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In the 1950s biologists became alarmed by the plight of Africa's
wildlife. Since then they have sought to arrest its decline, but
increasing competition between wild fauna and expanding human
populations shows that protection alone has been inadequate. The
conservationists' position and strategies have been progressively
eroded: large-scale game cropping schemes have failed to produce
expected revenues, the consequences of the tourist industry have
been unexpectedly detrimental, and educational programs have rarely
convinced rural Africans to conserve resources. Dr. Marks argues
that the management and conservation of wild animals in Third World
countries must include cultural as well as biological dimensions
and that changes in human social systems will be necessary to
sustain wildlife and the environmental processes. He describes
indigenous attempts to manage wildlife and suggests new research
initiatives that would lead to wildlife policies more in keeping
with human development needs and with the realities of the rural
countryside.
The Valley Bisa people inhabit the Luangwa Valley in central
Zambia. Among them, the hunter, who tracks such large game as the
lion, elephant, and buffalo, commands great respect and esteem from
the other members of the lineage who traditionally rely on him for
their subsistence and protection. Although the social organization
and technology of the Bisa people have undergone tremendous change
in the last one hundred years, the role of hunter retains its
social importance, and the legitimizing hunting rituals have their
roots in local history.
Drawing on data collected during his fieldwork among the Bisa
continuing since the 1960s, Stuart Marks describes the changes that
have occurred in hunting patterns, the sociological variables that
govern an individual's decision to become a hunter, and the common
cosmological convictions that hunters bring to their profession.
Available for the first time in paperback, the new introduction and
afterword to this edition reflect on methodological and ideological
changes in the anthropological study of African peoples as well as
updating the circumstances of the Bisa people since the book's
first appearance in 1976.
Through the interventions of the larger national society the Bisa
have lost much of their land and access to important portions of
their resources while experiencing repression in their struggles to
maintain livelihoods with what local assets are left. Nevertheless,
Marks notes that they face their hardships with tolerance,
integrity, persistence, and humility.
The general reader, as well as prehistorians and anthropologists
concerned with human evolution and hunting societies, will find
this volume useful. It will also be of interest to wildlife
managers and ecologists.
Stuart A. Marks is actively involved in conservation and
development work at the local, national, and international levels.
Currently he is an independent scholar and consultant and was a
Research Professor of Anthropology at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1997 to 2002. He is the author of the
award winning "Southern Hunting in Black and White: Nature,
History, and Ritual in a Carolina Community," "The Imperial Lion:
Human Dimensions to Wildlife Management in Central Africa," and a
forthcoming volume, "Wild Animals and Rural African Livelihoods."
In the 1950s biologists became alarmed by the plight of Africa's
wildlife. Since then they have sought to arrest its decline, but
increasing competition between wild fauna and expanding human
populations shows that protection alone has been inadequate. The
conservationists' position and strategies have been progressively
eroded: large-scale game cropping schemes have failed to produce
expected revenues, the consequences of the tourist industry have
been unexpectedly detrimental, and educational programs have rarely
convinced rural Africans to conserve resources. Dr. Marks argues
that the management and conservation of wild animals in Third World
countries must include cultural as well as biological dimensions
and that changes in human social systems will be necessary to
sustain wildlife and the environmental processes. He describes
indigenous attempts to manage wildlife and suggests new research
initiatives that would lead to wildlife policies more in keeping
with human development needs and with the realities of the rural
countryside.
For many Southern men living in or close to rural landscapes,
hunting is a passion. But it is not a timeless activity in a
cultural void. Whether pursuers of fox or raccoon, deer or rabbits,
quail or dove, Southern hunters reveal for Stuart Marks complex
patterns of male bonding, social status, and relationships with
nature. Marks, who has written two outstanding books on hunting in
Africa, was born and has long lived in the South. Examining
Southern hunting from frontier times through the antebellum era to
the present day, he shows it to be a litmus test of rural identity.
"Drawing on the latest anthropological theory, statistical sources,
extensive interviews, and historical research, Marks] has crafted a
multifaceted account of Southern hunting. Relations of race,
property, gender, and region appear in fresh guises in this
innovative and intriguing study. The portrayal of the contemporary
state of hunting is especially interesting, revealing both the
continuities with the past and the new pressures on the
sport."--Virginia Quarterly Review
The Valley Bisa people inhabit the Luangwa Valley in central
Zambia. Among them, the hunter, who tracks such large game as the
lion, elephant, and buffalo, commands great respect and esteem from
the other members of the lineage who traditionally rely on him for
their subsistence and protection. Although the social organization
and technology of the Bisa people have undergone tremendous change
in the last one hundred years, the role of hunter retains its
social importance, and the legitimizing hunting rituals have their
roots in local history. Drawing on data collected during his
fieldwork among the Bisa continuing since the 1960s, Stuart Marks
describes the changes that have occurred in hunting patterns, the
sociological variables that govern an individual's decision to
become a hunter, and the common cosmological convictions that
hunters bring to their profession. Available for the first time in
paperback, the new introduction and afterword to this edition
reflect on methodological and ideological changes in the
anthropological study of African peoples as well as updating the
circumstances of the Bisa people since the book's first appearance
in 1976. Through the interventions of the larger national society
the Bisa have lost much of their land and access to important
portions of their resources while experiencing repression in their
struggles to maintain livelihoods with what local assets are left.
Nevertheless, Marks notes that they face their hardships with
tolerance, integrity, persistence, and humility. The general
reader, as well as prehistorians and anthropologists concerned with
human evolution and hunting societies, will find this volume
useful. It will also be of interest to wildlife managers and
ecologists.
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