The book Why Did You Come If You Leave Again? is an ethnographer’s personal account of the five years he spent in one of the remotest parts of Africa. In the author’s comprehensive monograph (eight volumes published by Schwabe) about the Anyuak, a little-known tribe in South Sudan, there was no space left for a portrait of the person who did the fieldwork, his professional and personal itinerary, his experiences and attitudes, his relationship with the local people—let alone for all the adventures he lived when crossing the wilderness and when struggling to stay alive. The travel autobiography sheds light on the long and tedious process of ethnographic fieldwork; it is both personal and profound, varying between moments of actions and reflections and eventually leading to an intimate encounter with an African culture. The many riveting stories told in the book are signposts of a spiritual, psychological, philosophical, and physically exhausting expedition through arid savannah, flooded plains, and compact walls of elephant grass to the spiritual home of a courageous people who have created in the middle of wilderness a center of humanity. Though the narrative is essentially about the discovery of a foreign culture, it also relates the exploration of the ethnographer’s own identity in an environment that didn’t offer any possibility to escape. The book is about thirst, starvation, loneliness and lightening, sickness and death, joy and deliverance, snakes and spirits, shadow, spittle and footprints, and eventually about the author’s quest for meaning, beauty, and understanding of the world. The memoir tells a saga about forlornness, hope, and achievement, and last but not least, growing friendships as the only reward for struggle and pain. The researcher’s autobiography is captivating for the soul and the mind. It is funny, sad, informative, inspiring, and poetic.

WHY DID YOU COME IF YOU LEAVE AGAIN? Volume 1: THE NARRATIVE OF AN ETHNOGRAPHER’S FOOTPRINTS AMONG THE ANYUAK IN SOUTH SUDAN

Travel

Perner, Conradin

Africa

Xlibris

The book Why Did You Come If You Leave Again? is an ethnographer’s personal account of the five years he spent in one of the remotest parts of Africa. In the author’s comprehensive monograph (eight volumes published by Schwabe) about the Anyuak, a little-known tribe in South Sudan, there was no space left for a portrait of the person who did the fieldwork, his professional and personal itinerary, his experiences and attitudes, his relationship with the local people—let alone for all the adventures he lived when crossing the wilderness and when struggling to stay alive.  The travel autobiography sheds light on the long and tedious process of ethnographic fieldwork; it is both personal and profound, varying between moments of actions and reflections and eventually leading to an intimate encounter with an African culture. The many riveting stories told in the book are signposts of a spiritual, psychological, philosophical, and physically exhausting expedition through arid savannah, flooded plains, and compact walls of elephant grass to the spiritual home of a courageous people who have created in the middle of wilderness a center of humanity. Though the narrative is essentially about the discovery of a foreign culture, it also relates the exploration of the ethnographer’s own identity in an environment that didn’t offer any possibility to escape.  The book is about thirst, starvation, loneliness and lightening, sickness and death, joy and deliverance, snakes and spirits, shadow, spittle and footprints, and eventually about the author’s quest for meaning, beauty, and understanding of the world. The memoir tells a saga about forlornness, hope, and achievement, and last but not least, growing friendships as the only reward for struggle and pain. The researcher’s autobiography is captivating for the soul and the mind. It is funny, sad, informative, inspiring, and poetic.

Why Did You Come If You Leave Again? Volume 2: THE NARRATIVE OF AN ETHNOGRAPHER’S FOOTPRINTS AMONG THE ANYUAK IN SOUTH SUDAN

WHY DID YOU COME IF YOU LEAVE AGAIN?

