Papers in Honor of Melville J. Herskovits: Gossip and Scandal
Author(s): Max Gluckman
Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jun., 1963), pp. 307-316
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for
Anthropological Research
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Papersin Honor of MelvilleJ.Herskovits
Gossipand Scandal
byMax qluckman
IT HAS TAKEN the development
of anthropological individual... the same rightto indulgein slander,
interest
in the growthand break-upof smallgroups gossip,outbursts
of conceit,jealously,etc.,thathe has
to putgossipand scandalintotheirproperperspective, to giveventto themorerespectable
emotions."
Radin's
as amongthe most importantsocietaland cultural theorywas thusmuchlessacutethanhisobservations
we are called upon to analyse.Perceptive of gossip.He may have confusedthemaintenance
phenomena
of
anthropologists
dealt withthesephenomenafromthe a surfaceof goodrelationsbetweenleaderswithactual
early days of field observation.Paul Radin, in his good relations,
buthe clearlydetectedhow theycom(1927:177-8),described peted throughgossip,withoutbeing able to weave
Primitive
Man as a Philosopher
thisinto a theory.This is partlyunderstandable
theway in which
in
and termsof the backgroundof analyticalideas at the
primitive
peopleareindeedamongthemostpersistent
forthesamehonours,
Contestants
pos- timehe wrote,thougha yearearlier,Malinowskihad
ofgossips.
inveterate
nar- presentedhis theoryof mythas a social charterfor
of thesacredritesof thetribe,theauthorized
sessors
all leaveyou in littledoubtas to the existingsocial arrangements
ratorsof legends,
on the basis of a man's
oftheircolleagues.
"Ignoramus,"boaststhathe had theprivilegeto tella certainmyth
andproficiency
character
bandied (Mythin Primitive
"liar"areliberally
"braggart,"
andnotinfrequently
Psychology,
1926).
about.
In
his
study
of
a
Trinidad
Village (1947:185),
"some observers
that therefore
Radin commented
have drawn the conclusionthat not love, kindness, Herskovitsprobedmuchmoredeeplyinto gossipas
He discusses
howprosecutions
and forbearance,
but envy,slanderand hate are the a culturalphenomenon.
and
jailing
of
a
sect
called
the
Shouters
"give riseto
He
of a primitive
dominantatmosphere
community."
becausethe "unkind gossip about the eventsthat led to the suppressed
arguedthat thiswas incorrect,
talesthatare toldand retoldwitha mixture
bandiedabout meetings,
and slanderousremarksso frequently
of
relish
and
sympathy."
He proceedsto show how
the
do not engenderfeudsand thatoften
principals
concernedare on verygood terms."Radin dismissed popular attitudesand pointsof view influencethis
or evensupplants
was to be explained gossip,so that"fantasysupplements
the idea thatthiscontradiction
in
fact
order
to
weave
more
a new motifinto
closely
on
he
fell
back
but
or
by "suppression sublimation";
a meagrepsychological
thesis,thattribalsocietyhas a the old patternof grievanceagainstdiscrimination."
gossipblamedthelocal minister
for
theoryof freedomof expressionwhichgives"every Thus oft-repeated
a firstseriesof arrestsof Shouters,
forit was alleged
thathe was piqued becausethe Shoutershad drawn
MAX GLUCKMAN is Professor of Social Anthropologyat the
away his own congregation.
Prominent
laymenof a
Victoria Universityof Manchester,England. Born in 1911, he
recognizedchurchwere accusedin gossipof leading
was educated in Johannesburgand as a Rhodes Scholar at
the police to a Shouters'meeting.Herskovitsrelates
Oxford (D.Phil., 1936). He carried out lengthyfield research
among the Zulu and the Barotse and shortersurveysin other
this gossip to allegationsby those of lower socioRhodesian tribes. He was Director of the Rhodes-Livingstone
economicpositionthat the discrimination
of larger
Institute'of Social Studies in British Central Africa (1939and wealthier
denominations
had achievedthepassing
1947), beforebecominga UniversityLecturerat Oxford (1947of theordinanceforbidding
theShoutersin order"to
9), whence he established the Department of Social Anthropology and Sociology at Manchester.He has been editor of the
suppressa dangerousrivalin thequestforsouls."
Rhodes-LivingstoneInstitutepublications.
In anotherstudyHerskovitsconnectsgossipwith
Gluckman's main publications are on politics and law, inthe
maintenance
of morals.In his Life in a Haitian
cluding a series of books and essays on the Barotse and a
Valley (1937:74f) he analyses songs sung at the
number of essays on the Zulu, as well as collaborativework
on the Rhodesian Tonga and Lamba. Also, he has published
combites:
working-bees-the
general theoretical work, including Custom and Conflict in
Atthecombite
a mannotonlylearnsall thegossipofthe
Africa and Rule, Law and Ritual in Tribal Society (in press),
with contributionsto Essays on the Ritual of Social Relations
day,butenjoyslearning
andsinging
thesongswhichcausand Closed Systemsand Open Minds: The Limits of Naivete
comment
ontheshortcomings
tically
ofneighbours,
orevalin Social Anthropology(in press), both of which last he edited.
uatethehospitality
of thosewhohavecalledcombites,
or
A collection of his essays has just been published under the
detailscandal,phrasedwithsufficient
directness
to allow
title Order and Rebellion in Tribal Africa.
thereference
of thesongto remain
butwarily,
so as
ctear,
Max Gluckman's paper is the third in a series, edited by
notto givetheindividual
grounds
fordirect
recrimination.
Francis L. K. Hsu and Alan P. Merriam specially prepared to
As we shallsee,all thelessonsof successful
scandalhonorMelville J. Herskovits.The entireseries,when completed,
will constitutea new type of Festschrift(CA 4:92).
are compressed
in Herskovits'fewwords.
mongering
Vol. 4 * No. 3 * June 1963
307
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He goes on to explainhow thismakesthe leaderof against the canons of the Church. Yet it is possible to
it,"The show that among relatively small groups, gossip, in
thesongsfeared,foras one Haitianexpressed
simidor[leader] is a journalist,and everysimidoris all its very many varieties,is a culturallydetermined
heretheanalysison process, which has its own customaryrules, trespass
a Judas!"Herskovits-anticipating
whichI shallmainlydepend-givesexamplesof these beyond which is heavily sanctioned. I propose to
songsto showhow theyfindfavour"amonga people illustratethe social affiliationsof this process and to
to whosenaturallove of gossipis added a patterned suggestthat gossip,and even scandal, have important
of individualshort- positive virtues. Clearly they maintain the unity,
relishforobliquepublicstatement
He thencitessongswhichscorninhospitality morals and values of social groups.Beyond this,they
comings."
a love affairbetweentwo firstcousins, enable these groups to control the competingcliques
and meanness,
quarrelwherea suspicionof magic and aspiringindividualsof which all groupsare comand an impending
practicesentered,and finallya song which was a posed. And finally,they make possible the selection
challengein whichthe singerboastedof his equality of leaders withoutembarrassment.
