In 1992 I sat glued to the television screen for the entire 10 episodes of Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World hosted by anthropologist, author, ethnologist, educator and activist David Maybury-Lewis. I have just learnt that Maybury-Lewis died on 2nd December 2007 aged 78 years. For me Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World was a turning point in my life. Maybury-Lewis inspired for me through the PBS series (financed by the late founder of the Body Shop chain Anita Roddick) a deep interest in alternative social and cultural systems to those which I had grown up in or been taught at school. It was at around this time in my life I also was reading John Pilger's book A Secret Country and came to an alternative understanding of the Aboriginal history of Australia since colonization than that which I had been taught in school. Combined, A Secret Country and Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World formed a large part of the basis for beliefs I still hold today. Writing about his work Maybury-Lewis described it as being concerned with feelings, personal reactions and the day-to-day business which is mysteriously known as 'doing fieldwork.':
"My wife and I lived among the Sherente for eight months in 1955-56 and among the Shavante for slightly longer in 1958. This book is an account of our experiences; it is not an essay in anthropology. Indeed I have tried to put down here many of those things which never got told in technical anthropological writings - our impressions of Central Brazil, our personal reactions to the various situations in which we found ourselves, and above all our feelings about the day-to-day business which is mysteriously known as 'doing fieldwork.' The narrative is therefore intentionally anecdotal. To those readers who find that this book is not as thrilling as a book about the wilds of Brazil should be, I offer my apologies. I can only add by way of explanation that every incident is true"-Maybury-Lewis, Preface to The Savage and the Innocent. Beacon Press, Boston: 1956
In 1972, he and his wife Pia founded Cultural Survival, an organisation committed to guaranteeing indigenous peoples a voice in the policies affecting their lives, a sustainable means of livelihood, and the means of adapting their cultures to change. I believe the world is better for having had David Maybury-Lewis.
Unfortunatly Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World is not presently available as a DVD or online. I hope the program is republished soon in some way and more people can see it. Anyone have a torrent?
I just returned from David Maybury-Lewis's memorial service at Harvard. Our family is fortunate enough to be close family friends with the Maybury-Lewis's, and feel enormously grateful for that privilege. The intensely erudite and gifted speakers at the service spoke to David's keen intelligence, his ground-breaking work in supporting indigenous people, his mastery of 9 languages, and how their own intellects and accomplishments paled in comparison to his. He was unusally gifted, passionate, kind, and generous, and his passing was truly a loss to us all. I too am hoping to find Millenium on DVD; I'd like to show my young son, who only knew David in his last few years when illness robbed him of his former resplendence, what a truly great man he was.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Charlie. Have you seen the film Lucky People Center International:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7OuwYEF1R0
It is a artistic look at human communities and how we relate to the environments around us. A sort of postmodern Millenium.
I hope your son remembers David, as I will.
I am very sorry that it has taken me this long to find out that David Maybury Lewis passed away.
ReplyDeleteI do not know him personally, but I do understand and agree with his contribution and insights into many things having spent over 20 years in Africa myself. Although a different continent than the one he was known to lecture about. Tribal societies prevail to this day in Africa.
However the real reason I am doing this is to see if you ever had any luck with finding Millenium DVD. If not, I think I can help you a little with that.
Dream, you blog is the dissolved Logos. I have not found a copy of Millennium and would love to visit it again. Let me know if you can help.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what you mean by dissolved logos. Please clarify. Is there something wrong with my blog that I am unaware of?
ReplyDeleteIN response to your message I wanted to say that I have two episodes of Millenium on VHS. They were never released on DVD. But now that I am thinking about this, I might be able to upload to youtube or Vimeo
I thought it would also be helpful to mention that the two episodes in question are titled.
ReplyDelete"A POOR MAN SHAMES US ALL"
and,
"INVENTING REALITY"