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A. Butchart, The Anatomy of Power. European Constructions of the African Body, London: Zed Books, 1998, ISBN 185649540X Pb, XIV + 220 pp, £ 14.95

A. Butchart, The Anatomy of Power. European Constructions of the African Body, London: Zed Books,... 287 Book Reviews having reconstructed the dialogues from quick notes jotted down during the interviews, because it was rather difficult to use a recorder (p. 102). So why treat them as long literal texts, including made up references to 'Catrien'? And why did Notermans decide to use the terminus technicus 'polygyny' instead of the term 'polygamy' which is used by the women? Polygyny is seen from the man's perspective-the wives in such a mar- riage all have only one husband-a reason why those women often argue that they should not be refused baptism, as they live monogamous lives. Also, the fact that almost all women (married or not) have one or more wanjas ('outside men') on the sly, cannot be properly taken into account by focussing on the term polygyny. Finally: Notermans particularly wanted to include the women's views on Christianity in her book. One would therefore have expected a more detailed description of what this religion stands for, both in (local) theory and in practice, than a vague Dutch tacit point of view that takes 'honesty and justice' to be specific 'Christian' values (p. 278). For instance, the (Catholic) first wives phrase their acceptance of the situation http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Exchange Brill

A. Butchart, The Anatomy of Power. European Constructions of the African Body, London: Zed Books, 1998, ISBN 185649540X Pb, XIV + 220 pp, £ 14.95

Eggen, Wiel
Exchange , Volume 28 (3): 287 – Jan 1, 1999
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1999 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0166-2740
eISSN
1572-543X
DOI
10.1163/157254399X00113
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

287 Book Reviews having reconstructed the dialogues from quick notes jotted down during the interviews, because it was rather difficult to use a recorder (p. 102). So why treat them as long literal texts, including made up references to 'Catrien'? And why did Notermans decide to use the terminus technicus 'polygyny' instead of the term 'polygamy' which is used by the women? Polygyny is seen from the man's perspective-the wives in such a mar- riage all have only one husband-a reason why those women often argue that they should not be refused baptism, as they live monogamous lives. Also, the fact that almost all women (married or not) have one or more wanjas ('outside men') on the sly, cannot be properly taken into account by focussing on the term polygyny. Finally: Notermans particularly wanted to include the women's views on Christianity in her book. One would therefore have expected a more detailed description of what this religion stands for, both in (local) theory and in practice, than a vague Dutch tacit point of view that takes 'honesty and justice' to be specific 'Christian' values (p. 278). For instance, the (Catholic) first wives phrase their acceptance of the situation

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Exchange – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1999

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