Review

Reviewed Work(s): Ethnicity and Aboriginality: Case Studies in Ethnonationalism by

Michael D. Levin
Review by: Alexander D. King
Source: American Ethnologist, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov., 1997), pp. 941-942
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/646821
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Csordas's
Csordas'sessay
essaydraws
drawsonon
Merleau-Ponty
Merleau-Ponty
andandallowed
allowed to
to govern
governtheir
theirown
ownaffairs,
affairs,but
buteconomic
economic
Heidegger
Heideggerto
toproblematize
problematizethethe
relationship
relationship of biol-development
of biol- development of
of their
theirregion
regionled
ledtotorapid
rapiddisenfran-
disenfran-
ogy
ogy and
andculture
culturethrough
throughanan
account
account a young chisement
of aofyoung chisement and
and social
socialdisintegration
disintegrationininthe
the
period
period
ofof
Navajo
Navajo man's
man'sstruggle
strugglewith
withterminal
terminal
cancer.
cancer.
The Theone short
short generation.
generation.Outside
Outsideinfluences,
influences,like
like
other
other
patient's
patient'snarrative
narrativeis is
shown
shown
to to
be be
an an
"adaptive
"adaptive strat- native
strat- native advisers
advisers and
andthe
theinternational
internationalFourth
FourthWorld
World
egy
egy that
thatspontaneously
spontaneously emerges
emerges
from
from a preobjec-movement,
a preobjec- movement, cannot
cannotaccount
accountfor
forthe
thedetails
details and
and
the
the
tive
tive bodily
bodilysynthesis"
synthesis"
(p.(p.
287).
287). extreme
extreme nature
nature of
ofInnu
Innunationalism.
nationalism.Only
Only a careful
a careful
The
The essays
essaysininthis
thisvolume
volumeareare
tootoo
rich
rich
to be
to easily
be easilyanalysis
analysis of
of the
the local
localculture
cultureand
andhistory
historymakes
makessense
sense
summarized,
summarized,sosoI Iwill
willend
endonon
this
this
note:
note:
it isitquite
is quiteof an
an otherwise
otherwise curious
curiouspuzzle.
puzzle.
simply
simply aabook
bookthat
thatshould
shouldbe be
required
required
reading
readingfor for Judith
Judith Nagata
Nagata sketches
sketchesthe
thetwo
twofaces
facesofofMalay-
Malay-
anyone
anyone interested
interestedininmedical
medicalanthropology
anthropology gener- sian
gener- sian nationalism-one
nationalism-onedomestic,
domestic,thetheother
otherinterna-
interna-
ally,
ally, and
andin
inissues
issuesofof
violence,
violence,
illness,
illness,
andand embod- tional-in
embod- tional-in aa detailed,
detailed,yet
yetsuccinct,
succinct,analysis.
analysis.Unlike
Unlike
ied
ied experience
experiencemore
morespecifically.
specifically. the situations
situations inin Canada
Canadaand
andAustralia,
Australia,"indige-
"indige-
nous"
nous" Malays
Malays are
are the
thedominant
dominantgroup,
group,although
although
they
they barely
barely constitute
constitutehalf
halfof
ofthe
thepopulation.
population.The
The
domestic
domestic "face"
"face" casts
castsIslam
Islamwith
withananethnic
ethnic hue,
hue,
Ethnicity
Ethnicityand
andAboriginality:
Aboriginality:Case
Case
Studies
Studies
in in
Ethnonationalism. MICHAEL D. LEVIN, ed. maintaining
maintaining strict
strictseparation
separationbetween
between"Malay"
"Malay"
mosques
mosques and
and "Chinese"
"Chinese"oror"Indian"
"Indian"ones,
ones,for
for
exam-
exam-
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993.
ple. In
In the
the international
internationalsphere,
sphere,ononthe
theother
other
hand,
hand,
xiii + 179 pp., contributors.
the Malaysian
Malaysian government
governmentemphasizes
emphasizesthe
the
com-
com-
mon
mon ties
ties of
of Islam
Islamin
inorder
ordertotoplay
playa amore
moreeffective
effective
ALEXANDER D. KING
role
role in
in the
the growing
growingIslamic
Islamicworld.
