The Remembered Village: Difference between revisions

The Remembered Village
Author	M. N. Srinivas
Language	English
Series	Oxford India Perennials
Subject	Ethnography
Publisher	Oxford, Oxford University Press
Publication date	1978
Media type	Print
Pages	356
ISBN	0783746830

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 06:31, 23 April 2024

The Remembered Village is a 1978 ethnological work by M. N. Srinivas. The book is about the villager who lives in the small village, named as Rampura in the state of Karnataka, then called Mysore. It is notable for the absence of fieldnotes as a base for the work, which is considered standard in ethnography following the standards set by Bronislaw Malinowski in Argonauts of the Western Pacific as they were lost due to arson,^[1] and elicited fierce debate in the anthropological community due to its unorthodox origin, among other factors.^[2]^[3]^[4] The book is noted for its concern on the aesthetic, flowing prose and the significant role of the ethnographer himself,^[5] a marked departure from earlier works such as Evans-Pritchard's studies on the Nuer, which is written with a more objective voice.

Background

The caste system in India has long been the subject of scholarly interest, but there was a distinct lack of ethnographic material on it as noted by Radcliffe-Brown.^[6] Inspired by this and other works such as that of Robert Redfield and Fei Hsiao-Tung, M.N. Srinivas set out to a remote part of India to carry out fieldwork as part of the position he was offered by his teacher, Evans-Pritchard and ended up choosing Rampura due to his fluency in Kannada and several emotional factors, including his ties to Mysore and being awed by the local view.^[7]

Overview

The book consists of eleven chapters. General summaries of each chapter are included below.

Chapter I: A description of the educational background of Srinivas and key theoretical influences, including Radcliffe-Brown, Evans-Pritchard and his decision to pick Rampura as the fieldwork site
Chapter II: A brief overview of Rampura
Chapter III: Three important men; The Headman, Kulle Gowda, and Nadu Gowda
Chapter IV: Role of agriculture, and the general preoccupation of land by the villagers
Chapter V: The role of sex in division of labour and sexual urges of the villagers
Chapter VI: Inter-Caste relationships, purity and pollution plus discussions on Harijans and Muslims
Chapter VII: Compounding of caste hierarchy by land possession, and the landowner-client relationship
Chapter VIII: Changes of the village since 1948 to around 1952
Chapter IX: Quality of social relations and reciprocity
Chapter X: Role of religion, regarding pan-Indian deities in Hinduism and local deities
Chapter XI: The author's recollections of his last few days in Rampura

^[8]

Theoretical concepts

Sanskritisation

The all-India varna and the local jati, based on land ownership, often are not strictly the same, with Brahmins and Lingayats higher in the caste order often being clients lower in the Varna order. The disparity in rank between the economic status and the ritual status could result in high jati classes moving up the varna hierarchy by adopting practices of higher castes.^[9]

Dominant caste

The concept of dominant caste in the book, where the peasant caste has much practical power, including influential members such as the headman, his lineage and the God's house lineage, could be related to their large numbers viv-à-vis the smaller numbers of the Brahmins, and could be used to explain other social phenomena, such as prestige among English trade unions.^[10]

Reception

David Francis Pocock criticized Srinivas for putting excessive sociological jargon for his supposed audience,"the educated layman" and yet not sufficient to justify it as scholarly work, and also noted on the question of subjectivity.^[11] Another common form of criticism relates to the shortcomings of structural-functionalism, the basis of the work as taught by Evans-Pritchard in the vein of Durkheim.^[12]

