to the ancient Egyptians. He claimed that they were responsible for the major features of culture life all over the world. And that this had spread outwards by process a diffusion.

[music]

Bruce Dakowski This unlikely ferried(ph) that was ceded in Cairo was unfortunately to in faith Rivers later work. But it was his own ideas that preoccupied him at this time. He want to put his genealogical method to the test and to see just how much information could be gain about social organization he needed to applied in another culture.

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ALFRED CORT HADDON The people whose manners and customs I'm about to describe about to describe, live on the angulating plateau of the New Greenhills in Southern India. Of the various tribes inhabiting the hills, the Todas, excited the greatest interest, and this interest has continued partly because people are so different from any other-- of the bases by which they surrounded. But still more because both they and their costumes are so picturesque and in many ways so unique.

NARRATOR Even before Rivers visited the Nilgiris in 1901, the Todas had been the focus of a lot of attentions speculation. Where have they come from? What would the origins of their religious beliefs? Why would their customs and even their clothes so distinct from their neighbors? But it was that marriage customs that intrigue Rivers even more. In fact it puzzled most anthropologist and generally arouse a great deal of perient(ph) curiosity. The British empire contained a white assortment of peoples who practice polygamy, where men could have more than one wife. But among the Todas it was the women who frequently have more than one husband. Something known as polyandry. Now, here were something that obviously complicated the whole area of kinship and descends and cried out for a fuller investigation.

Bruce Dakowski What he was looking for was a small relatively isolated community with an unusual kinship pattern. In India, he'd expected to work very much he done in the Torres Straits, living quite rapidly from community to community. But when he came up here he found out that there was so much of interest, and so much that have been previously misunderstood about Todas social organization, that he stayed for five months. And that was an unusually long period of time in his day.

NARRATOR Rivers realized that to get to know a culture you should ideally spend as long as possible among the people. Only then could you understand those puzzling customs? For example the husbands a woman might have, one just selected at random.

ALFRED CORT HADDON When a woman marries a man it is understood that she becomes the wife of his brother at the same time. When a boy is married to a girl, not only are his brothers usually regarded as also the husbands of the girl. But any brother born later will similarly be regarded as sharing his older brother's rights.

NARRATOR This type of arrangements initially struck Rivers as permissive but he realized that this wasn't the case of loose morality more an alternative morality. It was apparent that Todas society work perfectly harmoniously within this different set of standards. As in other communities there were rules and expectations that sorounded Todas sexual behavior. And there was a sense of repulsion(ph) if this regulations will breached.

[music]

Bruce Dakowski Motikon(ph), what interestingly is the fact that this type of marriage now no longer exist in Toda land you know.

Motikon No.

Bruce Dakowski Can I ask, why if it was such a happy, union. Why does it-- why is it stop among Toda women?


Motikon She says on those days ladies are less so that's why the two brothers get marriage. Now a days the ladies are more, so they did stop the-- that method.

Bruce Dakowski Women in Europe find it very difficult having one husband. Can you ask how her how she cooks with two husbands?


Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski What did she say?

Motikon I'm-- I really-- they liked, I also like them so we married two both.

Bruce Dakowski I want to ask Pometei(ph) -

Motikon Uhm.

Bruce Dakowski - why if she hears from the older women, that it was a good marriage to havemore than one husband. Why she wouldn't have want, maybe she will?


Wichikam She doesn't like the two husband.

Bruce Dakowski Formally amongst the Todas a woman could also take an official lover.

Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski What about the husband of the wife, is he-- does he mind about this?

Motikon No mind.

Bruce Dakowski He doesn't.

Motikon If, if he comes that night even go in a-- the other houses.

Bruce Dakowski How does he know if someone is in his house?

Motikon No, he will look out, come directly in here, you will come directly in here, than anything then, then they will meet together and talk together and needs to go one house, then he will be off from the house.

Bruce Dakowski Now, does this practice still go on?

Motikon No, now it stopped.

Bruce Dakowski Why?

Motikon Now, everybody has some education some of their knowledge they worth, no one likes to go there.

Bruce Dakowski So you're saying that knowledge prevents Todas behaving -

Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski - in the way they used to behave.

Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski Even though they use to be so happy doing.