The one theme of my argumentwas clearly exwithanother.
of pressedin JaneAusten'snovel,Emma, that penetrating
of gossipwiththe maintenance
The connection
the unityof groupsand theirmoralitywas takena analysis of the small village of Highbury in Surrey.
by JamesWestin hisstudyof Plainsville, You may rememberthe passage when the elite of the
stepfurther
U.S.A., (1945:99-107, 162), a Middle West town; village were to gather for Christmasdinner at Mr.
and thisis the firstbeginningof an analysiswhich Weston's house. Among themwas Mr. JohnKnightly,
the pervasiverole of gossip in com- who had left Highbury to practise law in London.
demonstrates
munitylife.' West describesvividlythe"loafingand As he was driven throughthe snow to Mr. Weston's,
gossip"groupsof Plainsville,and createsthe sugges- he grumbledto his companions:
tive title"gossipcells."Thereare groupsof old men
A man musthave a verygood opinionof himselfwhen
and old women,and men can only enterthe store he asks people to leave theirown fireside,and encounter
wherethe old womensit by indulgingin a joking- sucha day as this,forthe sake of comingto see him.He
markedby sexual innuendo.He also mustthinkhimselfa mostagreeablefellow; I could not
relationship,
women do sucha thing.It is thegreatestabsurdity-actually
snowdescribes
cliques,oneof youngmarried
younger
Thefollyofpeople'snotstaying
at home
and oneof four"fast"youngmarriedcouples.He says ingat thismoment!
thatin the groupsof old people thereis exchanging whentheycan! If we wereobligedto go out on suchan
and garblingof all news, thoughthe old men are eveningas this,by any call of dutyor business,what a
we shoulddeemit;-and herewe are, probably
kindlierthantheyoungwomenthink.He states,too, hardship
ratherthinnerclothingthan usual, settingforward
thatthesegroupsare on thewholeagainstprogressive with
withoutexcuse,in defianceof the voice of
voluntarily,
Finallyhe (p. 162) writesthat
developments.
naturewhichtellsman,in everything
givento his view or
with his feelings,to stay at homehimself,and keep all under
theair. . . as a vitalconcern
topermeate
seems
religion
setup. shelterthathe can;-here are we settingforwardto spend
whichthechurches
onmoralconduct
thenegotiations
five dull hoursin anotherman's house,with nothingto
morals
of
through
control
mainly
operates
The religious
and
laugh say or to hearthatwas not said and heardyesterday,
suspect,
gossipandthefearofgossip.Peoplereport,
and walkand may not be said and heard again tomorrow.Going in
of others,
thepeccadilloes
at,andcondemn
to avoid beingcaughtin any trifling dismalweather,to returnprobablyin worse;fourhorses
behavecarefully
and fourservantstakenout fornothingbut to conveyfive
of theirown....
missteps
idle shivering
creatures
intocolderroomsand worsecom-
withthebook pany thantheymighthave had at home.
Takingthesepassagesin conjunction
as a whole,onebeginsto geta feelingof a community Five idle creatureswere being taken that night to
itsvalues
and maintains
whichis partlyheldtogether
their time in idle gossip with other idle creabothwithincliquesand spend
and scandalizing
by gossiping
tures.That day theyhad chattedthe same idle gossip.
in general.We mustgiveWestfullcreditforhisgreat And on the followingday, they
would engage in the
but perhapsbecausehe was same idle
achievement;
pioneering
gossip.
Now,
obviously,
the kind of
a pioneerhe was notable to graspthefullimportance societydescribedby Miss Austen-theincountry
upper
of his own discoveries.He did not bringout that circles of early nineteenthcentury England-gossip
life,
in
community
not
have
isolated
roles
does
gossip
was not
though the creatureswere. In fact the
but is part of theveryblood and tissueof thatlife. more idleidle,
the creatures,the less idle was the gossip.
this
BeforeI examinea studywhichdemonstrated
Their These were people living on land, rents and giltfully,I glancein generaltermsat ourproblems.
shares,markingthemselvesoff fromothersby
is indicatedby the factthateverysingle edged
importance
about one another. And
talking
about one
day,and fora largepartof each day,mostof us are anotherwas what helped maintaintalking
them
as
a groupengagedin gossiping.I imaginethat if we were to an elite-in the wider society in which they
lived.
gossiping Mr.
keepa recordofhowwe useourwaking-time,
had
left
this
to
John
Knightly
society
practice
would comeonly after"work"-for someof us-in law in London; hence he was intolerantof its gossip.
aboutgossip
thescore.Nevertheless,
popularcomments
intelligent,and very high-principled
brother,
chanceand haphazard His more
tendto treatit as something
and oftenas something
to be disapprovedof. It is joined in the gossip with interest,for he was still
1 J draw attentionto Simmel's brief referenceto "gossip" as
importantin the nuances of human interaction,but he is led off
from analysis by emphasisingthe betrayalof secrets,even though
this is most importantin communitygossip (The Sociology of
Georg Simmel, 1950, p. 334).
308
fully absorbed in the social life of the village. But
the right to gossip idly was severely restrictedeven
the circle;
withinfrom
that
Mrs.
the Rector's
bride
Bristol,sowas
pert
andElton,
impertinent
when
she joined
in that
gossip
too freely
and tooout
quickly.
The
novelist
Frank
Swinnerton
pointed
that
CURRENT
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Gluckman: GOSSIP AND SCANDAL
Jane Austen uses gossip as a means of interrelating
her charactersin a commonsocial intercourseso skillfully, that Mr. Perry, the apothecary, never once position. Gossip here is a two-edged weapon; for it
appears in person during the course of the book, yet also means that you have no ancestorsin the group
in the gossip of otherswe see him as an individual, to be attacked through-in short that you have no
influencingtheirdealings with one another(1939:16).
ancestors. And each time that someone in your
Gossip of this kind is one of the chief weapons presencerefersto a scandal about another'sancestor,
which those who considerthemselveshigherin status or even his own ancestor,he is gentlyrubbingin the
use to put those whom they consider lower in their fact that you have no ancestors and do not belong
proper place. Huntin', fishin' and shootin',in them- properlyto the group, and are a parvenu.