world.Nagata
Nagatahighlights
highlights
University of Virginia
the beautiful
beautiful ironies
ironiesof
ofMalaysian
Malaysianideologies
ideologies
ofof
aboriginality,
aboriginality, meant
This collection of seven papers is from a Univer- meantto
toexclude
excludethose
thoseofofChinese
Chineseoror
sity of Toronto symposium, "Ethnonationalism:Indian
Indian descent,
descent, but
butaccidentally
accidentallyempowering
empowering for-
for-
est-dwelling
est-dwelling
Canadian and International Perspectives," held in aboriginal
aboriginalgroups.
groups.What
Whatisismore,
more,many
many
"Malays"
"Malays"
December 1990. Three essays address issues con- have
have shallow
shallowgenealogical
genealogicalroots
rootsinin
the
the
country,
country,
cerning First Nations in Canada, and the other four while
while those
thoseclassed
classedasas"Chinese"
"Chinese"oror"In-
"In-
examine Quebec, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya, dian"
dian" can
can demonstrate
and demonstratemore
morethan
than300
300years
yearsofof
resi-
resi-
Nigeria. The editor, Michael Levin, states dency dency
in theon on the
the peninsula.
peninsula.Thus
Thusa ageneration
generation that
that
preface, "the point of departure was a 1973 looks,
looks,
paper acts,
acts, and
and talks
talksmuch
muchlike
likethose
thoseclassed
classedas as
by Walker Connor entitled 'The Politics of Ethnona-"Malay"
"Malay" areare locked
lockedinto
intotheir
theirancestral
ancestralethnicities
ethnicities
and denied
tionalism' (published in the Journal of International denied economic,
economic,social,
social,and
andpolitical
politicalprivi-
privi-
leges
leges reserved
Affairs 27(1):1-21)" (p. ix). Levin provides a synop- reserved for
forthose
thosewith
with"Malay"
"Malay"written
written onon
sis of Connor's argument in the introduction, their
their national
national identity
high- identitycard.
card.
While
While most
lighting the role of the "principle of national self-de- most ofof the
thecontributors
contributorsseemseemtotoagree
agree
termination" as a moving force in modernwith Levin's conclusion that "it is almost self-evi-
world
politics (p. 5). Ethnonationalism and its goal of dent to say today that nations are invented" (p.
self-
determination are relatively young ideas (less 178), many fall into the nationalist trap of reifying
than
200 years old), yet have been (and remain) power- culture (or ethnicity) into clear, objective entities.
Levin himself unproblematically asserts the "cul-
ful sources of serious political trouble and instabil-
ity. Yet the contributors "do not subscribe to tural
Con-reality of at least 200 groups" in Nigeria (p.
nor's narrow framework for self-determination, 154).nor
Asch believes that a Canadian federation
do they accept his strongly negative conclusions" drawn along ethnic lines will ameliorate the racist
(p. 7). They instead emphasize routes to practicallegal assumptions in past and contemporary Cana-
solutions of ethnic self-determination, which dian isjurisprudence (pp. 31-33). And one is as-
broadly defined as some amount of control tounded
by a that Tremblay can flatly state "that French
group over itself. This need not necessarily is the only language facing a survival challenge in
entail
becoming a state, but rather some sort of realisticNorth America, even in La Belle Province" (p. 115).
power-sharing arrangement within current Anyone
state with passing knowledge of the linguistic
structures. situation among Native Americans can dispute this.
The stronger essays, like Adrian Tanner's discus-Ethnicity and Aboriginality provides valuable ex-
sion of Innu ethnopolitical ideology and Judith Na-aminations of people often ignored or called an
"insignificant minority" in analyses of ethnonation-
gata's analysis of the ironies in Malaysian ethnona-
tionalism, provide valuable case studies of how thealism. Attention to cultural differences affecting eth-
concept of "aboriginality" is used as leverage for nonational ideology shows that the concept of
"aboriginality" is a powerful symbol that has often
greater political legitimacy in claims to "self-deter-
mination." Adrian Tanner shows how Innu in Lab- been overlooked. This reader, however, also finds
rador, Canada are a "striking example of indige-that contributors to this collection participate in the
nous nationalism turned against the modern state"ethnonational movements as much as they examine
(p. 75). Unlike other indigenous groups, the Innuthem. As Levin sums up in the conclusion, "the em-
directly challenge the legitimacy of the state. An ex- phasis in these papers is on the historical context of
planation of this unique case can be found in thethe ethnonational claims in the countries in ques-
cultural construction of the Innu category of thetion rather than on the deliberate negotiations on
person, their egalitarian social structure, and thespecific issues" (p. 174) I see this as a weakness
circumstances of Innu political history in the middle rather than a strength, and would like more discus-
of this century. Until the 1950s, they were mostlysion on how those nations are invented and who is

reviews 941

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doing
doing the
theinventing.
