Anthropology Final

Chapter 1 Interlocuter

Charles Henry: Western Apache elder and cultural expert from Cibecue community.

• Skilled Herbalist

Water Lies With Mud In an Open Container

This place was named by Apache ancestors long ago when they first explored the area. When they saw this marshy spot, they decided to give it a name that described exactly what they were looking at - water and mud lying together in what looked like an open container.

Snakes Water

This place was once an active, important water source where Apache people would come to fill their water containers. The "snakes" in the name refer to the snakes that lived around the spring and were believed to be the protectors or owners of the water source.

• This place represents how the land has changed overtime

Juniper Tree Stands Alone

• Agricultural importance: It's where Apache ancestors first successfully planted and harvested corn in that area. The rich soil and location near water made it ideal for farming.

• Clan origins: The Apache people who farmed there eventually named themselves after this place, becoming the "Juniper Tree Stands Alone People" (Gad 'O'ááhń). This is how many Apache clans got their names - from the places where their ancestors first planted corn.

Chapter 2 Interlocuter

Nick Thompson:

• A medicine man of substantial reputation and an accomplished singer

• A person who "delights in play" but is also "generous, thoughtful, and highly intelligent"

• Described by people in Cibecue as a true "Slim Coyote" (Ma' Ts'ósé) - meaning he is "outspoken, incorrigible, and unabashed"

• Advises Basso to "Learn the names" of places

How does Land work on the Western Apaches?

The Western Apaches conceptualize land as having agency - it actively "works on" people rather than being passive

• The land stalks people

• The land makes us think

• The land makes us behave

• The land looks after us

• The land helps us to remember

Two symbolic resources Apache's manipulate to promote compliance with standards for acceptable social behavior and the moral values that support them.

• Language provides the vehicle through which moral teachings are transmitted via historical tales, place-names, and storytelling

• Land serves as the permanent repository and trigger for these moral lessons through named geographical features

The chapter demonstrates how these resources are interconnected - the descriptive place-names (language) are inseparable from the physical locations (land), and together they create a comprehensive moral education system that operates continuously in Apache daily life.

Ronnie Lupe's claim about children and land (p.38, 62) and Basso's on younger Apache’s who complain frequently (p.63)

Ronnie Lupe's Claim about Children and Land (p.38, 62)

Original quote (p.38): "Our children are losing the land. It doesn't go to work on them anymore. They don't know the stories about what happened at these places. That's why some get into trouble." (Ronnie Lupe, age 42; Chairman, White Mountain Apache Tribe, 1978)

Basso's interpretation (p.62): "Ronnie Lupe's claim that Western Apache children who are not exposed to historical tales tend to have interpersonal difficulties. As he puts it, 'They don't know the stories of what happened at these places. That's why some of them get into trouble.' What Mr. Lupe is claiming, of course, is that children who do not learn to associate places and their names with historical tales cannot appreciate the utility of these narratives as guidelines for dealing responsibly and amicably with other people. Consequently, he believes, such individuals are more likely than others to act in ways that run counter to Apache social norms, a sure sign that they are 'losing the land.'"

Basso's Observation about Younger Apache’s (p.63)

"Younger Apache’s, who today complain frequently about the tedium of village life, have started to develop new tastes and ambitions, and some of them are eager to explore the outside world. Older members of the community understand this desire and do little to try to stifle it, but they are concerned that as younger people learn more and more of the 'whiteman's way' they will also lose sight of portions of their own."

Connection: Both observations point to the same cultural concern - that disconnection from the land-based moral education system (through ignorance of place-based stories) leads to behavioral problems and cultural loss among Apache youth.

The story of 17yr old girl with pink plastic curlers

In early June 1977, a seventeen-year-old Apache woman attended a girls' puberty ceremonial at Cibecue wearing pink plastic curlers in her hair. She had just returned from a boarding school in Utah where this style was considered fashionable. Two weeks later, the same young woman brought tortillas to her maternal grandmother's camp for a birthday celebration. The grandmother quietly told a historical tale about the forgetful Apache policeman who "behaved too much like a Whiteman. Two years later, when Basso encountered the young woman again, she explained her reaction:

"I think maybe my grandmother was getting after me, but then I think maybe not, maybe she's working on somebody else. Then I think back on that dance and I know it's me for sure. I sure don't like how she's talking about me, so I quit looking like that. I threw those curlers away."

