According to a Wall Street Journal article (Gautam Naik, 2003 September 14) when a Morrocan man is smitten by the appearance of a woman, he'll say to her "You've stolen my liver."

After you've stopped laughing, ask yourself if it makes any more sense to say "You've stolen my heart."  Who are we to laugh at the Berbers who live in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco because they consider the liver to be where love resides.

Both sayings are nonsensical, literally, but they point-up how blind we are to our own culture's stupidities.

Anthropologists who study primitive cultures have struck a deal with them, which I assume arose from a desire to not be eaten by the natives, and the deal says that "thou shalt not laugh at any culturgen, but proclaim each one to be as valid as all others."

It is amusing to note occasional anomalies of internal inconsistency by these anthropoligists. For example, the Yanomamo Indians of the Venezualan and Brazilian jungles refer to outsiders with a term that is derived from their name for a dog, and the natives ascribe as much value to the life of an ousider as they do to their dogs.  Because the Yanomamo have long spears and short tempers, the anthropologist defends this "outlook" just as vehemently as he condemns fellow Americans who describe the Yanomamo as "primitive."  He probably sits at the campfire with the natives and makes fun of his home culture.  If there's an internal consistency to this behavior it's the anthropologist's desire to live through whatever situation he's in, and strive to be perceived as superior whenever it is safe to do so.

I don't want to accuse Napolean Chagnon of anything, because he's one of the rare good field anthropologists. Nevertheless, there's a tendency for every field anthropologist I've met to withold judgement of the people they studied.  The proper attitude, in my humble opinion, is to highlight the silliness of every culture in existence, including our own.

This site opened:  September 14, 2003.  Last Update:  September 14, 2003