ABSTRACT
A “primer” (prim´er), I am informed by my trusty dictionary (American Heritage, fourth edition) is, among other things, “a book that covers the basic elements of a subject,” not to be confused with pri´mer, “an undercoat of paint or size applied to prepare a surface, as for painting.” This is a prim´er intended to cover some of the basic elements of ethnography. It does not provide an undercoat intended to cover all the basic elements—there are other books for doing that. They do it quite well. (I immodestly include Ethnography: A Way of Seeing among them, but it is a way of seeing, not the way.)
