Coral Gardens and Their Magic
| Author | Bronisław Malinowski | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | English | |
| Subject | OCLC 180613846 | |
| Preceded by | The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia |
Coral Gardens and Their Magic, properly Coral Gardens and Their Magic Volume I: A Study of the Methods of Tilling the Soil and of Agricultural Rites in the Trobriand Islands and Coral Gardens and Their Magic Volume II: The Language of Magic and Gardening, is the final two-volume book in anthropologist
Overview
The book consists of seven parts divided over two volumes. Volume I, The Description of Gardening, contains the introduction and parts one to three, and volume II, The Language of Magic and Gardening, parts four to seven.
- Part One: "Introduction: Tribal economics and social organisation of the Trobrianders"
This part introduces the climate, industry, and gardening arrangements of the Trobriands and supplies initial anthropological data on the Trobriand Islanders, including by sketching out their social organization and economic institutions. - Part Two: "Gardens and their magic on a coral atoll"
This part describes the role of magic in Trobriand gardening, the rites it involves, Trobriand theories of land tenure, and the technology and spaces associated with gardening practices. It also considers the methodological limitations of various approaches to ethnographic fieldwork, especially in relation to terminology. - Part Three: "Documents and appendices"
collection of documents, including plans of buildings, lineage and title diagrams, explanations of the calculation of gift obligations, and a set of notes on ethnographic methodology and its limitations. - Part Four: "An ethnographic theory of language and some practical corollaries"
This part considers language as a tool, a document, and a cultural reality. It discusses the difficulties of translation and the overlap and boundaries of concepts, and brings context to bear on interpretation, for the anthropologist and for the speakers. It engages with the question of pragmatics, and of the way meaning relates to words - Part Five: "Corpus inscriptionum agriculturae quiriviniensis; or the language of gardens"
A linguistic supplement, outlining a vocabulary of Trobriand gardening terminology and magical words. - Part Six: "An ethnographic theory of the magical word"
This part advances a theory of magical language, both in the Trobriand case specifically and in general terms. Malinowski argues that Trobriand magic spells, like all forms of language, must be understood in context, as "verbal acts", with a predominantly pragmatic function. Language, including magical language, is intended primarily not to communicate thought, but to bring about practical effects. This theory of a pragmatic function of language as a functional aspect ofhuman behaviour, is an early anthropological contribution to the theory of pragmatics.[1] - Part Seven: "Magical formulae"
This section presents some Trobriand magical spells, together with Malinowski's word-by-word analysis.
Reception
The work continues to receive attention from contemporary anthropologists. Its assessment of the Trobriand chief's role as that of a "glorified brother-in-law" to the whole community
The work is also regarded as a pioneering text in the interdisciplinary study of pragmatics. Its analysis of the context and contents of Trobriand spells was one of the first to bring ethnography to bear on the subject of language.[1]
Release details
In a letter written around February 1929, Malinowski wrote that he was basing the monograph partly upon a draft manuscript on gardening he had written during 1916 and 1917.[11]
The book was published by Routledge in 1935.[12] It has been through several editions, including a 1966 second edition by Allen and Unwin.[13] US editions were published in 1965 and 1978.[14]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-44993-9.
- ^ Malinowski, Bronislaw (1966) [1922]. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London: Routledge & Keepgan Paul Ltd. p. 59-60.
- ISBN 1-85728-538-7.
- JSTOR 3033230.
- ISBN 0-19-510879-5.
- ^ Hage, Per (December 1998). "Austronesian chiefs: metaphorical or fractal fathers? Comment on article by Mark S. Mosko". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. l: 763.
- JSTOR 3034960.
- JSTOR 2798500.
- ^ Appelbome, Peter (11 December 1994). "Word for Word / Anthropology Abstracts; A Trans-Narrating, Ethnographic Good Time Was Had by All". New York Times. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
- ISBN 978-90-420-2243-0.
- ISBN 0-415-12077-2.
- ISBN 0-8014-9726-4.
- ^ Malinowski, Bronisław (1966). Coral gardens and their magic. Allen and Unwin.
- ^ "Search results for "Coral Gardens and their Magic"". Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 June 2009.