inventing.A Afocus
focusononthethe
specific
specific strate- and all persons under
strate- under the
the care
care of
of female-headed
female-headed
gies
gies and
and negotiations
negotiationsused
used
bybynationalists
nationalists
brings
brings
the thefamilies are affected
affected negatively.
negatively. Pointing
Pointing out
out that
that
"inventedness"
"inventedness"ofofethnicity
ethnicityto to
thethe
fore.
fore.
Historical
Historical the main UN agency,
agency, the
the United
United Nations
Nations High
High
background
backgroundmaymaybebehelpful
helpful
forforunderstanding
understanding na- na- Commission for Refugees
Refugees (UNHCR),
(UNHCR), recognizes
recognizes the
the
tionalist
tionalist strategies,
strategies,but
butanan
exclusive
exclusive
emphasis
emphasis
on on problem, the authors
authors advocate
advocate for
for nonsensational
nonsensational
"the
"the historical
historicalcontexts"
contexts"leads
leads
thethe
investigator
investigator
intointo
a a approaches to thethe understanding
understanding of of and
and challenge
challenge
nationalist,
nationalist,reifying
reifyingdiscourse
discourse from
fromwhich
which
a clear
a clear to tradition-based
tradition-based inequalities,
inequalities, including
including those
those that
that
analysis
analysis of
ofnationalism
nationalismis is
impossible.
impossible. are assumed to derive
derive from
from religious
religious precepts.
precepts. They
They
underline their point
point by
by expressing
expressing support
support for
for the
the
legal drive to outlaw
outlaw female
female genital
genital mutilation
mutilation
Selected
Selected Papers
Paperson
onRefuge
RefugeIssues:
Issues:
III.III.
JEF-JEF- (FGM) in the United
United States.
States.
FERY
FERY L.
L. MACDONALD
MACDONALDand
andAMY
AMYZAHARLICK,
ZAHARLICK, A similar challenge
challenge to
to discriminatory
discriminatory traditions
traditions
eds.
eds. Arlington,
Arlington,VA:
VA:American
American Anthopological addresses racism toward
Anthopological toward Gypsy
Gypsy refugees
refugees from
from Ro-
Ro-
Association,
Association,1994.
1994.iiii+ +181
181
pp.,
pp.,
listlist
of of contribu- mania. In a paper
contribu- paper entitled
entitled "Cyganed
"Cyganed [Gypped]
[Gypped] out
out
tors,
tors, notes,
notes,references.
references. of Refuge: Romanian
Romanian Gypsies
Gypsies inin Poland,"
Poland," Elzbieta
Elzbieta
M. Gozdiak argues
argues that
that the
the current
current resurgence
resurgence ofof
TSEHAI BERHANE-SELASSIE racism in Eastern
Eastern Europe
Europe isis rooted
rooted inin "traditional"
"traditional"
prejudices against
against Gypsies
Gypsies and
and is
is augmented
augmented by by
Tufts University
laws that address
address Gypsies'
Gypsies' mobility.
mobility. These
These include
include
This 188-page volume on the communities of new re- Eastern European
European laws
laws that
that restrict
restrict the
the latter's
latter's
portedly 20 million refugees around the world cross-border
lo- travels
travels in
in search
search of
of asylum,
asylum, and
and even
even
cates the roots of these refugees in political emer-
the European Community's
Community's rulesrules that
that apply
apply aa stan-
stan-
gencies that give them traumatic experiences with
dard procedure. They
They all
all leave
leave the
the travelers
travelers "in"in aa
deep psychological impacts. As refugees, their exis-
political no-man's
no-man's land
land without
without fundamental
fundamental hu- hu-
tence is perpetually near-transitory, and their sur-
man and civil rights"
rights" (p.
