Nigel Frederick Barley (born 1947) is a British
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
known for his books based on his anthropological field work, which have been treated as travel writing. His first book ''The Innocent Anthropologist'' (1983), was an account of field work in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and was positively reviewed.
He later conducted field work in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Since 2003 he has expanded his writing career. He divides his time between the United Kingdom and Indonesia. His book ''Not a Hazardous Sport'' (1989) was about his research in
Tana Toraja
Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 census and 28 ...
. He has since written numerous other works, including fiction. He wrote a historical novel ''Island of Demons'' (2009), loosely based on the German artist
Walter Spies
Walter Spies (15 September 1895 – 19 January 1942) was a Russian-born German primitivist painter, composer, musicologist, and curator. In 1923 he moved to Java, Indonesia. He lived in Yogyakarta and then in Ubud, Bali starting from 1927, whe ...
, who lived for most of his career in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
.
Biography
![Wake Preparation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Wake_Preparation.JPG)
Barley was born in
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
in 1947. He gained his bachelor's degree in modern languages at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, and his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
social anthropology
Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He worked for some years as an academic at
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
, teaching anthropology. He served for most of his career at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, from 1980 to 2003, as an assistant keeper of
Ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
. During this period, he also conducted anthropological field work in distant locations.
Barley wrote some travel books about his time in anthropological research. His first memoir, ''The Innocent Anthropologist'' (1983), gave a popular account of anthropological field work among the
Dowayo people of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
.
[ He next worked as an anthropologist in ]Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. His first book based on his time there was the humorous ''Not a Hazardous Sport'' (1989), describing his experiences in Tana Toraja
Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 census and 28 ...
in the mountains of central Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
. He has written on many other subjects including Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
, the founder of Singapore, and Sir James Brooke
Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868.
Brooke was b ...
, the "white rajah" of Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
.
He has been twice nominated for the Travelex
Travelex is a foreign exchange company founded by Lloyd Dorfman and headquartered in Peterborough. Its main businesses are foreign currency exchange, issuing prepaid credit cards for use by travellers, supplying central banks with foreign currenc ...
Writer of the Year Award. In 2002, he won the Foreign Press Association prize for travel writing
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...
.
Reception
''The Innocent Anthropologist''
The journalist and author Ryszard Kapuscinski Ryszard () is the Polish equivalent of "Richard", and may refer to:
*Ryszard Andrzejewski (born 1976), Polish rap musician, songwriter and producer
*Ryszard Bakst (1926–1999), Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian ...
wrote that whereas "modern literature", as represented by works nominated in French literary awards, largely failed to talk about people from other cultures, Barley's ''Innocent Anthropologist'', like Colin Thubron
Colin Gerald Dryden Thubron, FRAS (born 14 June 1939) is a British travel writer and novelist. In 2008, ''The Times'' ranked him among the 50 greatest postwar British writers. He is a contributor to ''The New York Review of Books'',[Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, i ...]
's ''The Songlines
''The Songlines'' is a 1987 book written by Bruce Chatwin, combining fiction and non-fiction. Chatwin describes a trip to Australia which he has taken for the express purpose of researching Aboriginal song and its connections to nomadic travel ...
'' did "show us the modern cultures, ideas and behaviour of people who live in different geographical latitudes and who believe in different gods from us", even if these books were not considered to be "real literature" by some within the literary elite.[ quoted in ]
Anthropologist Tony Waters described ''Innocent Anthropologist'' as a memorably written account. In a review in ''Ethnography'', he said that it is the book he recommends to students for an understanding of "field work, ethnography, and cultural anthropology." Waters says he truly admires the book as it gives a realistic idea of field experience, but "Oddly, I find few anthropologists who have read it, much less heard of it."[
]
''Not a Hazardous Sport''
Tim Hannigan, reflecting on ''Not a Hazardous Sport'' in the ''Asian Review of Books'', wrote that British travel writing has had a "preeminent court jester" in each generation, from Robert Byron
Robert Byron (26 February 1905 – 24 February 1941) was a British travel writer, best known for his travelogue ''The Road to Oxiana''. He was also a noted writer, art critic and historian.
