Lost People
Subtitle: Magic and the Legacy of Slavery in Madagascar
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: September 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 469
ISBN-13: 9780253219152
Subjects: African studies; Social & cultural anthropology; Social Science; Archaeology / Anthropology; Sociology; Madagascar; Africa - General; Anthropology - Cultural; Africa - East; Betafo (Madagascar); Ethnology; Slavery
Description: Betafo, a rural community in central Madagascar, is divided between the descendants of nobles and descendants of slaves. Anthropologist David Graeber arrived for fieldwork at the height of tensions attributed to a disastrous communal ordeal two years earlier. As Graeber uncovers the layers of historical, social, and cultural knowledge required to understand this event, he elaborates a new view of power, inequality, and the political role of narrative. Combining theoretical subtlety, a compelling narrative line, and vividly drawn characters, Lost People is a singular contribution to the anthropology of politics and the literature on ethnographic writing. -- Publisher description.