Significance

This story perfectly illustrates Basso's central thesis about how Apache historical tales work:

1. Indirect moral instruction through storytelling rather than direct confrontation

2. Immediate behavioral change - she threw away the curlers

3. Lasting connection to place - the location continues to remind her of the lesson

4. Land as ongoing moral force - the place "stalks" her daily, reinforcing proper behavior

The incident demonstrates how the Apache system of place-based moral education works to maintain cultural standards while allowing individuals to save face through indirect correction

Chapter 3 Interlocuter

Lola Machuse:

• A central figure in her community who "is practically a community unto herself"

• Known for being extremely interested in everyone and everything: "I'm intress in evybody!" as she says

• Very cheerful

• Mother of eight children

• Divides her time between caring for family, collecting medicinal plants, participating in ceremonial activities, and farming

• Skilled in the practice of "speaking with names" - using Apache place-names to convey moral lessons and provide comfort

Context and analysis of conversation between Lola & Louise

The conversation occurs on a hot July afternoon under a brush-covered ramada at Lola Machuse's home. Louise has just finished telling the group about her younger brother's sudden illness - he experienced stomach cramps, numbness, and vomiting after stepping on a snakeskin months earlier during a cattle roundup. Despite being warned to seek help from a snake medicine person, her brother had dismissed the danger.

Why did Basso have a hard time understanding Lola and Louise’s conversation?

The puzzle lies in discourse coherence - Basso cannot understand:

1. Sequential relationships: How do these place-name statements relate to each other or to Louise's story about her brother?

2. Conversational logic: Why does Lola suddenly mention "Line Of White Rocks Extends Up And Out" in response to Louise's brother's illness? How does Emily's place-name respond to either the narrative or Lola's statement?

3. Underlying organization: What unstated premises and assumptions order these utterances into meaningful discourse?

4. Social function: Why does Louise address the dog at the end? What is the overall purpose of this exchange?

As Basso puts it: "we are unable to place a construction on the text that invests it with coherence, and so, in the end, we cannot know what the conversation itself may have been about."

"We Gave That Woman Pictures" (p. 82)

This phrase introduces Lola's explanation of what actually occurred. The "pictures" refer to mental images that Western Apache people believe are fundamental to thinking and communication. According to Apache linguistic ideology:

The Visual Nature of Apache Thought:

• Every occasion of 'speaking' provides evidence of 'thinking'

• Thinking occurs in the form of 'pictures' that people 'see' in their minds

• Speaking involves using language to 'depict' and 'convey' these mental images to others

• Hearers then 'view' these images in their own minds

What Lola Accomplished: By speaking place-names, Lola gave Louise mental pictures that would:

• Transport her mind to specific geographical locations

• Allow her to "stand in front of them as our ancestors did long ago"

• Enable her to "see what happened there long ago" and "hear stories in her mind"

• Help her "recall the knowledge of our ancestors"

The Strategy Behind "Pictures":

• They didn't "speak too much" or "hold her down" - this shows respect for Louise's imaginative capabilities

• The sparse, evocative place-names allowed Louise to "travel in her mind" and "add on to them easily"

• This follows Apache conversational ethics that avoid over-explaining, which would be seen as insulting to the listener's intelligence

The brilliance of this practice is that a single place-name can evoke entire traditional stories with moral lessons relevant to Louise's situation, providing comfort and guidance without directly criticizing her brother or appearing to lecture her.

Chapter 4 Interlocuter

Dudley Patterson:

• Horsemen and cattleworker

• Explains the meaning behind the cryptic exchange with Talbert Paxton about "Trail Goes Down Between Two Hills"

• Tells the stories of Old Man Owl and the two Apache sisters

• Provides the foundational explanation that "Wisdom sits in places"

• Shares his grandmother's teachings about the "trail of wisdom" and the three mental conditions required for wisdom (smoothness, resilience, and steadiness of mind)

• Guides Basso's understanding of Apache concepts of place, wisdom, and the relationship between landscape and moral instruction

Basso's Question and Dudley's Initial Response

When Basso asks "What is wisdom?", Dudley gives a seemingly cryptic answer: "Wisdom sits in places." When Basso presses again with "Yes, but what is it?", Dudley hesitates, removes his hat, gazes into the distance, and then repeats: "Wisdom sits in places."

