ABSTRACT
WHAT,afterall,isonetomakeofsavages? Evennow,afterthreecenturiesofdebateon thematter-whethertheyarenoble,bestial,or evenasyouandI;whethertheyreasonaswe do,aresunkinadementedmysticism,orpossessorsofhigherformsoftruthwehaveinour avaricelost;whethertheircustoms,fromcannibalismtomatriliny,aremerealternatives,no betterandnoworse,toourown,orcrudeprecursorsofourownnowout-moded,orsimply passingstrange,impenetrableexoticaamusing tocollect;whethertheyareboundandweare free,orweareboundandtl.eyarefree-after allthiswestilldon'tknow.Fortheanthropologist,whoseprofessionitistostudyothercultures,thepuzzleisalwayswithhim.Hispersonalrelationshiptohisobjectofstudyis, perhapsmorethananyotherscientist,inevitablyproblematic.Knowwhathethinksasav-
FromE n c o u n t e r , 48(4):25-32.Copyright© 1967byEncounter.Reprintedbypermissionofthe publisherandtheauthor.CliffordGeertzisProfessorofAnthropology,UniversityofChicago.
