Among the Bone Eaters: Encounters with Hyenas in Harar

Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures

by Marcus Baynes-Rock, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (Foreword)

Biologists studying large carnivores in wild places usually do so from a distance, using telemetry and noninvasive methods of data collection. So what happens when an anthropologist studies a clan of spotted hyenas, Africa’s second-largest carnivores, up close―and in a city of a hundred thousand inhabitants? In Among the Bone Eaters , Marcus Baynes-Rock takes us to the ancient city of Harar in Ethiopia, where the gey waraba (hyenas of the city) are welcome in the streets and appreciated by the locals for the protection they provide from harmful spirits and dangerous “mountain” hyenas. They’ve even become a local tourist attraction. At the start of his research in Harar, Baynes-Rock contended with difficult conditions, stone-throwing children, intransigent bureaucracy, and wary hyena subjects intent on avoiding people. After months of frustration, three young hyenas drew him into the hidden world of the Sofi clan. He discovered the elements of a hyena’s life, from the delectability of dead livestock and the nuisance of dogs to the unbounded thrill of hyena chase-play under the light of a full moon. Baynes-Rock’s personal relations with the hyenas from the Sofi clan expand the conceptual boundaries of human-animal relations. This is multispecies ethnography that reveals its messy, intersubjective, dangerously transformative potential.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology, Africa, Animals, Science

280 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2015

Reviews

[Andrea Giovanni Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

L’atavico antagonismo tra uomo e iena si dissolve, ad Harar, in una convivenza che sfida il modello occidentale di dominio o domesticazione.
Qui, le iene sono accolte come parte di un sistema di credenze spirituali, a conferma di come ogni legame tra umano e animale sia, in fondo, sempre culturale

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus Baynes-Rock doesn't come across as a scientist, though he apparently is one (an anthropologist). He's traveled to Harar, an ancient Muslim city in eastern Ethiopia, to study the relationships between the city's hyenas and the people who feed them, ritually, every night at dusk. He cheerfully admits his missteps and cluelessness and seems to spend as much time chewing khat with the addicts as he does observing hyenas, and eventually I wearied of his shambolic bumblings. As interested as he is in hyenas, it's clear that all he really wants to do is feel a connection with them, much as I crave a connection with my dog. For me it brings up questions of power and appropriateness since these are wild animals that regularly attack and kill people in the Harar area (and all over Africa). The lack of breathtaking climax at the end is a little sweet and pretty sad, but I enjoyed the trip alongside Marcus Baynes-Rock nonetheless.

[Leonca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This documents one of the most fascinating human/animal relationships I’ve heard of. It shows just how flexible both we and animals are. The unique culture of Harar has developed an amazing variety of positive associations toward hyenas, to the point that people make excuses for them in the rare instances where they attack. On the hyena’s side, you learn just how hard they’ve had to work to overcome their deep fear of humans. Who knew it could be so complicated to convince them to accept free offerings of food!

For anyone interesting in bringing the book to life, there are many tourist’s videos of the feedings posted on YouTube. As artificial as the situation is, it’s fun to watch the hyena’s body language, with their cautious attitudes and quick movements to minimize their proximity to humans.

[KMaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this several years ago, but it remains prominent in my mind as a fascinating application of anthropological inquiry to investigate the relationship between humans and hyenas in Harar by considering the hyenas as active agents with their own society, rather than passive objects acted on by humans.

[Emily Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last chapter... worth reading the rest of the excellent book just for that.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a (well-written) diary of the author's year in Harar, Ethiopa, with the anthropological notes, people he meets, hyenas he follows and even befriends.

[John Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book written by an Australian biologist describes his year in Harar, Ethiopia studying hyenas and their interactions with humans from the perspective of an anthropologist. The term used to describe this is interspecies relationships. In most parts of Africa, hyenas are feared and reviled as portrayed in “The Lion King”. In Harar and some other parts of Ethiopia hyenas and humans live a mutually advantageous life. While the book focuses on this , it also provides information on the animal’s biology, the human culture in Harar, the largest Muslim city in Ethiopia and life as a graduate student. I found the book very interesting as I am interested in all of these areas but readers should be aware that Harar is not typical of all of Ethiopia. When I was last in Addis Ababa for a meeting at the Horn of Africa Conference Center on the outskirts of the city, the staff refused to work at night because they were afraid of the hyenas. This probably reflects changes in urban culture from that of Harar where there is a ceremony feeding porridge to the hyenas to ensure a good year. The book is not too long and a relatively easy read.

[!Tæmbuŝu]

KOBOBOOKS

Reviewed by Open Letters Monthly

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, well written, and thoughtful multispecies ethnography . Baynes-Rock is a very good writer and allows the account to be engrossing and emotive.