Introduction
There is a well-repeated cliché that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. A person who lives in a community that appreciates roses will naturally become a lover of this beautiful flower without really understanding why. A person who belongs to a family and culture that accepts and believes that the piercing of the skin is a sign of beauty will accept this practice as a way of life.
During the evolution of human society over the millions of years, so many practices, beliefs, rituals, and preferences have evolved that may seem natural to one society and repulsive to others. The one book that documents the peculiar beliefs and practices, especially with regard to beauty, is ‘Feeding Desire’, an authentic account of the Azawagh tribe settled in and around Niger, Africa. The book which can be classified as belonging to the genre of ethnography was authored by a sociologist called Rebecca Popenoe in 2004.
Popenoe is a social anthropologist with a doctoral degree and currently works as a lecturer in Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. Her work is based upon personal observations of the tribe during her visits to the area as a part of her work. Feeding Desire chronicles the history, life and practices of the little known community known as the Azawaghs who equate beauty with what is seen as obese by most people. This paper is a review of the book with reference to how successful the author has been with regard to putting her views across to the world, especially with reference to ethnography.
Sources and method of research
The book is classified as ethnographic literature and the author has done justice to this. This book is mainly written from the information gathered through first hand information. There are references to other studies and works also to support certain view points put across by the author.
Organization of the book
The book is logically organized with the author initially giving the reader a background and history of the tribe. Aspects like colonization are also included. Aspects of religious influence are also provided since the tribe members are followers of the Islamic religion. Other areas of the book concerns with the main theme of the book namely obesity and beauty. Social concepts like kinship and marriage are also mentioned. The psychology behind their beliefs and also the tribe’s concept of wellness and illness is also mentioned in detail. The book ends with the author claiming that the purpose was to enlighten the reader about the life and beliefs of the tribe without being judgmental and one feels that the author has succeeded in doing so
Discussion
This discussion will be with regard to three among the many concepts of ethnography that is directly related to this book. The first that is taken up is the concept of cultural relativism. This theory is of the view that there is no absolute truth and belief and it can only be judged relatively according to different circumstances. Hence the practices followed by a particular tribe need not be judged as being of a high or low standard. There are certain practices that seem common in every society and other practices and beliefs peculiar to this tribe. One commonality and two such peculiarities are given here. One common view across the world is that women’s bodies inherently attract, and men’s bodies are inherently attracted. But the only difference here is that most Azawagh find attractiveness in obesity. This is stressed in many parts of the book and the author feels that the tribe takes this factor very seriously.
The feeling that men have for their women which is characterized by the following sentence; “They simultaneously draw men to their own soft, fleshy, seated immobility, and establish themselves in their own right- not as pseudo-men, but as women.” (Popenoe, 107). This viewpoint as mentioned earlier may be seen as distaste among many other communities. But the idea that the author intends to put across again is that women have the ability to attract men with their bodies. It could be through body adornments, it could be by being thin and curvaceous, or it could be by being obese as in the case seen here. The special or unique beliefs of this tribe may seem strange and even repulsive to a Western educated mind. But for the Azawaghs, it is very natural to them. They have been practicing these beliefs for centuries and are none the worse for it. It is my personal belief that societies are at liberty to practice their beliefs however strange it may seem to others as long as they do not impose it on other societies. It is okay to be attracted freely to such practices. The concept of cultural relativism holds good here because of the uniqueness of beliefs that is presented by the author. She is not critical nor does she say that these are wrong in a religious or moral sense.
The second concept in ethnography that is discussed here is the practice of endogamy by this tribe. Endogamy promotes the marriage within a tribe or social group and may even include relatives. Exogamy does not allow this and welcome marriage outside the community and even forbids marriage among relatives. Marrying cousins or even uncles is an accepted social practice in many societies. In southern India, girls are married to their maternal uncles, and in other areas, the first cousin is also considered to be an acceptable groom. This practice of marrying within the kin also exists among the Azawaghs. For example Popenoe says that “If a girl was promised in marriage at a young age to a cousin, her family would fatten her so that she would be ready for marriage to achieved and consummated as soon as possible.” (Popenoe, 45).
