Sir Raymond William Firth (25 March 1901 – 22 February 2002) was an
ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies (social organization) is separated from the idealized rules of behaviour within the particular society (social structure). He was a long serving
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of
Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
at
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
, and is considered to have singlehandedly created a form of British
economic anthropology
Economic anthropology is a field that attempts to explain human economic behavior in its widest historic, geographic and cultural scope. It is an amalgamation of economics and anthropology. It is practiced by anthropologists and has a complex re ...
.
Early life and academic career
Firth was born to Wesley and Marie Firth in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand, in 1901. He was educated at
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, and then at
Auckland University College
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, where he graduated in economics in 1921.
[Huntsman, Judith (2003). "Raymond Firth (1901–2002)". ''American Anthropologist''. 105 (2): 487–490.] He took his economics MA there in 1922 with a 'fieldwork' based research thesis on the Kauri Gum digging industry, then a diploma in social science in 1923.
In 1924 he began his doctoral research at the London School of Economics. Originally intending to complete a thesis in economics, a chance meeting with the eminent
social anthropologist
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 ...
Bronisław Malinowski
Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish-British anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropol ...
led to him to alter his field of study to 'blending economic and anthropological theory with Pacific ethnography'.
It was possibly during this period in England that he worked as research assistant to
Sir James G Frazer, author of ''
The Golden Bough
''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
''.
Firth's doctoral thesis was published in 1929 as ''Primitive Economics of the New Zealand
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
''.
After receiving his PhD in 1927 Firth returned to the southern hemisphere to take up a position at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, although he did not start teaching immediately as a research opportunity presented itself. In 1928 he first visited
Tikopia
Tikopia is a high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms a part of the Melanesian nation state of Solomon Islands but is culturally Polynesian. The first Europeans arrived on 22 April 1606 as part of the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fer ...
, the southernmost of the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, to study the untouched
Polynesian society there, resistant to outside influences and still with its pagan religion and undeveloped economy.
This was the beginning of a long relationship with the 1200 people of the remote four-mile long island, and resulted in ten books and numerous articles written over many years. The first of these, ''We the Tikopia: A Sociological Study of Kinship in Primitive Polynesia'' was published in 1936 and seventy years on is still used as a basis for many university courses about
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...
.
In 1930 he started teaching at the University of Sydney. On the departure for Chicago of
Alfred Radcliffe-Brown
Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, FBA (born Alfred Reginald Brown; 17 January 1881 – 24 October 1955) was an English social anthropologist who helped further develop the theory of structural functionalism.
Biography
Alfred Reginald Radcli ...
, Firth succeeded him as acting Professor. He also took over from Radcliffe-Brown as acting editor of the journal
''Oceania'', and as acting director of the Anthropology Research Committee of the Australian National Research Committee.
After 18 months he returned to the London School of Economics in 1933 to take up a lectureship, and was appointed
Reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in 1935. Together with his wife
Rosemary Firth, also to become a distinguished anthropologist, he undertook fieldwork in
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
and
Terengganu
Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...
in
Malaya in 1939–1940.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Firth worked for British naval intelligence, primarily writing and editing the four volumes of the
Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series that concerned the Pacific Islands.
During this period Firth was based in Cambridge, where the LSE had its wartime home.
Firth succeeded Malinowski as Professor of Social Anthropology at LSE in 1944, and he remained at the School for the next 24 years.
In the late 1940s he was a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the then-fledgling
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, along with Sir
Howard Florey
Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey (24 September 189821 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in ...
(co-developer of medicinal
penicillin
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
), Sir
Mark Oliphant
Sir Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant, (8 October 1901 – 14 July 2000) was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played an important role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and in the development of nuclear weapon ...
(a nuclear physicist who worked on the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
), and Sir
Keith Hancock (
Chichele Professor of Economic History Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader
** Chichele Professorship
* Thomas Chichele (1614–1699), English politician
See also
*Chicheley (disambiguation) Chicheley i ...
at
Oxford
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 ...
). Firth was particularly focused on the creation of the university's School of Pacific Studies.
He returned to Tikopia on research visits several times, although as travel and fieldwork requirements became more burdensome he focused on family and kinship relationships in working- and middle-class London.
[Ortiz, Sutti (2004).]
Sir Raymond Firth
. ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 148 (1): 129–133. Firth left LSE in 1968, when he took up a year's appointment as Professor of Pacific Anthropology at the
University of Hawaii
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
. There followed visiting professorships at British Columbia (1969), Cornell (1970), Chicago (1970–1), the Graduate School of the City University of New York (1971) and UC Davis (1974). The second
festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
published in his honour described him as 'perhaps the greatest living teacher of anthropology today'.
After retiring from teaching work, Firth continued with his research interests, and right up until his hundredth year he was producing articles. He died in London a few weeks before his 101st birthday: his father had lived to 104.
