Gregory Forth

Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia

An Anthropological Perspective

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Indonesian Island of Flores was the site of the discovery of a new species of small hominid that may have survived into historic times. Was this the origin of the "Wildman," images of which are encountered throughout Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world? In this first comprehensive anthropological study of the Wildman, Forth asks: Do Wildmen exist anywhere and, if so, in what sense? Is the universal representation of the Wildman best explained as an archetype of human thought, as a reflection of empirically existing creatures, or by some combination of these? This book will appeal to general readers and crypto-zoologists as well as to human and social scientists.

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The book examines 'wildmen'such as Homo floresiensis and ebu gogo, images of hairy humanlike creatures known to rural villagers and other local people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. It explores the source of these representations and their status in local systems of knowledge.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Routledge
• Seitenzahl: 362
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. Dezember 2008
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 240mm x 161mm x 24mm
• Gewicht: 708g
• ISBN-13: 9780710313546
• ISBN-10: 0710313543
• Artikelnr.: 23438782

Autorenporträt

Gregory Forth is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta, Canada, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Inhaltsangabe

1. Introduction 2. The Story of Ebu Gogo 3. Other Florenese Hominoids 4.
Other Eastern Islands 5. The 'Short Man' (Orang Pendek) of Sumatra 6.
Wildmen of Western Indonesia and Mainland Southeast Asia 7. Other Asian
Hominoids 8. Outside Asia 9. Pacific Images 10. What Were the Ebu Gogo?

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1. Introduction 2. The Story of Ebu Gogo 3. Other Florenese Hominoids 4. Other Eastern Islands 5. The 'Short Man' (Orang Pendek) of Sumatra 6. Wildmen of Western Indonesia and Mainland Southeast Asia 7. Other Asian Hominoids 8. Outside Asia 9. Pacific Images 10. What Were the Ebu Gogo?

Rezensionen

"In Forth's conclusions to this well-written, solid, groundbreaking exercise in ethnozooology and comparative epistemology two remarkable things stand out. First there s his unorthodox, refreshing openness to the possibility that he various hominoid fi gures he studies are not completely fictitious but are derivative of empirical realities, with some accretion of fantastic elements. Secondly, and complimentarily, in view of the resemblances between images from many parts of the world, he stresses the possibility of the wildman as a pan-human or universal image, 'a universal archetype of human thought existing quite independently of empirical referents' (p. 205)" - Raymond Corbey, Tilburg University and Leiden University, 2009

"This book is the fruit of long-term fieldwork, library research, and regional comparison-making in a special ethnological arena. Prof. Forth's remit is wide, and his scholarly scope is correspondingly deep...[T]his book is a scholarly and intellectual tour de force in the grand traditions of comparative enquiry in mainstream anthropology. It is also an eloquent testimony to the stimulus of field materials, indicating how an interest in ebu gogo tales among the Nage led Forth into such a sweeping, original, and thoughtful comparative odyssey." - Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart, Anthropos 105.2010

"Forth's thesis does need to be taken seriously. What he succeeds in doing, in the best tradition of comparative anthropological investigation, is to provide us with a wealth of cultural material that raises new questions about the status of the images of 'wildmen', and encourages anthropology to devote more attention to what has hitherto been a neglected field of study" - Victor T. King, University of Leeds, UK, Folklore, December 2010

"A comprehensive study of an interesting topic in folklore, anthropology, and zoology. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." - R. Fritze, CHOICE (December 2009)