Wichikam Ah, Yeah.

NARRATOR Although Rivers learned to used a large vocabulary of Toda words whenever he could, he never spoke the language with any fluency. To question his informants he used interpreters just as he had done in the Torres Straits. As he expected Toda genealogies exposed the way that socialite was regulated.

ALFRED CORT HADDON The whole of Toda life form such an intricate web of closely related practices that I rarely set out to investigates some aspect of the people without obtaining information pairing on many other holy different aspects. The information sure gain open afforded valuable corroboration of what I had been told on other occasions and by other individuals.

NARRATOR Rivers collected information on many different aspects of the culture. Including activities he cataloged as games. One of this was a contest of strength which still takes placetoday.


ALFRED CORT HADDON The Todas are very interested in athletics fields performed by any of their number. At many villagers there's a large global(ph) stone called a Tukitka(ph), a man should be able to lift it to the shoulder. But this can now rarely, if ever be done.


NARRATOR In the course of getting to know the people, Rivers discovered a significant feature of Toda life. The ritual importance of the dairy shrines, each cared for and run by a dairy man, who was also a priest. And it's a feature that socialite that it’s still has great significance today.


NARRATOR The dairy is situated near the center of each village and the working day is centered on the cow of the heard of sacred buffalo. They are a major Toda pre-occupation.

ALFRED CORT HADDON The Toda buffalo is a variety of the Indian water buffalo but the life on thehills seems to have produce a much fine animals in that of the planes. Although subtly under the control of the Todas the buffalos are semi-wild and often attack people of a different race from their owners. The buffalos are tended in tally by males and males only are allowed to take any part either in the work of the diary or in those dairy operations which are performed in the house.

NARRATOR As Rivers discovered, the dairy shrines are treated in a way designed to preserve their ritual purity. The result is that the relatively straight forward task of animal husbandry are surrounded by strictly observed procedures. The dairy man priest is responsible for the most sacred work of the shrines. The milking of the herd and the processing of the milk. As in other parts of India notions of purity govern their lives. Any bridge of procedure or etiquette may offendthe super natural forces. For the Todas the highly rich lies of buffalo colt is a religion and the dairies are seen as temples. This temple at notch is probably the most sacred site in all Toda land. For it was in this location that their most important deity the Goddess Teikirshy first created Todas and sacred buffalos and divided them up between the Toda clans. She is intimately associated with this the most significant dairy of all. And at the end of important Toda ceremonies, thanks is given to Teikirshy to ensure a plentiful supply of milk.


NARRATOR Since for this time, the Todas had been so frequently visited and their customs soclosely observed but senior members like Motikon(ph) Toda now use the sorts of terms that anthropologist have introduced. For example the word "Moiety" which describe the two groups between which all Toda clans are divided.

Motikon ... genealogist moieties.

Bruce Dakowski Yeah.

Motikon That 10 is north clan, -

Bruce Dakowski Yeah.

Motikon - Toro(ph) clan, Tas(ph) clan, Melgas(ph).

Bruce Dakowski In this particular area -

Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski - is a very sacred area, -

Motikon Yeah.

Bruce Dakowski Isn't it?

Motikon The Todas and Toda buffalos are created in this placed at North called Northern Arman(ph).

Bruce Dakowski Right here in North?

Motikon Right here in North.

Bruce Dakowski Where-- whereabouts?

Motikon Near the village some 200 years back (crosstalk)...

Bruce Dakowski Down?

Motikon Down here.

Bruce Dakowski Down in the valley.

Motikon Down here.

Bruce Dakowski Yes.

Motikon Ah, greeted by the goddess Teikirshy. Todas and todabos(ph), we are created here. This is our motherland for Todas. Form here we had ah, spread into 15 clans, that's we were called clans in 50's. We are over two moieties one is in five that is called Tevedlos(ph), the others is the ten is called todabos(ph). These are all made by Goddess Teikirshy.

[music]

NARRATOR Deity is like the Goddess Teikirshy, were associated with the tops of the mountains that surrounded the spectacular isolated Nilgiri plateau which was dotted with the villagers of the Todas and their neighbors.