(p. 56).
56). She
She explains
explains that
that the
the
vival bedeviled by culture shock, suspicions of eco-
mass exodus of Gypsies
Gypsies (who(who call
call themselves
themselves
nomic and political opportunism, and legal Roma) and through Poland
Poland to
to seek
seek other
other homes
homes in in East-
East-
social complications. Their visibility, or lack ofern
it, Europe is actually
actually rooted
rooted inin their
their cultural
cultural prac-
prac-
shapes various social, political, economic, and tice
aca-of traveling
traveling to
to deal
deal "with
"with trouble
trouble ofof all
all kinds"
kinds"
demic meanings that also underscore their prag- (p. 55), and that Roma
Roma women
women resort
resort to
to deliberate
deliberate
matically existentialist status. To know about them,
displays of poverty
poverty asas strategies
strategies for
for dealing
dealing with
with
it is necessary to have a full command of the whole
prejudice and discriminatory
discriminatory relationships
relationships fromfrom
gamut of cultural issues from forms of social organi-
host communities.
zations to gender, ecology, development, religion,Such internal dynamisms also determine how
and so on. Cognizant of this, the editors defineother
an- refugees perceive and cope with the conflicts
thropological knowledge broadly "as embracing and challenges they face. In her contribution, Eva
theory, methods, data, and application" (p. 7), and
V. Huseby-Darvas records how the camp arrange-
draw attention to new theoretical and methodologi-
ments in Hungary upset women from the former
cal themes "magnified for research" (p. 1) by the fo-
Yugoslavia. Desperate because fellow refugees are
cus on refugees, especially on political concerns
divided along cultural, ethnic, and gender lines,
and the ongoing discussion of ethics in anthropology.
and because economic hardships are not alleviated
Wellmeier's Committee on Refugee Issues
by the meager resources provided by the host gov-
(CORI) award-winning paper (which, to a large de-
ernment and the UNHCR, some women commit
gree, encapsulates these definitions and aims)
suicide, while most try to recreate their home envi-
opens the book. Addressing the concepts of identity
and resistance, Wellmeier sees the value of herronment. The effectiveness of recreating the home
environment is illustrated by a description of a
study of Maya refugees as lying in the answers it
"successful" camp of Mozambican refugees in Zim-
gives to some vexing questions on the "persistence
babwe. Ann Mabe shows how emulating the power
of ethnicity and ethno-regenesis [that] are puzzling
and clan formations familiar from their homeland
issues worldwide" (p. 10). She explores the symbols
allows 52,000 refugees from Mozambique to lead a
of Maya refugee existence, and then illustrates how
relatively successful existence with reduced ten-
those in the diaspora translate them into practical
sion. The camp administrator, himself a trained an-
meanings to sustain their identities in new environ-
ments, thus generating "a self-conscious trans- thropologist and a member of a chiefly Zulu clan,
reportedly respects their tradition and, because he
national ethnic group" (p. 11) in the United States.
ranks fourth in the bureaucracy of social welfare
She allows space for discussion of her own relation-
ships to the refugees over several years. provisioned by the Zimbabwean government, is
said to be well-positioned to do his job. Although
The rest of the similarly brief nine papers are clas-
sified into four sections that expose the inefficacythe
of author also attributes the success to the prepon-
derance of females in the camp, by expressly mini-
the legal instruments that deal with refugee cultures
and expectations. In "Preventing the Consequences mizing discussion of problems in the setting, she
of Human Rights Abuse: The Case of Refugee shows her approval of the anthropologist adminis-
Women," Patricia Campbell and Peter W. Van Ars- trator's capacity to integrate traditions with camp
dale review the evolution of international conven- service provision. The author is ambiguous, how-
tions by which member states of the United Nations ever, about whether this "success" has more to do
define refugees. As these do not recognize gender with the anthropologist's efficiency in exercising his
issues, women (who form the majority of refugees) chiefly role vis-a-vis the women in the camp.

942 american ethnologist

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