The third type of exclusive group is that which
selves, as expensive recreationalactivities,may have
been-and may be-among thechiefsymbolsby which has exclusivenessthrustupon it-either by being in a
certain sets in England mark themselvesoff from minority,by isolation of locality,or by other distinothers.But with the activitiesgoes a large measureof guishing criterionwhich the memberscannot overgossip which makes huntin', fishin', and shootin' a come. I shall illustrate the function of gossip and
constantand endurin'bond between those who prac- scandal in this type of group in detail, since here (as
tice them-against thosewho do not. The Sphere,the far as I know) theseimportantphenomenawere most
Tattler, and othermagazines bear witness.The gossip fully subjected to an illuminating anthropological
which accompaniesthese activitiesis interwovenwith investigation.This was in Elizabeth Colson's studyof
a separate technicalJanguage.I remembertaking up the Makah Indians (1953). I have selected her study
the sportsof ridingand sailing,and having to struggle for its detailed presentationof my centraltheme,and
to acquire these new technical languages which help of some of the complicatingpeculiaritiesthat enter
make one a member of the fellowship. But when into the gossip of each type of group, because she
it came to riding, I was never able to acquire the made manifestto me that gossip and scandal have
gossip among thosewho rode-even in thesmall circles theirvirtues.
of Johannesburg-and I always feltlost in the group.
The Makah Indians were a small group of Red
I was glad when the time came for me to slink away Indians residentin the Puget Sound area at the tip
with my horse to carry out my field research in of Cape Flattery,opposite Vancouver Island. It was
Zululand, until there again I found myselfexcluded estimated that -in 1780 they numbered some 2,000
from groups because I did not know enough gossip. people. A centurylater,smallpoxand othervicissitudes
Gradually I learnt the gossip; but I never acquired had reduced them in number to under 700 and in
enough certaintyin knowing when and, more im- 1942, when Dr. Colson studied them,therewere 400portantly,when not to use it, ever to become a mem- odd on the tribal roll. The Makah belonged to the
ber of Zulu society.
NorthwestCoast group of American Indians, famous
The more exclusive the group, the greaterwill be in anthropologicalliteraturefor theirperformanceof
the amount of gossip in it. There are three formsof the potlatch. A potlatch was a ceremonial feast to
social group which testthis hypothesis.The one is the which one group or individual invited social rivals in
professional group, like lawyers or anthropologists, order to demonstratefamily prerogatives.The host
whose gossipis built into technicaldiscussionso tightly aggressivelyasserted his and his family's ownership
that the outsidercannot always detect the slightper- of particular propertyin resources,titles, songs and
sonal knockdown which is concealed in a technical ceremonial privileges while feasting and making
recital,or the technicalsneerwhich is contained in a presentsto the visitors.The visitorsthen had to give
personal gibe. This is, therefore,the most irritating a returnfeast on a biggerscale or lose face.
kind of group to crash into, because one has no clue
Beforethe Makah came under Americanprotection
no apparatus for taking sound- and care by treatythey lived in five villages, divided
to the undercurrents,
ings. And this is why old practitionersof a subject into longhouses in which dwelt extended families.
can so easily put a comparative newcomer into his The people were divided into chiefs,commoners,and
place, can make him feel a neophyte.They have only slaves.
to hint in a technicalargumentat some personal fact
The AmericanIndian Servicesetout a centuryago to
about the person who advanced the theorydiscussed, turntheMakah 'intoAmericancitizens-agriculturalists
to make the eager young studentfeel how callow he in an environment
suitableonly forfishing,huntingand
is. Again, the more highly organized the profession, collecting;Sunday School addicts, aware of the value
the more effectiveis the role of gossip here.
of moneyand averse to destroyingtheirown property,
I have glanced already at the second type of highly living in houses by small families,wearing clothes,
exclusive group-that feels it has high social status eating off tables and the like. Childrenwere taken by
from which it wishes to exclude parvenus. But compulsionfromtheirparents and sent to boardingwe mnustnotice that these groups tend to become school to cut themoff fromtheirparentsand Indian
hereditary; and once they are, it means that each tradition. All things Indian were prohibitedby the
group comprisesnot only the presentmembersof the local agent of the Indian Service. This process of
group,but also the past dead members.And here lies indoctrinationwas kept up until 1932, when the
great scope for gossip as a social weapon. To be able policy of the Indian Service changed,and it began to
to gossip properly,a memberhas to know not only encourage the development of Red Indian cultural
about the present membership,but also about their individualitywithinthe generalAmericanpattern.
forbears.For memberscan hit at one anotherthrough
Colson tried, in her study, to assess how far this
their ancestors, and if you cannot use this attack processof Americanizationhad succeeded. She found
because you are ignorant,then you are in a weak that the Makah in practice had made a satisfactory
309
Vol. 4 * No. 3 * June 1963
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adjustmentto the modernAmericanworld. From the
beginning,they had paid their way economically,
unlike the Plains Indians, who had been put on
Governmentrations after the destructionof the buffalo. The Makah were protected in a part of their
ancient territoryby their treaty with the United
States Government;and from their Reservation they
had been able to earn a living firstat sealing, and
then at fishingfor halibut, and also by working for
the lumber company exploiting the forests on the
Reservation.
By thistimethe tribehad ceased to be pure-blooded.
Not only were theremany half-breedsin it, but many
membersof the tribe had considerablymore white
blood than Indian blood. Most of the younger and
middle-agedpeople spoke Englishand few had a good
knowledge of Makah. The overt practice of Makah
customand ceremonialhad died out. More than this,
most Makah were subjectto the intensivepropaganda
of what are technically called, "mass media communication," i.e. cinemas, radio, newspapers, magazines. They were also in intensivecontactwith Americans. Some of theseAmericanslived in the Neah Bay
settlementinto which all Makah had moved. Many
Makah cQntinuously,if periodically, moved out of
the Reservationand scatteredin the cities and farmlands of the West Coast wheretheyearned theirliving
in the same ways as any other Americansof parallel
skill. In 1942, Neah Bay was filled by additional
Whites,come to the wartimenaval base and associated
constructionalactivities. Again, the Makah were on
good terms with many of these Whites. Indeed, in
many cases Dr. Colson found it impossibleto detect
whethera man was Makah or White by his surface
relations with others. Many Makah were Christians
and associated with Whites in worship.
