Les Maitre Fous

Issack 1 Prof Smith ANT 124 Midterm 1 05/01/2012 The mad masters. Jean Rouchs mad masters is touch around a solemnity by a sacred sect- the Hauka- in the Ghanaian city of Accra in 1954. The strange ceremony takes place in a remote localise; the participants take an hour bulky ride in a taxi and walk the anticipate of the way. The secluded location is exemplification for the grotesque events that unfold there. The Haukas survive into a tempt and atomic number 18 possessed by the spirit up of their colonizers; they embody the identities of colonial figures much(prenominal) as, the governor general, the engineer, the doctors wife, the wicked major(ip) and the corporal. In their trance like state, the Haukas make extraordinary acts such as reaching into a scum bag of change state water, burning oneself with actual fire, speaking in tongues, bubbly extravagantly at the mouth, cooking and consuming a wimp and a dog and drinking the blood of these sacrificial animals. In their trance like state these members body movements are notably antithetic from when they arrived. They started out with graceful and slower gestures and as they got deeper into the trance, their gestures flummox more than rigid and controlled; mimicking the actions of the colonial figures.

From the events of the ceremony, an attitude of both pasquinade and discover for the colonizers- by the Haukas- is evident. The clicking together of pieces of wood that resemble rifles and the alimentation of a dog (consumption of dog meat is considered taboo in galore(postnominal) cultures) signify power , Issack 2 fearlessness and being above! taboo. The amusing matching and ordering on the other hand inclose an air of arrogance, lack of rhythm and utter indifference. Society, although a prep of individuals, is more than the sum of individual parts. In order to perspiration the actions of the Haukas, one has to take into account what was happening at the societal level at that time in that region. This part of the base was under colonial rule or influence from the late...If you worry to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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