Plague of caterpillars: a return to the African bush

BARLEY, NIGEL

Travel

Penguin??Books

When British anthropologist Nigel Barley set up home among the Dowayo people in northern Cameroon, he knew how fieldwork should be conducted. Unfortunately, nobody had told the Dowayo. His compulsive, witty account of first fieldwork offers a wonderfully inspiring introduction to the real life of a cultural anthropologist doing research in a Third World area. Both touching and hilarious, Barley's unconventional story--in which he survived boredom, hostility, disaster, and illness--addresses many critical issues in anthropology and in fieldwork.
 Also by Nigel Barley and available from Waveland Press: Grave Matters: Encounters with Death around the World (ISBN 978-1577664310). Titles of related interest available from Waveland Press: DeVita, Stumbling toward Truth: Anthropologists at Work (ISBN 9781577661252) and Gardner-Hoffman, Dispatches from the Field: Neophyte Ethnographers in a Changing World (ISBN 9781577664512).

The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes From a Mud Hut

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

A plague of caterpillars: A return to the African bush

Nigel Barley returns to Cameroon on hearing that the elaborate and fearsome Dowayo circumcision ceremony, performed at six or seven year intervals, is about to take place. Yet, like much else in this hilarious book by the author of The Innocent Anthropologist, the circumcision ceremony proves frustratingly elusive, partly because of an extraordinary plague of black, hairy caterpillars. 
In the meantime, witchcraft fills the Cameroonian air, a man is lied to by his own foot and an earnest German traveller shows explicit birth-control propaganda to the respectable tribespeople. Beneath the joy and shared laughter in this comic masterpiece lies skilful and wise reflection on the problems facing people of different cultures as they try to understand one another.

A Plague of Caterpillars: A Return to the African Bush

Penguin Uk

White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke

Sir James Brooke's curious career began in 1841, when he was caught up in a war in Brunei. He was an opportunist who, with the Sultan's backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and as a result found himself ruling over Sarawak—a kingdom the size of England. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. This historical biography recalls the best and the worst of the British Imperial character.

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Little, Brown Book Group

Seeking to merge the information of theologians and anthropologists, this book looks at the variety of ways in which cultures around the world deal with death and give it meaning. In some cultures, most famously Ancient Egypt, families would virtually financially ruin themselves in order to deal with the death of just one person. Other cultures such as the nomadic peoples of southern Africa, simply pull down the roof of their dwelling onto the body and move on, while the wrapped bodies in Torajan (Indonesian) houses are used as shelves. The reader is guided through such diverse areas as myths about death, belief about ways to mourn, joking at funerals, post-mortem videos, cannibalism, headhunting and royal mortuary ritual.

Dancing on the Grave : Encounters With Death

ABACUS +

Sir James Brooke's curious career began in 1841, when he was caught up in a war in Brunei. He was an opportunist who, with the Sultan's backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and as a result found himself ruling over Sarawak—a kingdom the size of England. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. This historical biography recalls the best and the worst of the British Imperial character.

Not a hazardous sport

Henry Holt Company

Born the son of an impoverished sea captain in 1781, Stamford Raffles worked his way up in the East India Company to become a minor official on the island of Penang. Out of the blue, he was appointed Governor of Java, and in 1819 he founded Singapore. Now Barley puts himself in Raffles' skin to offer this portrait. 16 pages of illustrations.

The Duke of Puddle Dock: travels in the footsteps of Stamford Raffles

Asia

VIKING

From Library Journal\nConsidering the ubiquitous presence of pottery in Africa, a comprehensive survey of the ceramic traditions of Africa translated into English is long overdue. This book does not and is not intended to meet that need. Rather, it is an introductory overview to the subject utilizing photos of pottery from the Ethnography Department collection of the British Museum, where Barley is an assistant keeper. Barley organizes the text into short chapters, focusing on major themes of pottery production, materials, form, style, decoration, and cultural meaning. The content of the chapters is sketchy, and the supporting evidence provided is frequently anecdotal in character rather than insightful. Also, while the pottery illustrated is fairly representative of the entire continent, the text generally emphasizes West Africa and, oddly, gives detailed attention to North Africa. Keeping in mind its limitations, this work is recommended for public and academic libraries, particularly as a fine source of photos showing a diverse collection of African pots. 
Eugene C. Burt, Art Inst. of Seattle Lib. 
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.\nFrom Booklist\nBarley's survey presents an authoritative ethnographic perspective on African pottery, but the book's stunning images may be appreciated sheerly for their aesthetic impact. Many exquisite vessels from the British Museum's collection are pictured, mainly unglazed ceramic jugs, water jars, and sculptural vessels. Barley discusses a range of forming and firing techniques and delves into the social implications affecting potters in their communities. In a central segment, Barley compares the functions and ritual uses of pottery across the African continent. But ethnography aside, it is a pleasure to examine these inventive, robust forms. Their incised decorations and highly burnished surfaces are stirring reminders of the remarkable cultural heritage of Africa's diverse peoples. Alice Joyce

SMASHING POTS

BRITISH MUSEUM

When the Portuguese made the first European contact with the west African kingdom of Benin in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the kingdom was experiencing a golden age. Its authority on the Guinea Coast was expanding through military conquests, and during the sixteenth century it became a leading power in the region and a major trade partner for European merchants. Benin remained an influential independent state and a major political and economic power on the coast, though with periods of both decline and prosperity, until its conquest by the British in 1897. The arrival in Europe of the treasures from Benin produced an enormous sensation, causing a re-evaluation of and new appreciation for African art. This sumptuous photographic book showcases a series of specially taken photographs of key pieces in the British Museum's collection. It opens with an introduction to the kingdom, court and culture of Benin, which is followed by thematic sections including kingship, ceremony, women, Europeans, and animals. Throughout, stunning photographs of the works are featured alongside close-up details.

The Art of Benin /anglais

Reference

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Books by BARLEY, NIGEL

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BARLEY, NIGEL. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Plague of caterpillars: a return to the African bush

The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes From a Mud Hut

A Plague of Caterpillars: A Return to the African Bush

White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke

Dancing on the Grave : Encounters With Death

White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke

Not a hazardous sport

The Duke of Puddle Dock: travels in the footsteps of Stamford Raffles

SMASHING POTS

The Art of Benin /anglais