References

^ Celarent, Barbara (May 2012). "The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review" (PDF). American Journal of Sociology. 117 (6): 1870–1878. doi:10.1086/666522. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ Beals, A. R. (1 January 1978). "The remembered village as ethnography". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 12 (1): 109–115. doi:10.1177/006996677801200111. S2CID 143503162.
^ Srinivas, M.N. (1 January 1978). "The remembered village: reply to criticisms". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 12 (1): 127–152. doi:10.1177/006996677801200113. S2CID 144392124.
^ Joshi, P.C. (1 January 1978). "The remembered village: A bridge between old and new anthropology". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 12 (1): 75–89. doi:10.1177/006996677801200108. S2CID 143833998.
^ Celarent, Barbara (May 2012). "The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review" (PDF). American Journal of Sociology. 117 (6): 1873. doi:10.1086/666522. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ Srinivas, M. N. (2012). The remembered village (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780198077459.
^ Srinivas, M. N. (2012). The remembered village (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780198077459.
^ Srinivas, M. N. (2012). The remembered village (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198077459.
^ Srinivas, M. N. (2012). The remembered village (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780198077459.
^ Epstein, T. S. (1 January 1978). "The remembered village: a modern classic". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 12 (1): 71–72. doi:10.1177/006996677801200107. S2CID 145819843.
^ Pocock, D.F. (1 January 1978). "The remembered village: a failure". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 12 (1): 62–64. doi:10.1177/006996677801200106. S2CID 144250802.
^ Cross, Jamie (5 September 2013). "Book Review: The Remembered Village by M.N. Srinivas". LSE Review of Books. Retrieved 16 November 2016.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1978 book by M. N. Srinivas}}
-{{Orphan|date=December 2016}}
 {{Infobox book
-| name = The Remembered Village
+| name              = The Remembered Village
-| title_orig =
+| title_orig        =
-| translator =
+| image             =
-| image =
+| caption           =
+| author            = [[M. N. Srinivas]]
-| caption =
+| illustrator       =
-| author = M. N. Srinivas
+| cover_artist      =
-| illustrator =
-| cover_artist =
+| country           =
+| language          = English
-| country =
+| series            = Oxford India Perennials
-| language = English
+| subject           = [[Ethnography]]
-| series = Oxford India Perennials
+| publisher         = Oxford, Oxford University Press
-| subject = [[Ethnography]]
+| pub_date          = 1978
-| publisher =  	Oxford, Oxford University Press
+| english_pub_date  =
-| pub_date = 1978
+| media_type        = Print
-| english_pub_date =
+| pages             = 356
-| media_type = Print
+| isbn              = 0783746830
-| pages = 356
+| oclc              =
-| isbn = 0783746830
-| oclc          =
+| preceded_by       =
-| preceded_by =
+| followed_by       =
+}}
-| followed_by = }}
-{{Italic title}}
-'''''The Remembered Village'''''  is a 1978 [[ethnological]] work by [[M. N. Srinivas]] . The book is about the villages who live in the small village , named as Rampura in the state of [[Karnataka]], then called Mysore. It is notable for the absence of fieldnotes as a base for the work, which is considered standard in ethnography following the standards set by [[Bronislaw Malinowski]] in ''[[Argonauts of the Western Pacific]]'' as they were lost due to arson.,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Celarent|first1=Barbara|title=The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review|journal=American Journal of Sociology|date=May 2012|volume=117|issue=6|pages=1870–1878|url=http://home.uchicago.edu/~aabbott/barbpapers/barbsrin.pdf|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> and elicited fierce debate in the anthropological community due to its unorthodox origin, among other factors.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beals|first1=A. R.|title=The remembered village as ethnography|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=109–115|doi=10.1177/006996677801200111}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Srinivas|first1=M.N.|title=The remembered village: reply to criticisms|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=127–152|doi=10.1177/006996677801200113}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joshi|first1=P.C.|title=The remembered village: A bridge between old and new anthropology|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=75–89|doi=10.1177/006996677801200108}}</ref> The book is noted for its concern on the aesthetic, flowing prose and the significant role of the ethnographer himself,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Celarent|first1=Barbara|title=The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review|journal=American Journal of Sociology|date=May 2012|volume=117|issue=6|page=1873|url=http://home.uchicago.edu/~aabbott/barbpapers/barbsrin.pdf|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> a marked departure from earlier works such as [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard|Evans-Pritchard]]'s studies on the [[Nuer people|Nuer]], which is written with a more objective voice.