"The Trail of Wisdom" Teaching (p.122-140)

Dudley then launches into what becomes known as "The Trail of Wisdom" - a profound explanation delivered in the formal, poetic style of Apache oral tradition. This teaching, which Dudley presents as his grandmother's words to him when he was a boy, outlines:

The Three Mental Conditions Required for Wisdom:

1. Smooth mind (bíni' godilkááh) - unobstructed, clear thinking

2. Resilient mind (bíni' gontł'iz) - resistant to external disruptions

3. Steady mind (bíni' gonłdzil) - free from self-centered emotions

Key Concepts from the Teaching:

• "Your life is like a trail" - requiring constant watchfulness

• "You must be able to see danger before it happens"

• "Wisdom sits in places. It's like water that never dries up"

• "You need to drink from places" - by learning their names and stories

• The process requires going to many places, remembering everything about them, and thinking continuously about their meanings

This teaching represents the philosophical heart of Apache place-based wisdom, explaining how geographical knowledge, ancestral stories, and mental cultivation work together to develop wisdom as a form of prescient thinking and moral development.

What 3 requisite condition if Western Apache’s want to be wise? Define and why is each one critical and the consequences for each element if not met.

1. Smoothness of Mind (bíni' godilkááh)

• Definition:

  A mind that is unobstructed, uncluttered, and unfettered - like a cleared agricultural field from which all vegetation has been carefully removed. Smooth minds can "observe and reason with penetrating clarity" and are "skeptical of outward appearances."

  Why Critical:

  • Enables prescient thinking - the ability to "see danger before it happens" and "trouble before it comes"

  • Allows looking "through and beyond" surface appearances to detect "obscured realities and hidden possibilities"

  • Forms the foundation for all wise decision-making

  Consequences if Not Met:

  • "If your mind is not smooth you will fail to see danger"

  • "You will trust your eyes but they will deceive you"

  • "You will be easily tricked and fooled"

  • "Then there will be nothing but trouble for you"

2. Resilience of Mind (bíni' gontł'iz)

   • Definition:

   Like a "tightly woven basket" or "flexible cardboard box" - resistant to external disruptions that threaten calm thinking. Protects the mind's "interior spaces by shielding them against outside disruptions."

   Why Critical:

   • Guards against fear and alarm - the greatest threats to mental resilience

   • Maintains ability to reason clearly even in "terrifying circumstances"

   • Prevents emotional turbulence from blocking clear thought

   Consequences if Not Met:

   • "If your mind is not resilient you will be easily startled"

   • "You will be easily frightened"

   • "You will try to think quickly but you won't think clearly"

   • "You yourself will stand in the way of your own mind. You yourself will block it"

   • Susceptible to panic, anxiety, and "crippling worry"

3. 3. Steadiness of Mind (bíni' gonłdzil) Definition:

   Like a post driven firmly into supportive ground - stable, reliable, and free from self-centered emotions. Achieved by "relinquishing all thoughts of personal superiority" and "eliminating aggressive feelings toward fellow human beings."

   Why Critical:

   • Prevents interpersonal conflicts that disrupt community harmony

   • Enables "forgetting about yourself" and conducting social affairs "in harmony and peace"

   • Essential for maintaining relationships and social stability

   Consequences if Not Met:

   • "If your mind is not steady you will be easily angered and upset"

   • "You will be arrogant and proud"

   • "You will look down on other people. You will envy them and desire their possessions"

   • "You will speak about them without thinking. You will complain about them, gossip about them, criticize them"

   • "People will come to despise you. They will pay someone to use his power on you. They will want to kill you"

The Missing Dimension in Anthropology

What Anthropologists DO Study:

Basso notes that anthropologists are "willing enough to investigate the material and organizational means by which whole communities fashion workable adaptations to the physical environment" - essentially the practical, economic, and ecological aspects of human-environment interaction.

