How Indigenous People Think: Taking Captain Cook as an Example

Author: (USA) Marshall Sahlins
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: One of the outstanding features of this book is that the appendix occupies nearly one-third of the entire volume, primarily providing detailed discussions of various relevant English and Hawaiian documents since the 18th century. This arrangement highlights the importance of "evidence-based arguments" in academic debates. The interpretation of a text is akin to listening to multiple stories unfold, gradually revealing all aspects of Cook's encounters in Hawaii and allowing the reader to weave together a complete narrative, thereby reflecting the cultural landscape of Hawaii. It is a rare and commendable display of research. This book is part of the "Social and Cultural Series." This work represents the pinnacle of Marshall Sahlins, a renowned anthropologist, in his extensive ethnographic research on the people of Hawaii. It is a specialized monograph that any person with a genuine interest in anthropology and history should read. In the book, Sahlins poses intriguing questions, such as whether Western scholars can truly represent the ideas of non-Western peoples, and whether the Hawaiian natives genuinely mistook Captain Cook from Britain as their god Lono during his third Pacific expedition in 1779. The entire books a discussion around these issues, while the author also engages in a sharp debate with another prominent anthropologist, Obeyesekera, who holds differing views on the same topic.