AslとWasta : 英米系文化・社会人類学におけるシリア,レバノン研究の流れ
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概要
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This paper is a review of some analytical trends in anthropological studies conducted by Anglo-American anthropologists since the 1960s in two neighboring countries, Syria and Lebanon. (There are of course plenty of records and studies in Arabic, which I would like to introduce at another occasion.) It has been pointed out that until the 1960s the main themes of anthropological studies carried out in the Middle East were limited to the three theoretical concepts-'patrilineality,' 'segmentary lineage system,' and 'father's brother's daughter marriage.' The 1960s was a turning point when analytical focus shifted from 'groups' to 'individuals.' This shift in analytical focus can be perceived in the ethnographies and other theoretical studies in the Syrian and Lebanese contexts. Most of the works done in these two countries since the 1960s tend to concentrate on either one of two theoretical frameworks-'descent' and network. In the former, origin of the descent groups locally called asl came to be stressed as a cultural idiom. There are two types of studies in this analytical trend. One is concerning the process of individuals organizing their relatives into descent groups, using genealogy, as is seen in the cases of 'family associations.' The other examines the roles and connotations of asl for the members in a seemingly long established groups. The anthropologists included in this trend were more or less influenced by network studies, and many of them were investigating networks rather than corporate kin groups. The latter, network study, was introduced by those who conducted field research in cities and their suburbs. Informal and personal ties among 'non-groups' including families and relatives have been analyzed by anthropological terms such as 'alliances,' 'neighborhood,' 'patron-client relations,' and so on. I argue that these seemingly diverse types of informal networks can be understood in the context of wasta. Wasta is a folkterm which means 'mediation' or 'mediator,' and is used in various contexts. I introduce here three network studies claiming the social significance of wasta in Syrian and Lebanese societies. In cultural, social, and political contexts, wasta is crucial for people trying to fulfill their needs utilizing personal relations. People maintain various informal networks which provide them necessary wasta, and also wasta-seeking opens up new possibilities of personal relations. Informal networks are sources of wasta, and wasta is a source of relations forming networks. And furthermore it is argued that wasta is essential for diverse political interests of individuals who belong to different strata to meet under changing political situations in a stratified society. In writing this paper I am sharing interests with the recent discussions concerning relationships between anthropological theory and "places (= area, region and so on)" to be studied. 'Descent' as an idiom and the analysis of networks, discussed here, constitute the "zones of prestige" of anthropological studies conducted in Syria and Lebanon since the the 1960s, and these two approaches provide theoretical frameworks in which most of the works done in this region currently tend to concentrate. Transformation of paradigm in anthropological theory since the 1960s has influenced the viewpoints of anthropologists engaging in research in Syria and Lebanon. Every kind of text has its own politics and history of being created, and read, by individuals under particular circumstances. To mention such an aspect of anthropological studies does not necessarily deny their values. What seems important here, for anthropologists, is to be conscious of the historical sequence of interacting ethnographical texts and to be ready to introduce other paradigms, in order to work out something through their experiences in the field.
- 日本中東学会の論文
- 1996-03-31