Bronisław Malinowski studied the local tribes of Papua New Guinea starting in 1914. He became well known as an ethnographer, collecting stories and insight into the complex social life of the islanders. He observed the daily life of the people around him and his work was celebrated by universities in Europe and America.
Yet Malinowski was looking in from the outside. A now famous photograph is telling. It shows Malinowski, sitting in his fully furnished tent, at his desk, in the shade and surrounded by all the luxuries a European scholar could want. While outside his tent, in the blazing sun, is the tribe he is studying. He’s inside, they’re outside. Or maybe it’s the other way around?
As a result, Malinowski in his writings referred to the tribe as ‘savages’ and not having a good ‘mental range.’ For all his study, he could not see the tribe clearly from his vantage point. They were not like him and that tainted the way he understood them. Thankfully, today, we do not study other cultures in this way. The photo of Malinowski in his tent is a lesson to us, reminding us not to view ‘other’ people in disparaging ways. We know that there are better ways to learn about foreign cultures, and today ethnographers have become skilled at building relationships and respect.
We are all observers of our own city and neighbourhoods. We watch people come and go, passing by, and living their lives. Yet there are two kinds of neighbours: those who watch from the outside in, and those who step into the life happening around them. If we see our neighbourhood as foreign, and watch from the comfort of our tent, we may miss all that the culture around us might teach us. Like Malinowski, we too may mis-judge those we see. It is easy to give names and labels to someone who is foreign to us. However for those who step into their neighbourhood, and engage in the lives of those living around them, we learn something more. We see past labels and we see people. Amazing people.
Where are you? Inside or out?