Colson saw that the Makah were able to adapt
themselvesto the new conditions and that this was
possible because theywere able to earn a good living
fromthe sea and fromwork on theirReservation as
well as outside it. Yet they still cling togetheras a
group, partly because they have economic interests
in being Indians. As wards of the United States
Government,they cannot be taxed by State or local
authorities,either directlyor throughpurchase sales
tax, petrol tax, etc. They are not
tax, entertainment
subject,while on the Reservation,to certainprocesses
of law, such as garnisheeorders on their wages or
attachmentof goods acquired by hire purchase and
taken on the Reservation. They are entitled to free
dental and medical treatment,and their children to
free lunches at school as Whites are not. There are
many advantages in being an Indian and also in being
a Makah. This entitles a man to free rightsin the
Makah Reservation and ultimatelyto a share in the
proceeds when the Reservationor parts of it are sold
as provided in the Treaty. Therefore the Makah
collectively and theoretically strive to keep their
numberslow in total, in order that shares shall be
greater, though in practice individuals will try to
insurethat the descendantsof theirown relativesare
on the tribal roll, whatever their parentage, while
they try to keep the descendantsof othersoff.
a beautifullypresentedargument
I have su~mmarized
and analysis to give a backgroundto Colson's perception of the virtuesof gossip and scandal among the
310
Makah. Here we have a verysmall group (400 people)
set against the mightymass of the American population. They are hostile in many ways to the Whites
with whom they associate. They feel that the Whites
have robbed themof a cultureand a way of life that
was theirs,that the Whites have despoiled them and
their Indian brothersof land, and so forth. One
would expect that they would array themselvesin
unity in order to maintain their independence and
their identityas Makah. Far from it. They are torn
by internal dissension and strugglesfor status and
they constantlyuse the tongueof scandal to keep one
anotherin proper place.
Colson, knowing that the Makah had previously
been divided into chiefs, commoners, and slaves,
sought to establishthe nature of this rankingin the
past. She found great certaintyabout the rules as
some
expressedby various people. But, unfortunately,
rules contradictedothers,and the application of each
was always uncertain. Someone would tell her that
chieftainshipwas determinedabsolutelyby birth,both
on father's and mother's sides; and add, of course,
that he was thusdescended.Others would corroborate
these rules, but would point out that the first informantwas descendedfroma Nootka slave woman,
and thereforewas low class. Then otherswould say
that birth was of some account, but it was more
importantthat a man, to be high-class,should achieve
somethinghimself,by being a doctor or whale-hunter,
or the like, and of coursehis fatherwas a greatwhalehunteror doctor or the like. Yet others would then
run down thesepretensions.Again, under the potlatch
system,a man had had to give feasts to show his
greatness;so today a man ought to be generousif he
is to be esteemed. But now that anyone can earn
money,if a man gives feastshis rivals can say that he
is a nouveau riche tryingto cover his low-class and
that the real high-classpeople do not need to do this
since their status is well known. Others will then
accuse themof meanness,inappropriateto high-class,
until they become prodigal, when they are nouveau
riche. Finally, you can always down another by
allegingthat his familyis addicted to sorcery(poisoning). And to use sorcery means that one is of low
class-for the man or woman who is secure in social
positiondoes not need to use sorceryto securehis ends.
Everyone is likely to accuse othersof being sorcerers
and to be accused in turn.
Thus Colson says (pp. 204-5) that hardly had she
been in the village a week, when she heard that there
was a class system
'We Indiansare justlike
... and it was highlyimportant.
Whites.We classup. Therearehigh-class
peopleand middleclass people and thenreal low-classpeople. Most people
herecomefromthelowerclassthoughtheydon'tlikeit to
be said. You can tell thedifference
thoughwhenyou meet
people. Only the high-class
people know how to act. The
othersnaturallydon't know anythingabout how things
shouldbe done.Theyhad no old peopleto teachthem.Just
certainfamiliesknow.' Each personsayingthisthensaid,
statusand had
of course,thathisfamilywas of upper-class
been so fromas far back as Makah traditionwent,and
proceededto warnme againstfamilieswhichhe calledlow
class.
These in turn warned her against the others. Dr.
Colson sumsit up:
CURRENT
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ANTHROPOLOGY
So it went frompersonto personuntil I foundthat
everyonein the village accusedothersof beinglow-class
and notentitledto speakfortheMakahor to holdup their
headsin frontof thereallygood people.
theoThe resultis thatin Neah Bay todaya classsystem
to place
fortheobserver
reticallyexists,but it is impossible
any singlepersonin his properclass becausethereare no
a valid
generallyacceptedstandardsas to whatconstitutes
claim to class status.Nor is thereany generallyaccepted
placingof individualsin variousclassesrecognizedby all
Makah themselves.
Yet, theyare consciousof class and it
to otherMakah
withreferences
entersinto theirthinking
to a newcomer.
Each
to an extentthatis incomprehensible
individualclaims high-classstatus for himselfand his
immediateancestors;each usually deridesthe claims of
otherMakah unlesstheyhappento be closerelatives-and
even a close relativeis not safe sincehis claimsto status
can always be deridedon the groundthat throughsome
linenotsharedwithyouhe descendsfromlow-classpeople,
or it may be claimedthathe has not achievedenoughto
justifyhis equal positionwithyourown.
Makah also attach great value to the theory that
kinsmenshould help one another,and for pride's sake
to maintaintheirsocial standing;they go out of their
way to assistdistantkin. So that the poor Makah who
runs a store or restaurantis compelled to give credit
to his kin, and they do not feel it necessaryto pay
their debts. He cannot, on the other hand, make a
living out of people who are not related to him; for
unrelated people will not buy from him because if
he becomes rich he will rise in status.They preferto
buy from Whites and make Whites rich. Similarly,
when the Makah try to run any political activity,
those who take the lead are sniped at by vicious,
scandal, to underminetheir rise in status,until they
abandon the activity.This has happened to the Presidentand otherofficersof the Makah Tribal Council
institutedby the United States Government.Scandal
also attacked and drove frompublic life a numberof
Makah who tried to run an Annual Makah Day,
duringwhich so-called traditionalMakah dances and
ceremonieswere staged.2
Historically, it is easy to see how this situation
arose. In the old days the chiefs'statuswas validated
by their control over economic resources and over
theirsubordinates.This statuswas periodicallydemonstrated throughceremonialprerogativesexhibited in
potlatch feasts. Today anyone can pay his way by
earningmoney and can give feasts.Lines of ancestry
are blurredby intermarriageand connectionsoutside
of marriagewith Whites and other Indians and ultimately, all Makah are probably interconnectedby
blood with each other. At the moment, there are
certain groupingsof closely related kindred but new
marriagesand new birthsmay change the alignment.
Hence it is impossibleto demonstratestatusby reference to the past. That the Makah should still put so
much energyinto this factiousstrugglefor class status
may largelybe a relicof theformerrankedpotlatching
competition.It may also be the intrusionamong them
of American class-ideas. But I ventureto go beyond
Colson's analysis and suggestsomethingmore.
Colson concludes her discussion(p. 228):
2 Colson contraststhe situationof the Makah with the situation
describedby V. Barnouw in "Acculturationand Personalityamong
the Wisconsin Chippewa," Memoirs American Anthropological
Association,No. 72 (1950).
