Dual Classification Reconsidered

The deep structure of symbolism in religious and ritual activities has hitherto mostly been studied from perspectives deriving from classical and contemporary Western thought which values symmetry non-contradiction equality of terms and the rationality of linear discourse and classification systems have therefore come to be defined in binary terms (right/left male/female black/white). In this book Serge Tcherkezoff presents a new perspective on the study of ritual classification. On the basis of a detailed ethnography of the rituals of the Nyamwezi of Tanzania Tcherkezoff argues for an analysis which recognised contradictions and asymmetry within ritual systems. Following Dumont he shows that societies are characterised by a hierarchal structure of values in which each individual element has a meaning only through its position within the whole thereby replacing the rigid classical structuralist dichotomy with a rich multidimensional approach.