Ethnography and Ethnology

The concept of society and culture, and its various components like culture trait, culture
complex, status, roles, association, community, group, etc. have been discussed above. You
know that the central theme of social cultural anthropology is the study of society and culture.
To understand society and culture in its comprehensive sense, anthropologists depended on
simple societies. They studied the way of life of these societies and compared them with
other societies to understand cultural similarities and cultural diversities. Most of the studies
in anthropology earlier were categorised under ethnography and ethnology.

Ethnography

Ethnography is a simple and holistic description of a particular culture, at a particular period

of time. An ethnographer collects data through direct interaction with the people. The
settlement pattern, dressing, food habits, economic activities, political organization, family,
marriage, kinship, beliefs, practices, rituals, customs, etc. are studied in detail in ethnographic
studies. Ethnographic studies had been a primary concern of Social Anthropology from its
very beginning. For an ethnographic study, two types of data are required, quantitative and
qualitative. Quantitative data consists of data pertaining to population, male-female ratio, size
of houses, number and size of different types of house hold equipment, quantity of crops
produced, income, quantity of material used and so on. Qualitative data include data
pertaining to beliefs, sentiments, knowledge, social network of family, marriage, kinship,
religious beliefs, practices and life cycle rituals, etc. Data collection in ethnography is
primarily based on field work. Ethnographic field work involves living in close contact with
the people under study. As all aspects of culture are related, the ethnographer must study the
whole of social life, in relationship to each other. In ethnographic research, the researcher
usually selects small-scale societies.

Scientific ethnographic studies were started during end of 19th century. E.B. Tylor started
field work to understand the culture. He stayed one year in United States and six months
among the Mexicans to collect first-hand information. Though he was not a real field worker,
he verified the data collected by his students to ensure the accuracy. L.H. Morgan of America
published the book 'League of Iroquois' (1951) based on the field work among the Iroquois
tribes of America. He interviewed many Iroquois people and collected data on their dance
forms, religious beliefs, customs and traditions, language, material culture, form of
government , family organisation etc. As he was ignorant of the native language, he utilised
the help of an interpreter called Ely Parker throughout his study. Meanwhile, European
administrators also tried to study the people of their colonies in their attempt to "civilise and
rule" the colonies. In this context, the contribution of Edgar Thurston, 'The Castes and Tribes
of South India' is worth mentioning. Many Anthropologists were appointed by the British, to
study the native culture of their colonies. By the beginning of 20th century, W.H.R. Rivers, a
British Social Anthropologist, came to India to Study the Toda tribe of Nilgiri Hills in Tamil
Nadu. His Monograph The Toda, was published in 1906. During 1906-1908, Radcliffe-
Brown, the student of W.H.R. Rivers conducted field work among the tribes of Andaman
Nicobar Island, and his book 'The Andaman Islanders' was published in 1922. In 1912,
ethnography on the tribe Munda, titled 'Munda and Their Country', was published by S.C.
Roy. He was the first Indian Scholar who conducted an Ethnographic study of an Indian tribe.
Hence, S.C. Roy was considered as the father of Indian Ethnography.

However, significant change in the approach of Ethnographic study was brought in By

Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski. He conducted three years of intensive field work (1914-1918)
among the tribes of Trobriand Island. He used the method of total Participant observation,
and followed the native language throughout his study. It was a turning point in the field
approach of Anthropology and hence, he was known as the father of field work tradition in
Anthropology.

Ethnology

Ethnology is the comparative study of races and cultures. In Britain, Social Anthropology
was earlier known as Ethnology. Ethnologists classify people on the basis of their
distribution. It looks at people from an etic point of view. Ethnology can also be called as a
historical study. It is different from ethnography. While ethnography requires primary data
and close relationship with people, ethnology does not require direct interaction with the
people. Ethnology can be based on different ethnographic studies. The important features of
ethnology can be listed as below:

 Ethnology is narrative
 Ethnology is historical
 Ethnology is comparative
 It can be based on ethnographies.
 It need not be based on primary data.
  It studies cultures at different times and in different places.

Brief Ethnography of the Toda

The toda is a pastoral tribe who live in the Nilgiri hills of South India. The Todas live there
with four other tribes namely Badaga, Kota, Kurumba and Irula. They are tall, fair, with long
and narrow nose, long head with black wavy hair. The word Toda has been derived from the
name 'Tundra' - the sacred tree of the Todas. Numerical strength of Toda population is very
low and government have taken some important measures to protect them.

Material culture: The Todas present a classic example of pastoral economy. They know
neither hunting nor agriculture, and rear only buffaloes. They make various products like
ghee, cheese, butter, curd from milk of buffaloes. These products are partially consumed by
themselves and the rest is sold or exchanged with the neighbouring tribal communities.

Division of labour: Each family is engaged in caring large number of buffaloes. The males
of the house take the animals to the field regurlarly. In the morning the Females are not
allowed to enter into the dairy house because of the taboo - Milk is indispensable in the
socio-religious life of the tribe. Milking is done twice a day - early in the morning and in the
evening. The buffaloes are of two types, some are regarded as the ordinary type and other are
sacred. The ordinary buffaloes are maintained by an individual family a for ordinary use,
whereas sacred buffaloes are kept in the special shed. Milk from the sacred buffaloes is
offered to gods.

Food: The Todas are purely vegetarians. Their favourite dish is rice, boiled in milk. They also
prefer curd, churned milk and plain milk. They take vegetables and green leaves as their
principal meals. Meat of the sacrificed buffaloes is considered as sacred, so they take this
during annual festivals. Both males and females of the Toda community are addicted to
liquor. The habit of smoking also prevails among both the sexes.

Reciprocity: The markets of the Todas are actually the homes of the neighbouring people.
Neighbouring communities like Badaga supply them agricultural products in exchange of
milk, the Kotas supply the various utensils made of clay and iron and the Irula and Kurumba,
the hunting gathering group bring different forest products like honey fruit, tubers, vegetables
etc.
Settlement: The Toda village consists of ten to twelve huts called 'Mandu'. The huts are of
two types. The first type is half-barrel in shape. A hut is divided into two portions, inside
room and outside room. Inside room is used as a workshop where the females have no entry.
The outside room is meant for living and other house hold work. The second type of hut is
not barrel in shape. It is circular in shape and made of stone. This type of hut is used to keep
the sacred buffaloes.

Dress: Todas are simple people. The males use a long strip of white loin cloth which has to
be thrown over the shoulders, after covering the waist. This is their traditional dress.
Sometimes they use colourful cloth for covering the upper part of their body. Women use
long thick cloth covering almost the entire body. They keep long hair in plait. They use
ornaments like ear- rings, nose-rings, nose pin etc. The Toda women are expert
needleworkers.

Social Organisation: Todas are endogamous, marriage alliances occur exclusively within the
tribe. The tribe is divided into two subdivisions called moiety - Tartharol and Teivaliol. Each
of these two moieties are again endogamous. The members of Thartharol consider themselves
superior to the Teivaliol.

Family: Todas exhibit polyandrous type of family. A woman with her multiple husbands and
children usually form this type of family. The husbands may or may not be brothers. Children
are known after their 'mother'.