Vol. 4 * No. 3
Gluckman: GOSSIP
AND SCANDAL
The whole pictureof rivalryforpositiongivesthe imthattheclassconceptsof theMakahare completely
pression
and workonlyto disruptthesmoothfuncunconstructive
tioningof the group.That is not entirelytrue.The desire
something
forprestigeand for social positioncontributes
to triballife.Indeed,the incessantgossipand back-biting
holding
feature
whichgoeson canbe viewedas an important
whichis distinctive
Makah in a set of social relationship
withinwiderAmericansociety.
and
thebickering
It wouldbe too simpleto characterize
[as Barnouwdoesamongthe
aggression'
snipingas 'in-group
Chippewa]and let it go at that.The Makah criticizeothers
ofa setofvalueswhichoperatewithinthegroupto
in terms
of thegroup.The constant
governthebehaviourofmembers
of these
gossipand backbitingis a reassertion
criticism,
values,whichtodaycan be expressedin no otherway. If
thevaluesthemthegossipand back-biting,
theyrepressed
selveswould disappear,and withthemmuchof thefeeling
people.
thattheMakahare a distinct
itselfhas becomean end
To someextenttheback-biting
of behaviourintowhichtheMakah have
in itself,a system
which
witha zest and a determination,
thrownthemselves
to a highpeak.
have broughttheart of verbaldenigration
of theirfellowsgiverise
Certainlythemaliciousstatements
and to a retreatfrompublic
to hatredand to unhappiness
view, but fromthe zest with which they recounttheir
in thefieldof slander,it is apparentthatthey
experiences
have developedthistypeof behaviourintoa gamewithits
"Makahwereexperts
[Shefootnotes:
ownrulesand interest.
beforethisart obtainedgeneralrecogniin 'Lifemanship'3
theMakah delightin
tion."]Like all artists,or sportsmen)
playingwiththeirtechnicalskill.And onlyothersof their
have the technicalknowledgeto compete
own community
in thegame,or to appreciatetheskillwithwhicha pointis
scored.
In this analysis Colson clearly establishesthe importantpoint that specificand restrictedgossipwithin
a group marks it off from other groups, both like
and unlike. The gossip and scandal which are so
bitingin Makah life unite them into a group outside
of general American society.And, as she points out,
since this gossip and scandal involve the criticismand
assessmentof people against the traditionalvalues of
Makah society, they maintain the tribe as Indians
against Whites, and as Makah against other Indians.
These Makah values and traditionslargely persistin
the gossip and in no otherway. To be a Makah, you
must be able to join in the gossip, and to be fully a
Makah you mustbe able to scandalize skillfully.This
entails that you know the individual familyhistories
of your fellows; for the knowledgeablecan hit at you
throughyour ancestry,and you mustbe able to retort
in kind. You have also have got to have some knowledge of the old ways of the Makah tribe.
In the specificsituationof the Makah, it seemsalso
that theirbitingscandal is used to maintain the principle of equalitybetweenall members.What thegroup
seems to be unable to do is to admit that one person
is superiorin any respect.The Makah foughta Washington State law to protect the breedingof fish, by
claiming the rightto fish out of season in a certain
river on the groundsthat they fishedtherewhen the
Treaty of the Reservation was signed. To win their
case, theyhad to admit thatone familyhad hereditary
3 Stephen Potter, Lifemanship (1950)
(1952).
fune
J
1963
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and One-Upmanship
311
rightsin the river.They preferred
to lose theircase. communalactivitieswhichsymbolizedthis desireto
that be a community:
It appearsto be in thenatureof theirsituation,
dramatic
village choir,brass-band,
they refuseto admit to Americansany inequality society,footballclub,carnival.These activitieswere
amongthemselves-nor
dare theyclaimit publiclyas run in succession,not at the same time. For it seems
individuals.They are a smallgroup,whosemembers that each activity in time became so bedevilled by
move withequal freedomin the largeAmericanso- the internal group and personal feuds in the village
ciety.The groupis too smallto sustainany division that it could no longerbe pursuedsuccessfullywithout
of status within itself, and none of them in their
dealings with other Americans would admit that a
fellow is his superior. What they are clinging to is
the status of Indians, as wards of the United States
Governmentwith the privilegesof wardship,and the
status of Makah, with its rightsin the Reservation.
To maintain this status, they have all to be equal,
lest anyone who acquires superioritygets more than
his share of privilege.Old traditionsand presentambitionsdrive individualsto assertthemselvesand their
status; Makahship, through the weapon of scandal,
keeps themin practice equal.
The desire to remain Makah, with its attendant
advantages, explains why people do not try to break
away fromthe group. Otherwise,it seemsthat at least
the lighter-colouredMakah could disappear into the
American population: probably many have in fact
done so. But this desire is felt by the individuals and
extended families which make up the Makah tribe.
And the interestsin the Reservation are competitive
between them,because if it is sold it will bring in a
limited amount of money. Hence, I suggest,Makah
gossip does not show merelythat general interestin
the doings,and the virtuesand vices, of others,which
characterizesany group.The gossippasses beyond this
stage and becomes vicious scandal, aimed at demonstratingthat the other parties are not worthy to be
Makah. The differentgroups and individuals in the
tribe fight an unceasing battle to demonstratetheir
own true Makahship, as against the failuresof others
to attain Makahship. But this involves them in a
continual process of remaining Makah, which (as
Colson says) gives highimportanceto the scandalizing
itself,as a mechanismfor maintainingthe Makah as
a group encystedin the Americannation,whose other
membersare excluded fromthis war of scandal. And
the practiceof this scandal is developed to a high art,
culturallydefined.Scandalizing is one of the principal
means by which the group's separatenessis expressed,
even thoughit is also the principal mannerin which
internal strugglesare fought. This combination of
functionsof scandal makes the hostilityitselfa mode
throughwhich the triberemainsunited.
This analysis of gossip passing into scandal brings
out some of the general characteristicsof gossip, as a
culturally controlled game with important social
functions.It also shows that in differentkinds of
groups the role and functionof gossip will vary with
theirspecifichistoriesand theirsituationsin the larger
society. Colson's penetrating study has lessons for
us all as observersof life around us. We learn from
it that gossip is not idle: it has social functionsand
it has rules which are rigidly controlled. Ronald
Frankenberghas applied Colson's analysis to a Welsh
village (1957) which was strugglingto remaina community,thoughmost of its men now go to work in a
town some miles away.4 The villagers ran a seriesof
4 "Gossip" is mentionedin studies such as those of Williams
The Sociology of an English Village: Gosforth(1956), and Stacey,
312
leading to irremediablebreachof relationshipsbetween
villagers.Thereforeas the brass-bandfailed, the choir
was started; as the choir failed, a football club was
founded; when that failed, an annual carnival was
instituted.And as each failed, the villagers felt they
could make a freshstart,with old animositiespurged
with the failingactivity.But the animositiescontinued
into the new activity. This is a fascinatingstory in
itself. But what I want to emphasize here is that
the strugglesbetween villagers are not foughtopenly
in committeemeetinguntil crisesare reached. Instead,
differencesof opinion are foughtout in behind-theback tattle,gossip,and scandal, so thatmanyvillagers,
who are actually at loggerheads,can outwardlymaintain the show of harmonyand friendship(cf. Radin
above). They remaina community,despite the verbal
cut-and-thrust
in the dark, where theytryto advance
theirseparatecauses againsttheirostensiblefriendswho
are theirenemies.Some accommodationis thusreached.