[music]

NARRATOR When Rivers came out here to Toda land he behaves strictly as an observer, as a scientific on look. There was no real edge to participate, it was enough to have made the effort to journey to a foreign land and investigate. Perhaps for this reason alone, or maybe for reasons of comfort, Rivers chose to stay close to his own kind, during his visits. His base Ootacamund, was then one of the most fashionable hill stations of the British rouge. In his day, it was a thriving and efficient resort designed to cater for the needs and pastimes of colonials at played(ph). And what a comfortable life it was.

[music]

NARRATOR Although he travelled all round the Nilgiri hills, he was never far from people of his own culture background. And he stayed in one rather of the European Star Bungalows dotted around the countryside. Later in his life, Rivers reflected on just how's strange European kinship pattern would have seemed to an outsider.

ALFRED CORT HADDON He would soon find that we used terms of relationship in a way which to him is hopelessly confused and then exact. He would find that we often apply the term cousin not merely to persons of our generations but to those of older and younger generations than ourselves. Betraying it would seems to him, an almost inconceivable looseness of thought, so that he has tempted to supposed that we are not subject to the law of contradiction, but believe that persons maybe of the same and of different generations. He will return to his homes and denounce to his fellows that the English people, in spite of the splendor of the material culture, in many ways show signs of serious mental incapacity. And that in spite of their fine houses in towns they are the victims of the most upholding confusions of thought.

NARRATOR When Rivers returned from a day on horseback having question natives about their family ties or having witnessed the customable ceremony, he would have tea at the Savoy hotel and even have drinks with friends in town before dining at the UT club. It may have been intense work but it never involve a real immersion in another culture.

NARRATOR Rivers was aware that nearly every society places restrictions on who you can marry. And he must have been reminded about fact when he went to San Steven Church in Ootacamund right in the middle of Toda land.

Bruce Dakowski A list of the restrictions that applied to Rivers can be found in this book. It's The Book of Common Prayer. The list is at the back of the book as a table of kindred and affinity. And it states that a man may not marry his grandmother, grandfathers wife, wife’s grandmother and so on for 30 categories which include mother, daughter, sister and mother in law. And of course there's an equivalent list for women. The point about this list is that for the culture that produced this book. Marriage is regulated to the extent that there are certain groups of relatives that yousimply cannot marry. In cultures all around the world anthropologist like Rivers, were finding that they were prohibitions on marriage between people who are related in certain ways. Now, the fascinating thing about those prohibitions was that they went universal, they went necessarily to say does he move from culture to culture. take Rivers for example, he could have married any of his female cousins, his other relatives might have felt a bit uncomfortable about it, but cousins weren't prohibited as far as marriage was concerned.

NARRATOR Now, the Toda see their cousins as two distinct types, married with one group of cousins is totally prohibited. The other group of cousins are not just possible marriage partners, married into that group is considered ideal. Most culture seem to distinguished between two separate groups of relatives. The kin or blood relatives and the affines or in-laws as we call them. Interestingly, in this type of Toda cousin marriage the two groups become merged into one.

ALFRED CORT HADDON the custom of infant marriage is well-established to among the Todas and a child is often married when only two or three years of age. When a man wishes to arrange a marriage for his son he chooses a suitable girl who should be and very often is, the daughter of his mother's brother or of his father sister. The father visits the parents of the girl and if the marriage is satisfactory arranged takes the boy to the home of his intended wife. They take with them a loincloth as a wedding gift and the boy performs the salutations to the father and mother of the girl. And also to her brothers both old and younger than himself. And then gives theloincloth to the girl.

NARRATOR Society is attached a lot of importance to marriage regulations. Marriage is after all at time when we roughly double the number of relatives we have and make arrangements to have even more. For Todas marriage is more of a process than an event, and the process starts at a very early age. But like so many important social occasions personal anxieties often surface.


NARRATOR When Rivers went with the Todas the old marriage customs was still in operation. That process of marriage which began with child betrothal was eventually sealed by a ritual which took place when a young woman was well into her first pregnancy.

ALFRED CORT HADDON About the seventh of pregnancy a ceremony is performed which is called the bow and arrow ceremony. This ceremony begins on the evening before the day of the new moon. The pregnant woman goes into a wood about a furlong from the village in which she is living. She is accompanied by her husband or if she has several by the husband who is to give the bow and narrow. The ceremony is of the greatest importance from the social point of view. As the fatherhood of the child depends entirely upon it.