+'''''The Remembered Village'''''  is a 1978 [[ethnological]] work by [[M. N. Srinivas]]. The book is about the villager who lives in the small village, named as Rampura in the state of [[Karnataka]], then called Mysore. It is notable for the absence of fieldnotes as a base for the work, which is considered standard in ethnography following the standards set by [[Bronislaw Malinowski]] in ''[[Argonauts of the Western Pacific]]'' as they were lost due to arson,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Celarent|first1=Barbara|title=The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review|journal=American Journal of Sociology|date=May 2012|volume=117|issue=6|pages=1870–1878|doi=10.1086/666522|url=http://home.uchicago.edu/~aabbott/barbpapers/barbsrin.pdf|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> and elicited fierce debate in the anthropological community due to its unorthodox origin, among other factors.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beals|first1=A. R.|title=The remembered village as ethnography|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=109–115|doi=10.1177/006996677801200111|s2cid=143503162 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Srinivas|first1=M.N.|title=The remembered village: reply to criticisms|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=127–152|doi=10.1177/006996677801200113|s2cid=144392124 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joshi|first1=P.C.|title=The remembered village: A bridge between old and new anthropology|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=75–89|doi=10.1177/006996677801200108|s2cid=143833998 }}</ref> The book is noted for its concern on the aesthetic, flowing prose and the significant role of the ethnographer himself,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Celarent|first1=Barbara|title=The Remembered Village by M. N. Srinivas: A Review|journal=American Journal of Sociology|date=May 2012|volume=117|issue=6|page=1873|doi=10.1086/666522|url=http://home.uchicago.edu/~aabbott/barbpapers/barbsrin.pdf|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> a marked departure from earlier works such as [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard|Evans-Pritchard]]'s studies on the [[Nuer people|Nuer]], which is written with a more objective voice.
 ==Background==
-The [[caste]] system in India has long been the subject of scholarly interest, but there was a distinct lack of ethonographic material on it as noted by [[Radcliffe-Brown]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd|page=2}}</ref> Inspired by this and other works such as that of [[Robert Redfield]] and [[Fei Hsiao-Tung]], he set out to India to carry out fieldwork as part of the position he was offered by his teacher, Evans-Pritchard and ended up choosing Rampura due to his fluency in [[Kannada]] and several emotional factors, including his ties to Mysore and being awed by the local view.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd|page=9}}</ref>
+The [[caste]] system in India has long been the subject of scholarly interest, but there was a distinct lack of ethnographic material on it as noted by [[Radcliffe-Brown]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd|page=2}}</ref> Inspired by this and other works such as that of [[Robert Redfield]] and [[Fei Hsiao-Tung]], M.N. Srinivas set out to a remote part of  India to carry out fieldwork as part of the position he was offered by his teacher, [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard|Evans-Pritchard]] and ended up choosing Rampura due to his fluency in [[Kannada]] and several emotional factors, including his ties to Mysore and being awed by the local view.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd|page=9}}</ref>
 ==Overview==
-The book consists of eleven chapters . General summaries of each chapter are included below.
+The book consists of eleven chapters. General summaries of each chapter are included below.
-* Chapter I: A description of the educational background of Srinivas and key theoretical influences, including Radcliffe-Brown , Evans-Pritchard and his decision to pick Rampura as the fieldwork site
+* Chapter I: A description of the educational background of Srinivas and key theoretical influences, including [[Alfred Radcliffe-Brown|Radcliffe-Brown]], [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard|Evans-Pritchard]] and his decision to pick Rampura as the fieldwork site
 * Chapter II: A brief overview of Rampura