In thisgossip theyevaluate people as leaders,as good
villagers, and the like, so that gossip also serves to
bring,conformitywith village values and objectives.
Eventually, when a crisis is reached, a stranger5to
the village is thrustinto the position of appearing to
take the decision which forcesone party out of the
currentactivity; and gossip can blame this stranger
for destroyingvillage unity: "We would be happy if
foreignersdid not make trouble!" After one such
crisis,when a strangerhad proposed the critical,and
Ccobjectively"sensible, motion in open committee,a
woman said: ccAllstrangersshould be shot!"
Here, too, the outsider cannot join in gossip. The
poor anthropologist,before he understood this, got
into trouble. His landlady and some friends,after a
whist drive were criticisingthe play of a certain
woman. The anthropologistaftera while joined in with
an example.His landlady turnedon himand reminded
him that he was referringto her prospectiveson-inlaw's grandmother.He was oftenrebukedfor criticising distant cousins. Thus, though the villagers were
kind and friendly,he was reminded often that he
was a foreigner.He sumsup by sayingthat ccvillagers
did not hesitate to make accusations against and
ridiculetheirfriendsand relatives,but outsiderswere
not allowed this privilege." Frankenbergfound, as
Colson had among the Makah, that the constant
crit-cism-of those who tried to run village affairs
punished anyone who appeared to get too much
prestigeas a leader. The membersof the village were
equal against the overwhelming onslaught of the
modern industrial world. The brass-band could not
Tradition and Change: A Study of Banbury (1960), with some
attentionto the restrictedcirculationof gossip, but without full
analysis.
5 The definition of "stranger," and the differencebetween
"strangers"and "outsiders," is a very complex problem,discussed
at lengthby Frankenberg.The criticalproposal may be put forward
by a "stranger"to the set of social relationshipsinvolved.I have to
simplifyin order to compress.
CURRENT
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Gluckman: GOSSIP AND SCANDAL
because neither
run, though-they had the instruments,
his
fellows
of the conductorsin the village dared tell
how to play. A local lad could not captain the village an opponentbehindhis back,if yourallegationsare
football team as he did not dare give orders to his at all open, to his face, you mustbe delicateand
mates: they had to import a West Indian from a nevergivehimgroundto statethatyou have insulted
nearby town to be captain. Again the anthropologist him.For insultsof thiskind,if open,makeimpossible
has been able to show that dispitethesedisputes,quar- the pretenceof group amity. Similarly,misplaced
gossipmay forcethegroupeitherto
rels, gossip and scandal, and the restrictingof the behind-the-back
privilege to talk thus,have the effectof maintaining expelthepersonslanderedor to turnon thegossiper.
the village as a village and of preventingit from Morethanthis,theprocessof scandalenablesa group,
becominga collectionof houses,like a housingestate. to evaluatepeople for theirwork,theirqualitiesof
Town planners are very anxious to turn housing leadership,and theirmoral character,withoutever
themto theirfaceswithfailuresin any
estatesinto communities:they should develop scandal confronting
in them.Perhaps it is theirduty to providecause forit. sphere.Thus animositiesbetweenindividualsand
Gossip and even scandal unite a group within a cliquesare builtinto the largersocial orderthrough
of gossipand scandal.
larger society, or against another group, in several theculturaltechniques
I beg of you, therefore,
if you are convincedby
ways. Firstly,all groups try to thrusttheirroots into
the past; scandal by creating a past historyfor the thisanalysis,not to feel thatit is easy to fulfilthe
obligationthat lies on you to scandalize
membersin relation to one another,into which new- important
comers have to be inducted if they are to be full about yourfellows.As Colson says,it is an art and
members,achieves this; Secondly,no groups are com- a skill and a technique.We do need cca schoolfor
All of them consist in the scandal"-as Her Majesty'sInspectorsof Education
pletely undifferentiated.
firstplace, of individuals,and, secondly,most consist have seen.I foundin the LondonTimes of October
of smaller groupings of individuals, cliques. These 13th,1954,thefollowing:
individuals and cliques may be competitivelyaligned
in WestRidingschools
A recommendation
thatchildren
against each other. They struggle for status and shouldbe encouraged
to gather
in smallgroups
forcgossip'
prestige. These struggles have to be kept within sessions,
is madebytheEduas an aid to learning
English,
bounds, while the general values of the group are cationCommittee
an inInspectors,
whohaveconcluded
asserted, if the group is to survive. The values of spection
schools
thecounofmodern
secondary
throughout
on
in a memorandum
the group are clearly assertedin gossip and scandal, try.Theymaketherecommendation
in secondary
ofEnglish
schools.'
since a man or woman is always run down for ctheteaching
on oral expression
The inspectors
claimthatemphasis
failing to live up to these values. But the struggles
totalknaturally
about
children
byallowing
to fulfil those values by individuals and cliques are canbeachieved
them....
things
which
interest
also restrainedbecause the methodsof achievingthem
are defined by gossip and scandal: and the3e themof oursin ourfellows,
Thusearlybeginsthisinterest
selves punish any excess. For they controldisputation and a markof thatinterest
to talk
is our willingness
by allowing each individual or clique to fightfellow- about them.To Gamesmanship
we
and Lifemanship
members of the larger group with an acceptabile,. must add Gossipship.The rules of Gossipshipare
socially institutedcustomary weapon, which blows somewhatas follows:
back on excessivelyexplosive users. For the battle of
The important
thingsaboutgossipand scandalare
scandal has its own rules,and woe to him who breaks thatgenerally
theseare enjoyedby peopleaboutothers
theserules.By the act of carryinghis scandalizingtoo with whom theyare in a close social relationship.
far, he himselfoverstepsthe values of the group and Hence when we try to understandwhy it is that
his scandal will turn against him, will prove that he people in all places and at all timeshave been so
or his small clique is unworthyof the larger group. interested
in gossipand scandalabouteach other,we
And the scandal will in fact redound to the creditof have also to look at thosewhomtheyexcludefrom
the person attacked, since he will have been unfairly joiningin the gossipingor scandalizing.That is, the
assailed. Colson tells (233-34) the storyof two Makah rightto gossipaboutcertain
which
peopleis a privilege
women who were on bad terms.On one occasion one is onlyextended
to a personwhenhe or sheis accepted
woman in the streetshurled stringsof insults at the as a memberof a groupor set. It is a hallmarkof
other, who kept walking along, singing,ccThe bear membership.
