December 5, 2024
Harriet Ottenheimer and Martin Ottenheimer
Talk Summary: In this presentation we review nearly 60 years of field research and interaction with the Comoro Islands, located in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean, and in particular, with the people of Domoni, on the island of Anjouan.
We became residents of Domoni in the 1960s, when the Comoros were still a French colony, and have maintained connections ever since. We brought our young sons to the Comoros, brought Comorian friends to the U.S., sponsored a Comorian student at our university, and co-parented at a traditional wedding. We were granted Comorian citizenship in 2011 and we serve on Domoni’s heritage committee. In this presentation, we will review and discuss some of the changes we have observed, some of the ways that we have participated in ongoing traditions, and some of the ways we have been privileged to “give back” to our hosts. We also raise the complex issues surrounding how–and how much–anthropologists should consider local requests for help with initiating changes as well as with documenting traditions.
Residents of the town of Domoni have participated actively in Indian Ocean trading networks since the 5th century, sailing to Indian ports and welcoming traders and settlers from India. Domoni was also an important reprovisioning stop for American whaling ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the Indian Ocean trade was halted by colonization, many of the cultural elements supporting the trade, such as matrifocal polygyny, continue to this day.
Bios: Harriet & Martin Ottenheimer are emeriti professors of Anthropology at Kansas State University where Martin served as department head and Harriet as founding director of American Ethnic Studies. Both are Fulbright scholars. They received their Ph.D.s in Anthropology from Tulane U, with undergraduate backgrounds in Engineering and Philosophy (Martin, RPI) and in Music and Literature (Harriet, Bennington). Martin’s research areas include Theory, Kinship, and Culture. Harriet’s research areas include Ethnomusicology, Linguistics, and Expressive Culture.
Focusing on marriage patterns, religious systems, and seafaring traditions, Martin completed his dissertation fieldwork in the Comoro Islands. His publications include Marriage in Domoni: Husbands and Wives in an Indian Ocean Community(Waveland), Forbidden Relatives: The American Myth of Cousin Marriage in the U.S. (U Illinois), and, with Richard Feinberg, The Cultural Analysis of Kinship (U Illinois).
Focusing on blues performance practices and life-story narratives, Harriet completed her dissertation field work in New Orleans. She then accompanied Martin to the Comoros where she documented music, language, and culinary practices. Her publications include Cousin Joe: Blues from New Orleans (U Chicago), two editions of Comorian-English/English-Comorian (ShiNzwani) Dictionary (Ag), four editions of The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (Cengage), and, with Maurice Martinez, The Quorum (documentary, Such-A-Much/Doorknob).
Together they