What They DON'T Study (The Gap):

"Anthropologists seldom study what people make of places" - meaning they neglect the cultural, symbolic, and meaning-making dimensions of how people relate to their landscapes.

The Underdeveloped Area of Inquiry

Basso's Critique:

"Ethnographic inquiry into cultural constructions of geographical realities is at best weakly developed."

What's Missing:

Anthropologists have been "notably less inclined to examine the elaborate arrays of conceptual and expressive instruments" - the:

• Ideas and beliefs about places

• Stories and songs connected to landscape

• Symbolic meanings people attach to geographical features

• Cultural frameworks through which communities understand their environment

The Consequences of This Gap

What We Don't Know:

• "Little is known of the ways in which culturally diverse peoples are alive to the world around them"

• How different groups "comprehend" their landscapes

• The "different modes of awareness" people use to engage with place

• Why some localities matter more than others

• Why viewing certain places can "loosen strong emotions and kindle thoughts of a richly caring kind"

The Missing Concept: "Sense of Place"

Basso argues that anthropology lacks "a thematized concern with the ways in which citizens of the earth constitute their landscapes and take themselves to be connected to them."

He calls this missing dimension "sense of place" - described as:

• "That close companion of heart and mind"

• "Often subdued yet potentially overwhelming"

• The subjective, experiential dimension of human-place relationships

Basso's Call for a New Ethnographic Focus

What's Needed:

An "ethnography of lived topographies" that examines:

• How people "dwell" in Heidegger's sense

• The "self-invested viewpoints" from which people know their landscapes

• How individuals "embrace the countryside and find the embrace returned"

The Urgency:

Basso argues this gap is particularly problematic "in these disordered times" when:

• Indigenous peoples face displacement from homelands

• Environmental awareness is growing

• Contrasting ways of living are generating worldwide attention

• The role of place in personal and social identity formation is increasingly recognized

The 4 Horsemen Conversation

The 4 Horsemen Conversation (Chapter 4, p.113) Context:

• Setting: Grove of juniper trees after a day of cattle work

• Participants: Dudley Patterson, Sam Endfield, Charles Cromwell, and the troubled Talbert Paxton

• Background: Talbert had been acting out for 3 weeks after a failed love affair - drinking heavily, spreading rumors, propositioning women inappropriately, becoming "a nuisance of the first order"

• Talbert's state: He approaches humbly, announces he's been sober for 3 days, wants to return to work, and is ashamed of village gossip about him

The Exchange:

The senior horsemen respond with seemingly cryptic place-references:

• Dudley: "So! You've returned from Trail Goes Down Between Two Hills!"

• Charles: "So! You got tired walking back and forth!"

• Sam: "So! You've smelled enough burning piss!"

• Talbert: "For a while I couldn't see!"

• Dudley: "Truly! Trail Goes Down Between Two Hills will make you wise. We'll work together tomorrow."

The Moral Teaching:

This conversation indirectly criticizes and simultaneously forgives Talbert by:

• Comparing him to Old Man Owl (the foolish character from stories associated with that place)

• Acknowledging his foolish behavior without directly shaming him

• Affirming his recovery by using past tense (implying the foolishness is over)

• Welcoming him back into the community of workers

Comparison to Lola & Louis Conversation (Chapter 3)

Key differences:

• 4 Horsemen:

  • Indirect/Coded references to place stories

  • Group intervention by senior men

  • Peer-to-peer relationship (though with age hierarchy)

  • Work context (cattle ranching)

  • Immediate forgiveness and reintegration

• Lola and Louise:

  • Direct storytelling with explicit narratives

  • Individual intervention by elder woman

  • Clear elder-to-younger authority relationship

  • Family/kinship context

  • More extended moral instruction

Key Similarities:

1. Place-based moral instruction: Both use geographical locations and their associated stories to address behavioral problems

2. Indirect approach: Neither conversation directly states "you've been behaving badly" - instead, they use place references to convey moral messages

3. Wisdom through landscape: Both demonstrate how Apache people use their knowledge of places and stories to guide community members back to proper behavior

4. Community preservation: Both conversations aim to reintegrate a troubled individual back into proper social functioning

Both conversations illustrate Basso's central argument that for the Western Apache, places are not just geographical features but repositories of moral wisdom.