ABSTRACT
The only domain in anthropology has been frequently calling attention to the social and cultural aspects of defecation is applied medical anthropology. Anthropologists involved in sanitation and public health projects have repeatedly pointed out that health policies must take into account local perceptions of dirt and hygiene. The author's contribution deals with another kind of institutionalized not knowing: not knowing about defecation. That not knowing does not refer to lack of knowledge on the part of informants about their defecation practice. The author's explanation of the anthropological avoidance of defecation, in spite of its high cultural and social relevance, is embarrassing and ironic. It shows how much anthropologists remain encapsulated in their own culture. Anthropologists claim taking distance from of their own culture. They love to justify their ethnographic work as cultural critique, a contribution to defamiliarization by what Marcus and Fischer call cross-cultural juxtaposition.