The book Why Did You Come If You Leave Again? is an ethnographer’s personal account of the five years he spent in one of the remotest parts of Africa. In the author’s comprehensive monograph (eight volumes published by Schwabe) about the Anyuak, a little-known tribe in South Sudan, there was no space left for a portrait of the person who did the fieldwork, his professional and personal itinerary, his experiences and attitudes, his relationship with the local people—let alone for all the adventures he lived when crossing the wilderness and when struggling to stay alive. The travel autobiography sheds light on the long and tedious process of ethnographic fieldwork; it is both personal and profound, varying between moments of actions and reflections and eventually leading to an intimate encounter with an African culture. The many riveting stories told in the book are signposts of a spiritual, psychological, philosophical, and physically exhausting expedition through arid savannah, flooded plains, and compact walls of elephant grass to the spiritual home of a courageous people who have created in the middle of wilderness a center of humanity. Though the narrative is essentially about the discovery of a foreign culture, it also relates the exploration of the ethnographer’s own identity in an environment that didn’t offer any possibility to escape. The book is about thirst, starvation, loneliness and lightening, sickness and death, joy and deliverance, snakes and spirits, shadow, spittle and footprints, and eventually about the author’s quest for meaning, beauty, and understanding of the world. The memoir tells a saga about forlornness, hope, and achievement, and last but not least, growing friendships as the only reward for struggle and pain. The researcher’s autobiography is captivating for the soul and the mind. It is funny, sad, informative, inspiring, and poetic.

Why Did You Come If You Leave Again?: The Narrative of an Ethnographer's Footprints Among the Anyuak in South Sudan

The Sphere of Spirituality

Politics & Social Sciences

Anthropology

Schwabe Ag

The Human Territory (Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky)

Schwabe

The Anyuak definition of what a human person is appears to be a relatively easy one, at least in theory, because it is based upon purely physical criteria; The metaphysical dimensions of a human being are completely neglected in this definition and are only of importance when needed to exclude a human being from human society. The term "person" is essential in Anyuak language, for it introduces a special category within the large category of "human beings": not all human beings are also persons. The notion of "personality" is, in this context, of no relevance, because it is merely a qualitative extension of the notion of human person, its individual aspect. There is no moral element in the judgement of a human person, at least in this theoretical sense, and even intelligence which elsewhere is considered to be almost exclusively human is not considered when defining the truly human qualities of a person. Because the individual characteristics of a person, his or her mistakes and problems, do not turn into existential questions, Anyuaks hardly ever ask themselves about their "real" identity or meditate about their inner life: Anyuaks know perfectly well who they are and what place they have in existence, and it is with this deep and sober self-knowledge that they face their private destiny. The best, as well as the most complete, answer to the philosophical question "Who am I?" thus is for Anyuak a very easy, self-evident one: "Who I am? - I am a human person!" "Human person" means in Anyuak language "dhano". "Dhano mo dicwo" is a male, "dhano mo dhago" a female person; the plural is "jiy" or "jow", the latter meaning literally "fellows, people". The term "dhano" is positively discriminating and describes a definite sphere of exclusively human values. A human person is of course a human being, the latter being a particular species living on earth an thus clearly different from animals, birds or fish. The differentiation from animals is, as we shall see, of importance, because unlike animals the human being has a spiritual dimension and is conscious of his or her existence. But because of human superiority over animals and because of the usually peaceful coexistence between man an animals on earth, the human being contents himself with stating the differences between man an animals in their physical nature and intellectual capacities; the difference between man an animals is a positive one because it strengthens the position of the human being and is therefore of psychological rather than of truly existential importance to the definition of a "human person". Anyuak existence would probably be much less problematic if their universe were simply divided into a spiritual sphere above (of God) and an earthly sphere of existence below (of humans, animals, etc.). The problem of human society is aggravated by the fact that the nature of human being is not the same in all people, that there exist treacherous elements which side with the spiritual, nonhuman matters and find tremendous pleasure in torturing an killing other human beings. A "human being" is therefore not necessarily a "human person" but can, in spite of his or her human appearance, very well have supernatural, i.e. inhuman qualities. When Anyuaks define a "human person", they primarily think of these cetergories of existence: while the difference to animals and the one to invisible spiritual matters in the sky does not need to be stressed, the differentiation between real human persons and people of mainly spiritual nature has to be emphasised and made perfectly clear because it is a differentiation within the same category of earthly appearances, the category of human beings. The human beings thus are divided into "persons" and "non-persons", the former defined by purely human values, the latter depending upon spiritual attributes. If one wonders "Who is walking over there?", anyuaks never give a precise answer such as "These are people coming from Ajwara" but simply say what in their opinion is the most and the only essential "Be jiy di piny", "These are people of the earth", i.e. earthly, not spiritual existences, they are normal people. This expression shows clearly that a true human person is closely linked to the earth, while spiritual non-persons of course are rather related to the sphere of the sky, to immaterial spirituality. To be a "human person" is the most positive thing an Anyuak can say about her or himself. Here, there is no idea of humanity as a fault of the humans'' imperfection and need for salvation, on the contrary, the human person is the only positive and solid criterion on which all other matters are to be judged. The term "dhano", person, thus qualifies or disqualifies somebody as a human being. Soemtimes, one does hear it in a positive sense, as in the already mentioned examples or when for example a difficult discussion is to be put on a constructive level by saying "yini dhano thuoo", i.e. "you are a human being like me" (and should therefore not argue as if you were a sorcerer); usually, however, one applies the term to disliked or even hated people, by calling them "non-persons", i.e. "pa dhano". A man walking naked in a big village (like Akobo or Otalo) is today considered to be mad (at least if he never wars clothes) and thus said to be "no person any more" ("pa dhano ket") and consequently left in peace (even by the police). In such a context, to be a non-person is synonymous with "to b mad" (bol): when for example my watercarrier in one of his frequent malaria attacks completely lost his mind and even forgot all the obligatory respect due to the king, walking with shoes in royal presence and even disregarding the king''s orders, he was not caught, tied up and slashed as normally would have been the case: "Let him be," the king said calmly, "he is no human person any more" (i.e. he does not know what he is doing).

