1. They then started walking potlatches would go from house to house, with never more than 5 people in one place at a time 3. Understanding the Potlatch a. Mauss and many others have tried to make sense of this Info comes from a variety of sources c. Much of it came from Franz boas i. His methods of fieldwork heavily dependant on taking texts l1. Had people write down essays on how they did certain things, like hunting or cooking iii. People feel he didn't give enough credit to his assistants iv.Sometimes he used this method to the detriment of observation d. Missionaries were also making observations e. Since then, a whole bunch of people took a stab at explaining the potlatch f. In 1934 Ruth Benedict. a student of Boas best seller book called"Patterns of Culture Said cultures are essentially personality types blown up into larger dimensions of a society a. Pueblo Indians of American sw were Apollonian": were restrained, admired harmony 1. Opposite was Dionysian: Given to excess b. Dobuans are all paranoid, hugely suspicious c. Kwakiutl= megalomaniacs, did everything to excess,say the potlatch as an example of this Have very elaborate ceremonies g. Problem: Helen Codere, Benedicts student i. Published an essay"An Amiable Side of Kwakiutl Life saying that the Kwakiutl were actually very nice and not megalomaniacal ii. Ceremonies and potlatches are not evidence of their everyday behavior and personality1. They then started walking potlatches would go from house to house, with never more than 5 people in one place at a time. 3. Understanding the Potlatch a. Mauss and many others have tried to make sense of this b. Info comes from a variety of sources c. Much of it came from Franz Boas￾i. His methods of fieldwork heavily dependant on taking texts ii. Had people write down essays on how they did certain things, like hunting or cooking iii. People feel he didn’t give enough credit to his assistants iv. Sometimes he used this method to the detriment of observation d. Missionaries were also making observations e. Since then, a whole bunch of people took a stab at explaining the potlatch f. In 1934 Ruth Benedict, a student of Boas, best seller book called “Patterns of Culture” i. Said cultures are essentially personality types blown up into larger dimensions of a society. 1. 3 cases: a. Pueblo Indians of American SW were “Apollonian”: were restrained, admired harmony i. Opposite was Dionysian: Given to excess b. Dobuans are all paranoid, hugely suspicious c. Kwakiutl = megalomaniacs, did everything to excess, say the potlatch as an example of this i. Have very elaborate ceremonies g. Problem: Helen Codere, Benedict’s student i. Published an essay “An Amiable Side of Kwakiutl Life” saying that the Kwakiutl were actually very nice and not megalomaniacal ii. Ceremonies and potlatches are not evidence of their everyday behavior and personality