NARRATOR The ceremony focus Rivers attention on the fact that we all think about her relatives in both social and the biological way. It must be remembered that in the old days a pregnant married woman could be carrying a child of any of the brothers to whom she was married. Indeed, she could even be pregnant by her officially acknowledge lover. The significance of the bow giving ceremony is all to do with the public recognition of the fatherhood of that child. The Todas aren't interested in exactly who made the woman pregnant. But what does concerned them is who is going to be the social father responsible for bringing up that child. The man whois going to feed, cloth, discipline, educate and generally take care of the child.

[sil.]

ALFRED CORT HADDON The man who gives the bow and arrow is the father of the child for all social plebiscite. And this regarded as such, even if he has had nothing to do with the woman before the ceremony.


NARRATOR Rivers was also one of the first anthropologist to take a sophisticated look at the whole question of morality in a society with a very different approach to sexual behavior.

ALFRED CORT HADDON A woman may have one or more recognized lovers as well as several husbands. She also may have sexual relations with their Imam on various grades. So, there are seems to be no doubt that there is little restriction of any kind on sexual intercourse.


ALFRED CORT HADDON I was assured by several Todas, not only that adultery was no motive for divorce but then it was a no way regarded as wrong. It seemed clear that there is no word for adultery in the Toda language. I rather suspected, but according to the Toda idea, immorality attaches rather to the man who brother's his wife to another.

Prof Sir EDMUND LEACH King's College, Cambridge

Prof. Sir Edmund Leach From Rivers point of view they were a survival from the past. And he thought of the most as, as evidence of what had happened on the past, they should to reconstruct his trip from looking at them. Now, this beside of things is no longer felt with an important. What was significant though that he already had a community here which was so small numerically, that he could, in effect, by pursuing this game of ah, who is related to who, how is-- how they relation, map out in genealogical terms the whole community and so he nearly does this, as far as I know, whem-- ah, when, retrospectively it would appear there were few people left out.

NARRATOR After his work with the Todas, Rivers got involve with those theories that claim that all culture had originated in ancient Egypt. By gaining to do some more research this time in a South Pacific, he was convinced that he could discover something of the history of cultures.

Bruce Dakowski His major parity was to record the kinship patterns of every island society in Melanesia by using the genealogical method. Sailing around on the London missionary societies vessel, the Southern Cross. He summon natives on board wherever the ship docked, and ased them about their kinship patterns. And the kinship patterns of any other societies that they visited. Rivers was desperate to record this facts, because he felt that this kind of local knowledge was fast disappearing. This practice may have amused the islanders, but it certainly amused his expatriate friends and colleagues around the South Pacific. A missionary companion on board the Southern Cross recorded his own amused bewilderment in a poem that was found among Rivers papers after his death.

"Anthropological Thoughts, now how's that he if I'm ask, about your cousins mother would she attempt the simple task of speaking to your brother? Ah, yes, just so, but if she were, your mother's uncle sister. How would your cousins sister's aunt are addressed her when kissed her? Yes, that's the point I meant to add, your nephew cousin's father, if he and uncle sister had and either of the two are married, would he respect her rather? For-- if your father's mother son were nephew to your mother, I really cannot to understand, why she should call him brother? At last at last(ph) but just before the doctor's mind could grip her. A shout of love that issued from the cabin of the skipper."

Bruce Dakowski Only a search out here in Melanesia led to the work that he was most proud of. His book called the History of Melanesian Society. It reflects his ambition that, one day anthropology could become a science. But in fact it wasn't good science, it wasn't good history and it was an unfair burden to place on the genealogical method. That device that he'd uncovered for looking into the workings of a society.

NARRATOR His hopes that the genealogical method would actually reveal the history of a society through its kinship patterns now seem ridiculous. But he was aware of the impact to new subject was having.