The Human Being (Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky)

This monograph on the history and culture of the Anyuak is the result of more than five years of fieldwork (1976-1983). It is a well-documented, detailed and passionate description of an African people's spiritual and material world, their culture and history. Myths, oral traditions, stories, maps, genealogies, records and a great number of photographs invite the reader to join in the journey through the universe of the Anyuak in order to make own discoveries or simply enjoy the spiritual adventure. The Anyuak live on both sides of the border between South Sudan and Southwestern Ethiopia. They are relatives of the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer, but have turned from cattle owners into fervent agriculturalists. The Anyuak are a highly intellectual, strong-minded, well-organised people who have created, in the middle of so-called wilderness, a centre of humanity. If their socio-political system is of a particular interest, their philosophy is equally fascinating: it centres on the human person and governs his or her relationship not only within human society but also with animals, earthly matters and spiritual forces. Thanks to their stubborn, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak have - in spite of all pressures from outside - up to now succeeded in preserving their cultural identity and have maintained their pride of being "pure human beings." While the first two volumes of the monograph describe the strained relationship between the humans and the spiritual forces residing in the sphere of the above - the sky (Volume I) or the below - the earth (Volume II), the next two volumes focus on the Human Person who has an extremely difficult stand between the two spheres of existence and can only survive because of his or her self-consciousness of being neither a purely spiritual being nor an animal. The Human Being is first described as an anonymous entity which worries about its human identity and takes great care of its physical appearance (Volume III), and then (in Volume IV) as an individual person who passes through all the different stages of human existence "from birth to death up to eternal life." As music and songs are of an existential significance during an Anyuak's entire lifetime, it is important to allow the reader to witness the physical sensations and spiritual forces which protect and carry an Anyuak on his or her journey from childhood up to old age and death. The recordings included here in Volume IV come in support of the reader's desire not only to learn about the Anyuak but to feel their presence in a physical, sensual and poetic manner.