Biography
He was the son of Eric Byron, a civil engi ...
in the 1930s, Eric Newby
George Eric Newby (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'', '' The Last Grain Race'' and ''A Small Place in Italy''.
Early life
Newby was born in Barnes, London, ...
in the 1950s, and Redmond O'Hanlon
Redmond O'Hanlon, FRGS, FRSL (born 5 June 1947) is an English writer and scholar.
Life
O'Hanlon was born in 1947 in Dorset, England. He was educated at Marlborough College and then Oxford University. After taking his M.Phil. in nineteenth-ce ...
in the 1980s. But in his view, Barley's writing has survived the test of time "in a postcolonial world" far better than O'Hanlon's, not least because, as an anthropologist, his observations on the people he wrote about were underpinned by "professional fieldwork ... proper language training and research". Hannigan found Barley's prose "effortlessly jaunty .. with an air of permanent good-natured amusement. But there's also the faintly discernible trace of inexplicable melancholy common to the best of British comic travel writing". All in all, Hannigan considered it an excellent travel book, both a "vicarious journey", entertaining, and valuable for steering the reader "away from complacency".
Bibliography
Africa
* ''Symbolic structures. An exploration of the culture of the Dowayos'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1983
* ''The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes From a Mud Hut'', 1983. (Reissued Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2000; Reissued London: Eland Books
Eland Books is an independent London-based publishing house founded in 1982 with the aim of republishing and reviving classic travel books that have fallen out of print over time.
Its list currently runs to around 160 titles and is highly regar ...
, 2011)
* ''Adventures in a Mud Hut: An Innocent Anthropologist Abroad'', Vanguard Press
The Vanguard Press (1926–1988) was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array o ...
, 1984. ()
* ''A Plague of Caterpillars: A Return to the African Bush'', Viking Press
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...
, 1986. ()
* ''Ceremony: An Anthropologist's Misadventures in the African Bush'', Henry Holt, 1987. ()
* ''The Coast'', 1991. ()
* ''Smashing Pots''. 1994.
* ''Arts du Nigeria- Revisites'', Musee Barbier-Mueller, Geneva 2015.
Southeast Asia
* ''Not a Hazardous Sport'', Henry Holt, 1989. ()
::--- reprinted in USA as ''Toraja: Misadventures of a Social Anthropologist in Sulawesi, Indonesia''
* ''The Duke of Puddle Dock: Travels in the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles'', Henry Holt, 1992. ()
* ''Grave Matters: A Lively History of Death around the World'', Henry Holt, 1997. ()
* ''White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke'', Little, Brown, 2003. ()
* ''Rogue Raider: The tale of Captain Lauterbach and the Singapore Mutiny'', Monsoon Books
Monsoon Books (publishing under the monsoon imprint) is an independent publishing firm established in Singapore in 2002 and incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2016. Monsoon Books is based in Burrough Court in Leicestershire, UK.
Established ...
, 2006. ()
* ''Island of Demons'', novel loosely based on painter Walter Spies
Walter Spies (15 September 1895 – 19 January 1942) was a Russian-born German primitivist painter, composer, musicologist, and curator. In 1923 he moved to Java, Indonesia. He lived in Yogyakarta and then in Ubud, Bali starting from 1927, whe ...
, Monsoon Books, 2009. ()
* ''The Devil's Garden: Love and War in Singapore under the Japanese Flag'', Monsoon Books, 2011. ()
* ''Snow Over Surabaya'', Monsoon Books, 2017. ()
* ''The Man Who Collected Women'', Monsoon Books, 2020. (), ()
Other
* ''Even: A Novella of Revenge and Misfortune'', 2012.()
* ''Requiescat: A Cat's Life at the British Museum'', 2013. ()
* ''Coronation Chicken'', 2014. ()
* ''The Glass Armonica'', 2018. ()
* ''Over The Hills: The Welsh Great Escape'', 2019. ()
* ''Purple Passages: Sebastian Melmoth on Oscar Wilde'', 2022. ()
References
External links
Short biography
Nigel Barley: Why human culture drips with blood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barley, Nigel
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Anthropology writers
Employees of the British Museum
English anthropologists
English travel writers
British ethnographers
Social anthropologists
Indonesianists