-* Chapter III: Three important men; The Headman, Kulle Gowda and Nadu Gowda
+* Chapter III: Three important men; The Headman, Kulle Gowda, and Nadu Gowda
 * Chapter IV: Role of agriculture, and the general preoccupation of land by the villagers
 * Chapter V: The role of sex in division of labour and sexual urges of the villagers
@@ Line 42: / Line 41: @@
 * Chapter IX: Quality of social relations and reciprocity
 * Chapter X: Role of religion, regarding pan-Indian deities in Hinduism and local deities
-* Chapter XI :The author's recollections of his last few days in Rampura
+* Chapter XI: The author's recollections of his last few days in Rampura
 <ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd}}</ref>
@@ Line 48: / Line 47: @@
 ===Sanskritisation===
-''Main article : [[Sanskritisation]]''
+{{main article|Sanskritisation}}
 The all-India ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'' and the local ''jati'', based on land ownership, often are not strictly the same, with [[Brahmins]] and [[Lingayats]] higher in the caste order often being clients lower in the ''Varna'' order. The disparity in rank between the economic status and the ritual status could result in high ''jati'' classes moving up the ''varna'' hierarchy by adopting practices of higher castes.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Srinivas|first1=M. N.|title=The remembered village|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9780198077459|edition=2nd|page=196}}</ref>
 ===Dominant caste===
-The concept of dominant caste in the book, where the peasant caste has much practical power, including influential members such as the headman, his lineage and the God's house lineage, could be related to their large numbers viv-à-vis the smaller numbers of the Brahmins, and could be used to explain other social phenomena, such as prestige among English trade unions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=T. S.|title=The remembered village: a modern classic|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=71–72|doi=10.1177/006996677801200107}}</ref>
+The concept of dominant caste in the book, where the peasant caste has much practical power, including influential members such as the headman, his lineage and the God's house lineage, could be related to their large numbers viv-à-vis the smaller numbers of the Brahmins, and could be used to explain other social phenomena, such as prestige among English trade unions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Epstein|first1=T. S.|title=The remembered village: a modern classic|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=71–72|doi=10.1177/006996677801200107|s2cid=145819843 }}</ref>
 ==Reception==
-[[David Francis Pocock]] argued Srinivas for putting excessive sociological jargon for his supposed audience,"the educated layman" and yet not sufficient to justify it as scholarly work, and also noted on the question of subjectivity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pocock|first1=D.F.|title=The remembered village: a failure|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=62–64|doi=10.1177/006996677801200106}}</ref> Another common form of criticism relates to the shortcomings of [[structural-functionalism]], the basis of the work as taught by Evans-Pritchard in the vein of [[Durkheim]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cross|first1=Jamie|title=Book Review: The Remembered Village by M.N. Srinivas|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2013/09/05/book-review-the-remembered-village-srinivas/|website=LSE Review of Books|accessdate=16 November 2016|date=5 September 2013}}</ref>
+[[David Francis Pocock]] criticized Srinivas for putting excessive sociological jargon for his supposed audience,"the educated layman" and yet not sufficient to justify it as scholarly work, and also noted on the question of subjectivity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pocock|first1=D.F.|title=The remembered village: a failure|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|date=1 January 1978|volume=12|issue=1|pages=62–64|doi=10.1177/006996677801200106|s2cid=144250802 }}</ref> Another common form of criticism relates to the shortcomings of [[structural-functionalism]], the basis of the work as taught by Evans-Pritchard in the vein of [[Durkheim]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cross|first1=Jamie|title=Book Review: The Remembered Village by M.N. Srinivas|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2013/09/05/book-review-the-remembered-village-srinivas/|website=LSE Review of Books|accessdate=16 November 2016|date=5 September 2013}}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 65: / Line 64: @@
 *Contributions to Indian Sociology January 1978; 12 (1), which is dedicated to discussion on Srinivas' work, including this book [http://cis.sagepub.com/content/12/1.toc]
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Remembered Village}}
 [[Category:Anthropology books]]