This single sentence in one stroke highlights several aspects of the Azawagh community. The first one, as mentioned above is that the female body is intended to attract the male and efforts by the would-be bride and her family to make her attractive will take place. In another society, this effort may be a visit to a beauty parlor or even dieting plus exercise if the girl is a bit on the heavy side. But in this case, this extended effort begins at a young age to fatten up the girl so that she would be attractive to her prospective husband by the time of the wedding. The second is that marriage within the tribe is common as denoted by the use of the word cousin. Another factor that is illustrated is that age is not a real factor as perceived by other societies. Modern societies legally (and socially) only accept girls above eighteen to be of marriageable (and childbearing) age. The words ‘as soon as possible’ indicate that the marriage is ready to be consummated when the girl is fat enough. The view that girls have to reach a certain age so that she is strong enough to bear children does not hold water here
The third concept of ethnography that is discussed here is social constructionism. This concept or theory believes that whatever beliefs and rituals that a society has developed over the years is a socially constructed. This set of beliefs and practices (which may still be evolving) is the result of conscious human thought and action by the members of each society over the period of its existence. Such practices may have developed in order to find a solution to the need of the hour. In Feeding Desire, many practices and belief that is followed among this tribe has developed through social constructionism. For example, the author is of the opinion that the primary aim of fattening as believed by the tribe is to accelerate puberty. The author tells the early history of the tribe as being rocked by endless wars. This might have resulted in the deaths of many of its members and hence the need to produce more children. One way is to accelerate puberty so that the girl can be married off and produce offspring to offset the loss of members in the tribe. This belief became a practice even in times of peace because nobody had thought of the original reason in the first place.
Criticism
Disease is perceived in different ways among many societies. In western societies, the feeling of being unwell is expressed in terms of feeling weak, or running a temperature, or feeling pain. In Azawagh society this concept is a feeling of being either hot or cold. But this feeling in the society is not easy to understand. On initial perception feeling hot indicates health and feeling cold indicates a sign of being unwell. This is not true in this society and is more complex and hence difficult to explain. For example the author says that heat is energy and also an upset stomach which seems to be a contradiction. Cold is open which is positive and can also indicate a runny nose, again a contradiction. This could be similar to the Chinese concept of yin and yan. “Neither heat nor cold is negative in and of itself; the key is to retain the correct balance in the body, and to be hot or cold at the right time and in the right way.” (Popenoe, 173). The author has given a lot of space in her book towards explaining the concept, but the feeling is that the exact perception of heat and cold has not been clearly communicated here. It appears that one has to be Azawagh to fully understand and grasp this concept. The only thing that a reader can grasp is that it is both a physical and mental state of being.
Goals and contentions of the author
The age old belief that men are the hunters who gather food for feeding their families is manifested in the belief among this particular tribe also albeit with an aberration when perceived by other societies. The common factor is that men will provide the food, shelter, and clothing to the woman who in exchange will bear the male, progeny that will ensure continuity of the family into the next generation. The woman will take care of the house and children and also maker herself attractive to the mate in order to extend or increase the progeny. The difference that is perceptible when considering the Azawaghs is that attractiveness is positively correlated to the increase in obesity in women of marriageable age and beyond. The men of this community will enjoy intimacy with his companion as long as she is perceived to be attractive in terms of obesity. Popenoe is not judgmental and presents the beliefs and practices within the tribe in a matter of fact way. Her goal, it appears is just to illustrate the different was of thinking, beliefs and practices among this tribe.
In this sense, she has adhered to the concepts of cultural relativism. She does not say that the values of the tribe are superior or inferior in any way to others, but indicate that they are correct according to the outlook of the tribe. It means that such values are relative and not universal. What is okay for this tribe may not be acceptable to other communities. Apart from such minor failings, ‘Feeding Desire’ is a lucidly written book about a strange way of life that still maintains its customs evolved over time. In spite of being a book on ethnography, she brings a narrative style which includes dialogues. This is makes the book all the more readable. The author’s intentions are really made clear towards the end of the book and one feels that she has eminently succeeded in her endeavor. What she intends is to show the world a society that is very human and at the same time different in perceptions of female attractiveness. “What I have tried to do in this book, however, is to lead the reader into the world that defines beauty in quite opposite terms to those of the west, and to analyze the logic behind this aesthetic.” (Popenoe, 188).
Their view about their state of physical and mental well-being is also distinctly different (hot and cold). Most readers will feel that she has been able to do this successfully. One can say for argument’s sake that this could have been achieved by a much smaller book. There need not be so much of text to put this point across. But whatever one may have to say about this point, the feeling that one gets is something much larger than what the author intended. This feeling is that there are diverse cultures with apparently strange or unacceptable practices that exist in the world. In a world that is transforming itself into a village though globalization, it is essential that understanding of how other people live is of extreme importance. Corporations now have a training that is intended to enhance diversity management because people of different cultures now work under the same roof. There should not be a state of affairs where people express shock or distaste in the way of living of another community. The more one learns of the diverse practices that exist among different cultures, the better it is to understand that beauty is not skin deep. The beauty of the individual and the society can only be understood if one has a deep knowledge about them. This is the ultimate reason for reading ‘Feeding Desire’ and the author has been very successful in this regard.
Works Cited
Popenoe, Rebecca. Feeding Desire: Fatness, Beauty, and Sexuality Among a Saharan People. Routledge. 2004.