Hence rightsto gossipserveto markoff
went over. the mountain." ccBothwomen knew that a particulargroup fromothergroups.There is no
one was behaving like a clow-class'person,the other easierway of puttinga stranger
in his place thanby
like a "high-class'person,and the advantage lay with beginning
to gossip:thisshowshimconclusively
that
the one who ignored the insults." Thus the gross he doesnotbelong.On theotherhand,if a mandoes
scandalmongeroverreacheshimselfand is hoist with not join in the gossipand scandal,he showsthathe
his own slander. (Similarly,gamesmanshipis the art doesnot acceptthathe is a partyto therelationship;
of winninggames withoutactually cheating.)6In this hencewe see thatgossiping
is a dutyof membership
way, the internalstruggleswithinthe group are fought of thegroup.That is whyit is goodmanners
to gossip
with concealed malice, by subtle innuendo, and by and scandalizeaboutyourdearestfriendswiththose
pointed ambiguities.Yet all of these have their own who belong,eventhoughit be theirdearestfriendsmoral norms, which must not be overstepped. The butit is bad manners-which
is a moraljudgment
and
main moral norm is that you must scandalize about hencea sanction-totellunpleasant
storiesaboutyour
See StephenPotter,The Theoryand Practiceof Gamesmanship,
or The Art of Winning Games withoutActually Cheating (1947).
6
Vol. 4
friendsto strangers.
For whenyou gossipaboutyour
to othermutualfriends
friends
you are demonstrating
that you all belong to one set which has the duty to
No. 3 * June 1963
313
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be interested
in one another'svicesas well as virtues. very exclusive. I grew up among them, and woven
Whenyou gossipaboutyourfriendsto strangers
you into their legal shop is a considerable amount of
are eithershowingthe strangersthat they do not scandal about other lawyers. Colleges at Oxford and
belong,or you are admitting
themto a privilegeand Cambridge are similar.In some Oxford colleges there
to membership
of a group withoutconsultingthe is a taboo on talkingat dinnerabout work or women
otherpeople involved.So that if you want to run -the sanction at Exeter College is that the offender
downa friendto a stranger
you shouldfirstask that must try to drink 5 pints of beer at one draught. If
friend's
permission.
You do notneedhispermission
to he fails, he pays for that beer and for a refillof the
runhimdownto mutualfriends-provided
thatthey large sconce which is passed around the table. Talk of
are in the same set of relationships
withyourself.I women introducesan element into College life that
thinkit would be bad mannersto run two people is hostile to its united monasticism,expressedin the
down to one another,eventhoughtheyare mutually ritual of commensalism;talk of work dividesmembers
acquainted,if you are notassociatedwiththemin the of the College according to their academic interests,
sameway.So it wouldbe bad manners
to gossipabout and the College as an associationis hostileto organizayourUniversity
fellowto a memberof anotherUni- tion in termsof common scholarship.
I am, of course,aware that gossip and scandal will
versity,even if the two of themlived in the same
village.For scandalis only virtuousif its aim be to not contributeto the cohesion of a groupingof perdemonstrate
somekindof social unity.Scandalwhen sons, unless these persons are united by a sense of
directedby members
of a groupagainstanothergroup communitywhich is based on the fairly successful
is unifying
in another,
and an obvious,way-it asserts pursuit of common objectives. In his study of a
housing estate in Coventry (Living in Towns, 1953),
thesuperiority
of thescandalizinggroup.
Leo
Kuper and his colleagues noted that the new
I am surethatif-youreflect
on yourown experience
you will realisehow sound Colson's analysisis. Its settlersin the estate were afraid of, and resented,
significance
emergesmostclearlyif we considerthe the gossip of their neighbours.This can be related
in
way whicha new memberof a groupis inducted largely to bad design of the houses: the two masterinto the group.He may learnthe rulesof technique bedrooms in the semi-detachedslay back to back,
whichkeep the groupin being,and he may be on without a soundproof wall between, so that each
excellenttermswiththeothermembers
of thegroup, couple was bound to overhear practically everything
but he does not belongto the groupuntilit is im- done by theirneighbours,a sourceof great embarrasspossiblefor him to be rude to one of its members ment. Moreover, each house looked into the other's
That is,he mustknowso muchabout livingroom.There was constanttrespasson the essenunintentionally.
eachof themembers'
and likingsand dislikes, tial intimacies of family life. No group life could
histories
thathe will neversay something
whichis hurtfulto emergehere. I was told by the wife of a University
anyoneunlesshe wantsto hurthim(or her).Corres- lecturerthat in a betterdesigned estate in Newcastle
thebadge of membership
pondingly,
is thata person neighboursformedthemselvesinto gossip cells which
can quite allusively,and apparentlynaively,cut an- got along very happily-except for her. Foolishly she
othermemberto the quick by a seemingly
innocent thoughtthat there were more importanttopics than
statement.
And of course,it is importantthat the personal gossip; and she was sent to Coventry-metapersonoffendedknowsthatthe allusionis intended phorically,I mean. In a housingestatein Essex where
but not be able to pin it down,and thatthe injurer I lived, gossip cells were again determinedby the
shouldknow thatthe offendedknows,and thatthe sociometricrules of neighbourliness-plus a complioffended
shouldknowthattheinjurerknowsthatthe cated evaluation of social status-and togetherwe
formeda happy and united scandalizing community,
offendedknows-and so on ad infinitum.
Thereforea mostimportant
part of gainingmem- with constantfightsgoing on betweenour secondary
bershipof anygroupis to learnitsscandals:whatyou modern schools to emphasize our overall unity. Here
can say withapparentinnocenceand whatyou may I observedgossip and scandal biuldingup community
say by indirectrudeallusion.Anthropology
is a very life.
knitprofession:
tightly
it is one of thefewprofessions When a group, even one with a united history,
whichstillhas an initiation
ceremony.
You musthave begins to fail in its objective, gossip and scandal
studiedsome exotic community.
We maintainour accelerate the process of disintegration.Anthropoltightbondsof friendship
by a vast storeof scandal ogists have analysed how if joint families and suband gossipas well as by legends.A mostimportant sistencevillages increasetheirnumberstheyare bound
part of my dutyin trainingresearchworkersis to to disintegrateor hive off segments.This process is
teach themthe scandals.I believe I am not alone often accompanied by chargesof sorceryand witchamongsenioranthropologists
in findingit morein- craft.African customaryjudgmentsassertthat as this
to teachstudents
teresting
aboutanthropologists
than occurs scandal and back-biting increase. Hence as
about anthropology.
