Please write a 3-5 page essay (double spaced, 12-point font, normal formatting) on Bruce Knauft’s “The Gebusi” which addresses one of the following topics:
1) Knauft describes his attempt to intervene in the case of Gami (p. 136-142). Write a paper describing whether or not you think his actions were appropriate in terms of local Gebusi values. You may want to consider the motivations for Gami’s actions and attempt to reconstruct what she and others in Gebusi society might have thought of Knauft’s efforts in this regard.
2) In Chapter 9, Knauft describes how Gebusi women in particular will work extremely hard in order to make very small amounts of money off of market sales. He argues that the prestige attached to the cash economy is a key motivation in this regard. Do you think the cash (or commodity) economy has a big impact on Gebusi culture? Does it appear to be having a greater impact that Christianization, or do religious and economic changes go hand-in-hand?
3) The Gebusi live in an extremely violent society, one in which murder rates are very high (p. 61). However, they are also extremely high-spirited and happy most of the time. How do you reconcile the great value they place on “good company” and fellowship with their willingness to kill one another during sorcery inquests?
