Nancy J. Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300209617
- eISBN:
- 9780300220803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300209617.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology
This chapter presents the life of Jali Makawa, a celebrated collector whose grounding in the world of vernacular birding appears to have mitigated his experience of exclusion. He first met birds as a ...
More
This chapter presents the life of Jali Makawa, a celebrated collector whose grounding in the world of vernacular birding appears to have mitigated his experience of exclusion. He first met birds as a boy in rural Mozambique and Malawi, and as a young man demonstrated an exceptional interest and knowledge of them. His extraordinary expertise began in the well-established vernacular birding and hunting traditions of south central Africa, but he also developed ornithological skills. As C.W. Benson's collector, Makawa learned to prepare the skins for their afterlife as specimens. In working with Benson and other ornithologists, he became familiar with the species as defined by ornithologists. No one ever recorded him explaining what birds meant to him, but Makawa expressed that they held his attention.Less
This chapter presents the life of Jali Makawa, a celebrated collector whose grounding in the world of vernacular birding appears to have mitigated his experience of exclusion. He first met birds as a boy in rural Mozambique and Malawi, and as a young man demonstrated an exceptional interest and knowledge of them. His extraordinary expertise began in the well-established vernacular birding and hunting traditions of south central Africa, but he also developed ornithological skills. As C.W. Benson's collector, Makawa learned to prepare the skins for their afterlife as specimens. In working with Benson and other ornithologists, he became familiar with the species as defined by ornithologists. No one ever recorded him explaining what birds meant to him, but Makawa expressed that they held his attention.
Nancy J. Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300209617
- eISBN:
- 9780300220803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300209617.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology
This chapter looks at the life of Saul Sithole, who had no evident background in vernacular birding traditions. He was a South African museum preparator whose work was dictated by segregation, yet ...
More
This chapter looks at the life of Saul Sithole, who had no evident background in vernacular birding traditions. He was a South African museum preparator whose work was dictated by segregation, yet whose performance was always impeccable. Museum employees were not considered birders at all, but merely laborers with inanimate objects that were once birds. Thus, compared with collectors in other parts of Africa, these workers had a difficult experience of the racialization of science. Sithole's behavior and achievements register only lightly in the historical record. Yet he set out to lead a life that could have suited a traditional biography by exhibiting a will not to be subordinate through unfailing propriety and professional decorum. With his steadfast comportment of respectability, he defied professional and political segregation.Less
This chapter looks at the life of Saul Sithole, who had no evident background in vernacular birding traditions. He was a South African museum preparator whose work was dictated by segregation, yet whose performance was always impeccable. Museum employees were not considered birders at all, but merely laborers with inanimate objects that were once birds. Thus, compared with collectors in other parts of Africa, these workers had a difficult experience of the racialization of science. Sithole's behavior and achievements register only lightly in the historical record. Yet he set out to lead a life that could have suited a traditional biography by exhibiting a will not to be subordinate through unfailing propriety and professional decorum. With his steadfast comportment of respectability, he defied professional and political segregation.