It is worthnotingherethatthe Junod reportedmany years ago for the Tsonga, the
Greek Lexicon defines"an anthropologist"
not as barrierof magic to keep out the witch is breachedby
"anthroposplus logos,"a "studentof man,"butonly internal gossiping and grumbling.7These processes
as "a scandalmonger;"
and in theNicomacheanEthics, within the group make possible the entryof an outAristotle-whoanticipatedus all-says of the great- side witch, though in Tsonga society witches do not
souledman:"He is no scandalmonger
(anthropologos): directlykill theirown kin. In Central Africa,witches
he will not talk either about himself or another do kill theirown kin and here gossip and back-biting
are additionallydangerous.In his analysisof Th;e Yao
person."
What applies to anthropologists,
applies to all pro- Village (1956:1328) Mitchell writes that:
fessions.Lawyers are supposed to talk shop and to be
7 The Life of a South African Tribe (1927; reprinted1962).
314
CURRENT
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Gluckman: GOSSIP AND SCANDAL
variationof the dangerof sorceryis the
An interesting
taketheopportunity
beliefthatsorcerers
ofsquabbleswithin
to kill one of its members.The rationale packet of tobacco may take me twentyminutes.But
a matrilineage
are unableto this field of gossip and scandal still awaits study of
behindthisis thatthe diviner'sinstruments
cause.
detecttheoriginof thesorcery
beyondtheimmediate
A divinerwill indicatethatthe cause of deathof, say, a the kind deployed by Colson upon the Makah. Meanchildis sorcery,
but thatthewitchis obscuredbehindthe while, for small groups alone, my conclusion is that
quarrellingwordsof some relative.Consequently,
danger we mightformulatea law to say, the more exclusive
to a matrilineage
ensueswhenoneof itsmembers
goesto an a social group is, the more will its membersindulge
outsider[note: to an outsider-bad mannersindeed]and in gossip and scandal about one another. And the
grumbles
to himabout the familysquabblesand quarrels. more persistentlywill they repeat the same gossip
of usingthissquab- again and again and again withoutgettingbored."We
The outsiderthentakestheopportunity
ble to introducehis sorceryinto the lineage.The Yao are back in the carriages driving throughHighbury
theYao word, to Mr. Weston's house.
greatlyfearbackbiting
[as Mitchelltranslates
miseci]becauseof theirdreadof sorceryand nonedreadsit
morethana villageheadman,a wardenof a sorority-group, Outsiders frequentlycomplain that anthropologists
or a personin thepositionof havingto keepa matrilineage are able to find that anything social has a useful
Thesepeopleare constantly
or sectiontogether.
adjuringthe functionand theymay thereforeconclude that anthrowomenunderthem-forit is thewomenwho are believed pologists approve of everything.Thus it has been
to be themainculprits-notto fightamongthemselves;
and argued that the criminal classes are as importantas
to an outsiderbut the police for the maintenanceof law in a society;
if theydo, not to take theircomplaints
to theseniormemberof thematrilineage.
The Significance theyprovide people who commitcrimesbut who can
of thisin relationto lineageunityis plain enough.
easily be caught by the police and publicly tried.
Later (p. 170) Mitchell recountsduringthe history Their trials demonstrateto the society at large, and
of a long dispute within a lineage, how a woman's particularlyto its growingyoungsters,not o-nlythat
friendshipwith another woman was frownedon be- crimeis wrong-which is true,but also thatcrimedoes
cause friendshipleads to gossip and this mightopen not pay-which is not true. Amateur criminals,less
the way to sorceryby the memberof the opposing easily caught,are not so useful.But thisdoes not mean
group.8
we approve of crime. We argue only that the comI note finallythat I have discussedgossiponly with- mission of a crime, provided that the criminal is
in small groups. Gossip about royalty,by the lower caught, tried, and punished, serves useful ends in
classes about the upper, and the upper by the lower, maintainingthe law, and thereforesociety.My arguhas to be related to other areas of social relations. ment about gossip and scandal is similar: if I suggest
I thinkwe can say that men and women do wish to that gossip and scandal are socially virtuous and
talk about personal matters,for reasons on which I valuable, this does not mean that I always approve
am not clear, and in the great conurbationsthe dis- of them. Indeed, in practice I find that when I am
cussion of, for example, stars of film and sport, gossipingabout my friendsas well as my enemies I
produces a basis on which people transitorilyasso- am deeply consciousof performinga social duty; but
ciated can find somethingpersonal to talk about. that when I hear they gossip viciously about me, I
Frankenbergreportsthat when he was studyingthe am rightfullyfilled with righteousindignation.
Welsh village, the firsttime he went to buy a loaf
of bread he was back in five minutes. His land9 Richard P. Werbner has supplied me with the following
lady said scornfully:"Back already? It takes me an
hour to buy a loaf of bread." When Frankenberghad beautifullyillustrativepassage from Carl Carmer, Stars Fell on
been in the village for some time,as soon as he went Alabama (1940, p. 12):
"Aside from these the main diversions of the Alabamians are
into a shop, the tea-kettlewas put on the fire: after love-making
and gossip. The constant social chatter dealing in
all, as anthropologos,he was the scandalmongerpar personalitiesat firstannoysand bores the stranger.Gradually,howexcellence.And I myselfhave found throughmy in- ever,as he picks up the threadsof the relationshipsthroughwhich
terestin soccer and cricket,that I have steadily ex- it sometimesseems that the entiresLateis bound into one family,
he becomes not only tolerantbut an eager participant.The proporpanded my commercialtransactionswith shopkeepers tion
of malice in this talk is not greaterthan in othercommunities.
into warm friendships,even into a kind of blood There are the usual Mrs. Grundysand meddlesomescandalmongers.
brotherhood,in which our ritualalliance movesjerkily But the majorityof Alabamian gentlefolktake a strong interest
from elation to despair with the fate of our city's in people thatis not unlike thatof a novelist.They are entertained
teams, and our county eleven at cricket. To buy a and instructedby the antics of their fellow-beings-theylike to
speculate on
8 Contrastthis sophisticatedapproach with Kluckhohn's simple
treatmentof the relationbetweengossip and witchcraftin Navaho
Witchcraft(1944).
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motivations.And talk about an individual takes on
added zest when (as frequentlyhappens) he is a cousin in whom
flows the blood of a commonancestor.
As for love-making,it is the accepted basis of all social activity.
Even verylittle boys are trainedto be gallant and the ambitionof
every daughter'smotheris that her girl shall be a belle."
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Erratum: Vol. 3, No. 5, Dec. 1962,
top of p. 479. The last sentencebeginning in column 2 and ending in
column 3 should read, "I sometimes
get the feelingthesedays thatwe have
entereda stage of evolutionwhich can
be identifiedmoreor less directlywith
a revivalist cult whose practitioners
claim to be able to transforma theist
into a materialistby the very rapid
turningof thepages of AncientSociety
to the accompanimentof suitable incantations."
316
CURRENT
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ANTHROPOLOGY