A Personal Life (Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky)

The monograph on the history and culture of the Anyuak is the result of more than five years of fieldwork (1976-1983). It is a well-documented, detailed and passionate description of an African people's spiritual and material world, their culture and history. Myths, oral traditions, stories, maps, genealogies, records of songs and music as well as a great number of photographs invite the reader to join in the journey through the universe of the Anyuak in order to make own discoveries or simply to participate in the spiritual adventure. The Anyuak live on both sides of the border between South Sudan and South-western Ethiopia. They are relatives of the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer, but have turned from cattle owners into fervent agriculturalists. The Anyuak are a highly intellectual, strong-minded and well-organised people who have created, in the middle of so-called wilderness, a centre of human civilisation. If their socio-political system is of a particular interest, their philosophy is equally fascinating: it centres on the human person and governs his or her relationship not only within human society but also with animals, earthly matters and spiritual forces. Thanks to their stubborn, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak have - in spite of all pressures from outside - up to now succeeded in preserving their cultural identity and maintaining their pride of being "pure human beings". While the first four volumes of the monograph described the sphere of the above (the sphere of transparency), the sphere of the below (the sphere of material existence, the earth) and the space between them (the sphere of human self-awareness and the period of personal existence), the fifth volume focuses on the Anyuak village and its physical and social structures and opens the wide and lively sphere of collective existence. A fundamental part of the community's socio-political organisation is the "Sphere of Justice" as the tool which holds society together and allows it - in spite of all tensions and ruptures - to survive as one existential unity. Volume VI describes the political system which unites the various layers of society as well as its individual members, provides inner cohesion and defends it against attacks from the outside. The strong political self-awareness of the Anyuak finds its expression in the powers of village headmen and of an absolute ruler, a king, whose divine immortality symbolises and incorporates the community's spiritual forces, its bold aggressiveness and its determination of self-defence. Because of the author's close friendship with the late charismatic King Agada, this sixth volume of the Anyuak monograph is of substantial significance for the comprehension of "divine kingship" in the Sudan.

The Political Body - Power and Authority (Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky)

The monograph on the history and culture of the Anyuak is the result of more than five years of fieldwork (1976-1983). It is a welldocumented, detailed and passionate description of an African people's spiritual and material world, their culture and history. Myths, oral traditions, stories, maps, genealogies, records of tales, songs and other music, as well as a great number of photographs invite the reader to join in the journey through the universe of the Anyuak in order to make their own discoveries or simply to participate in the spiritual adventure. The Anyuak live on both sides of the border between South Sudan and Southwestern Ethiopia. They are relatives of the better known Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer, but have turned from cattle herders into fervent agriculturalists. The Anyuak are a highly intellectual, strong-minded and well-organised people who have created, in the middle of so-called wilderness, a centre of human civilisation. If their socio-political system is of a particular interest, their philosophy is equally fascinating: it centres on the human person and governs his or her relationship not only within human society but also with animals, earthly matters and spiritual forces. Thanks to their stubborn, almost desperate belief in the essential goodness of existence and the positive forces of life, the Anyuak have - in spite of all pressures from outside - up to now succeeded in preserving their cultural identity and maintaining their pride of being "pure human beings". The first four volumes of the monograph describe the sphere of the above (the sphere of transparency), the sphere of the below (the sphere of material existence, the earth) and the space between them (the sphere of human self-awareness and the period of personal existence). Volumes V and VI focus on the Anyuak village and its physical, social, judicial and political structures, and examine the lively sphere of collective experience under a forceful leadership, which embodies the community's self-awareness. Volume VII investigates the economic and material values of the Anyuak, in particular the social aspects of labour, such as solidarity, sharing within the community, and cooperation. It focuses on the daily or seasonal activities of women, men and children: in the fields; on the riverside and at home; during working hours; or while traveling, trading, and at times of rest. The text, with accompanying pictures and illustrations, highlights important aspects of agriculture; hunting and gathering; tobacco; on the making of tools, utensils and handicrafts; and on the rituals of cooking, eating, drinking, and smoking. The book ends with a chapter on art, which illustrates the Anyuak artistic self-awareness in all aspects of life.

Spheres of Action (Anyuak - Living on Earth in the Sky)

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