ALFRED CORT HADDON I'm one of those who believe that the ultimate aim of all studies ofmankind whether historical or scientific, is to reach explanation in terms of the ideas, beliefs, sentiments and instinctive tendecies by which the comeback of man is determined. This conduct is also determined by the social structure of which every person whether he forms an element in a great empire like ourselves or is only a member of some roots savage tribe has to feel, think, and act. It is possible to study the social setting in itself and that is the place which I believe social organization occupies in the study of human culture.

NARRATOR Rivers was one of the first scientist to realized the problem of bias that the observer brings to the subject of his attention. Whether this was anthropological questioning the regeneration of savage(ph) nerves a famous experiment he performed back in Cambridge on fellow Dr. Henry Head or evaluating the effects of drugs on the brain. What standout is his attention to method, a math endeavor to be as objective as possible. The first world war provided him with the most hallowing of research material. Trench warfare had produced a devastating array of psychological trauma. When Rivers as a form of psychiatrist was call upon to help treat shellshock, he realized that he was often the minds of the victims that were as damage as their brains. He found that the traditional medical approaches were largely inadequate and introduced the new cycle analytic approach to treating patients. Ideas that have the same sort ofrevolutionary impact on psychiatry has he had produced on anthropology.

Prof. Sir Edmund Leach But really it is a very big change in 1900 up to the Torres Straits expedition followed by the Todas and Rivers has changing the whole climate. He doesn't actually achieve very much in doing so, but he-- without Rivers, without what came out with after 1922 would have been impossible it should be. He represents a landmark in the sense thatwho go behind Rivers, the subject is one kind of subject, if you come after Rivers it's another kind of subject.

NARRATOR Rivers died suddenly in 1922 at the age of 58, he was mourned by a wide circle of friends which included professional colleagues, politicians, novelist, grateful patients and poets. One of whoms Siegfried Sassoon, wrote of Rivers' a turning to him after to his death. "Oh, Fathering of friend and scientist of good, who in solitude one by gone summers day, an in throes of bodily anguish past away. From grim and conflict and research little Ans(ph) of ethnological learning. Even as you stood selfless and ardent, resolute and gay, so in this hour in strange survival stand, you'll ghost who are empowerless to repay."

Bruce Dakowski He once said that he hope to his epitaph would read, he made anthropology, a science. But anthropology hasn't become the science that Rivers anticipated, there are no experiments and laws. And most anthropologist today feel there never will be. But it had beenstrongly influenced by science. Rivers brought a systematic and methological approach to working with other cultures in the field. And in so doing discover the importance of those kinship patterns in the makeup of social structure. This is his grace stone in the Cambridge church yard,he didn't get the epitaph he had hope for.

NARRATOR It simply states that he was a fellow of his much love college St. Johns. Although William Rivers didn't make anthropology as strict science, he lefted at least a respected pursuit.

[music]

Acknowledgements to BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE THE BRITISH MUSEUM CAMBRIDGESHIRE PUBLIC LIBRARIES DEPT. OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE MURRAY ISLAND COMMUNITY COUNCIL NATIONAL FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF INDIA NATIONAL SOUND ARCHIVE, LONDON PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE ROYAL COMMONWEALTH SOCIETY THE ROYAL SOCIETY ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ST. GILES CEMETRY, CAMBRIDGE STATE LIBRARY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES CENTRE CAMBRIDGE TRIBAL RESEARCH CENTRE OOTACUMUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, CAMBRIDGE SHEILA WATERS Camera MIKE THOMSON Sound BOB WITHEY Dubbing Mixer PETER MAXWELL Editor SUE BROOK Assistant STEVE BARCLAY Titles HIEROGRAPHICS Graphics TONY GEDDES Rostrum Camera KEN MORSE Music MARK EMNEY Rivers' voice CHRIS BARRIE Production Secretary KATE JESSOP Film Researcher ELLY BIENTEMA Stills Researcher ELIZABETH EDWARDS Series Researcher STEVEN SEIDENBERG Anthropological Consultant DR. PETER RIVIERE Executive Producer KARL SABBAGH Produced and Directed by ANDRE SINGER ©Central Independent Televisionplc MCMLXXXV CENTRAL PRODUCTIONS FOR CHANNEL FOUR STRANGERS ABROAD: EVERYTHING IS RELATIVES WILLIAM RIVERS PLAY

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Everything is Relative