166
BOOK REVIEWS
His greatest success is his formal analysis of the lineage qua lineage. In his analysis of the genealogies which describe it, the sources of power of the lineage,3 and the maintenance of lineage geographical boundaries, he is at his best. His analysis of marriage as a form of political involvement of this lineage with other neighboring lineages, and the use of data on the status of lineage wives as an indication of the repute of the lineage is particularly astute. Indeed this is the only such analysis of the organization and structure of a lineage based on field data and done in such detail that this writer is aware of.
There are, however, significant problems in evaluating Baker's work. These problems are two-fold and involve a serious question of scholarly style which may perhaps be more an issue between the reviewer (a sociologist) and Mr. Baker (an anthropologist). Certainly they have a general application: but with the immediate task in mind it becomes difficult to evaluate a book in which the total methodological content is reported in two paragraphs, one in the preface, the other in Chapter 7.6 There is no indication as to the numbers and status of the villagers who were talked to, or for how long, nor their ecological distribution through the village, nor their actual knowledge in the areas in which Baker was questioning them.
This leaves a situation in which neither the reliability nor the validity of the data which are presented can readily be assessed, except those data which are identified as coming from printed and available documents: though undoubtedly Mr. Baker kept a field diary and could have, with relative ease, presented a summary table or tables which would indicate who he talked to, at what times, and for how long, among other things. This, itself, would have been useful, as would a copy of the questionnaire which he administered before he left the village, as well as an indication of what proportion of the households responded to it. Without
2 Ibid., chapter 1, pp. 28-46.
3 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 164-173. This section could have been further improved had he carefully distinguished between "wealth" and "power" and not used the terms more or less interchangeably. See pp. 165-66, particularly,
4 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 187-203.
5 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 174-186.
6 Ibid., see p. viii, and p. 185. 7 Ibid., p. 185.
166
BOOK REVIEWS
·
His greatest success is his formal analysis of the lineage qua lineage. In his analysis of the genealogies which describe it, the sources of power of the lineage,3 and the maintenance of lineage geographical boundaries, he is at his best. His analysis of mar- riage as a form of political involvement of this lineage with other neighboring lineages, and the use of data on the status of lineage wives as an indication of the repute of the lineage is particularly astute. Indeed this is the only such analysis of the organization and structure of a lineage based on field data and done in such detail that this writer is aware of
There are, however, significant problems in evaluating Baker's work. These problems are two-fold and involve a serious question of scholarly style which may perhaps be more an issue between the reviewer (a sociologist) and Mr. Baker (an anthropologist). Certainly they have a general application: but with the immediate task in mind it becomes difficult to evaluate a book in which the total methodological content is reported in two paragraphs, one in the preface, the other in Chapter 7.6 There is no indication as to the numbers and status of the villagers who were talked to, or for how long, nor their ecological distribution through the village, nor their actual knowledge in the areas in which Baker was questioning them.
This leaves a situation in which neither the reliability nor the validity of the data which are presented can readily be assessed, except those data which are identified as coming from printed and available documents: though undoubtedly Mr. Baker kept a field diary and could have, with relative ease, presented a summary table or tables which would indicate who he talked to, at what times, and for how long, among other things. This, itself, would have been useful, as would a copy of the questionaire which he administered before he left the village, as well as an indication of what proportion of the households responded to it. Without
2 Ibid., chapter 1, pp. 28-46.
3 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 164-173. This section could have been further improved had he carefully distinguished between "wealth" and "power" and not used the terms more or less interchangeably. See pp. 165-66, particularly,
4 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 187-203.
5 Ibid., chapter 7, pp. 174-186.
6 Ibid., see p. viii, and p. 185. 7 Ibid., p. 185.
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