Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way

by Valentine E. Daniel

Fluid Signs is the product of anthropological fieldwork carried out among Tamil-speaking villagers in a Hindu village in Southern India. Combining a richness of ethnographic detail with a challenging and innovative theoretical analysis, Daniel argues that symbolic anthropologists have yet to appreciate the multifaceted function of the sign and its role in the creation of culture. This provocative study underscores the need for Western intellectual traditions in general and anthropology in particular to deepen its discourse with South Asian cultural and religious thought.

Genres: Anthropology

334 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

To write an ethnographic description of a Hindu village conceptual system and intentionally not talk about caste because "caste studies... have prevented scholarly inquiry from escaping its confines and taking into account symbolic constructs more pervasive and regnant than caste, and more natural to the cultural matrix of South Asia than the 'naturalized' one of caste" is................... not a good look. eat trash, Errol ://

[Charis]

One of the most engaging ethnographies I've ever read, Daniel manages to bring the theoretical considerations he grapples with down a level which is easily explicated to a non-anthropologist. At turns funny and insightful, he is humble enough to admit that the work is not a complete picture--as we all know, ethnographies are never, ever complete pictures, but few researchers have the courage to admit this. This book provides insight not only to the habits and ethos of a specific set of villages in south India, but also carry implications for the rest of the subcontinent, and further, humankind in general. The introduction also contains a primer to Peircian semeiosis, which is hard to come by in a more concise format than that which Daniel lays out. I would recommend this book to the 'lay ethnography reader' and the anthropologist alike--if you don't want to know about Peircian semeiosis, skip the intro.

[Giri Namasivayam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago. I remember it provides a very interesting description of the concept of Naadu and how geography influences a Tamil's identity. It's definitely worth reading.