Honours
*1949 Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
*1958
Viking Fund Medal
The Viking Fund Medal is an annual award given out by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for distinguishing research or publication in the field of Anthropology. From 1946 to 1961, nominees were selected by their respective soc ...
*1959
Huxley Memorial Medal
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
*1963 elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
*1965 elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
*1973
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed
*1981
Bronislaw Malinowski Award The Bronislaw Malinowski Award is an award given by the US-based Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) in honor of Bronisław Malinowski (1884–1942), an original member and strong supporter of the Society. Briefly established in 1950, the awar ...
*2001
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
in the
2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to anthropology
*2002 Received the first
Leverhulme Medal for a scholar of international distinction
Personal life
Firth married
Rosemary Firth (née Upcott) in 1936; they had one son, Hugh, who was born in 1946. Rosemary died in 2001. Firth was raised a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
then later became a
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
and an atheist, a decision influenced by his anthropological studies.
He was one of the signers of the
Humanist Manifesto
''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the ''Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and ''Humanism and I ...
. The Firths bought a cottage in the West Dorset village of
Thorncombe
Thorncombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It was historically, until 1844, an exclave of Devon. It lies five miles (8 km) south east of the town of Chard in neighbouring Somerset. Thorncombe is situated ...
in 1937; it was their second home until Raymond's death in 2002.
Māori lament (''poroporoaki'') for Sir Raymond Firth
Composed on behalf of the
Polynesian Society
The Polynesian Society is a non-profit organisation based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, dedicated to the scholarly study of the history, ethnography, and mythology of Oceania.
History
The society was co-founded in 1892 by Percy ...
by its then-President,
Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu (English translation)
:You have left us now, Sir Raymond
:Your body has been pierced by the spear of death
:And so farewell. Farewell,
:Scholar renowned in halls of learning throughout the world
:'Navigator of the Pacific'
:'Black hawk' of Tamaki.
:Perhaps in the end you were unable to complete all
:the research plans that you had once imposed upon yourself
:But no matter! The truly magnificent legacy you have left
:will be an enduring testimony to your stature.
:Moreover, your spirit is still alive among us,
:We, who have become separated from you in New Zealand,
:in Tikopia and elsewhere.
:Be at rest, father. Rest, forever,
:in peace, and in the care of the Almighty.
Selected bibliography
* 'The Korekore Pa' ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 34:1–18 (1925)
* 'The Māori Carver' ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 34:277–291 (1925)
* ''Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Māori'' London: George Routledge and Sons (1929) (with a preface by
R.H. Tawney
Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd e ...
)
* ''We the Tikopia: A Sociological Study of Kinship in Primitive Polynesia'' London: Allen and Unwin (1936)
* ''Human Types: An Introduction to Social Anthropology'' (1958)
* ''Primitive Polynesian Economy'' London: Routledge & Sons, Ltd (1939)
* ''The Work of the Gods in Tikopia'' Melbourne: Melbourne University Press (1940, 1967)
* 'The Coastal People of Kelantan and Trengganu, Malaya' ''Geographical Journal'' 101(5/6):193-205 (1943)
* ''Pacific Islands Volume 2: Eastern Pacific'' (ed, with
J. W. Davidson and Margaret Davies),
Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series, HMSO (November 1943)
* ''Pacific Islands Volume 3: Western Pacific (Tonga to the Solomon Islands)'' (ed, with J W Davidson and Margaret Davies), Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series, HMSO (December 1944)
* ''Pacific Islands Volume 4: Western Pacific (New Guinea and Islands Northwards)'' (ed, with J W Davidson and Margaret Davies), Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series, HMSO (August 1945)
* ''Pacific Islands Volume 1: General Survey'' (ed, with J W Davidson and Margaret Davies), Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series, HMSO (August 1945)
* ''Malay Fishermen: Their Peasant Economy'' London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner (1946)
* ''Elements of Social Organization'' London: Watts and Co (1951)
* 'Social Organization and Social Change' ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute'' 84:1–20 (1954)
* 'Some Principles of Social Organization' ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute'' 85:1–18 (1955)
* ''Man and Culture: An Evaluation of the Work of Malinowski'' Raymond Firth (ed) (1957)
* ''Economics of the New Zealand Māori'' Wellington: Government Printer (1959) (revised edition of ''Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Māori'' (1929))
* ''Social Change in Tikopia'' (1959)
* ''Essays on Social Organization and Values'' London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology, no. 28. London: Athlone Press (1964)
* ''Tikopia Ritual and Belief'' (1967)
* 'Themes in Economic Anthropology: A General Comment' in ''Themes in Economic Anthropology'' Raymond Firth, ed. 1–28. London: Tavistock (1967)
* ''Rank and Religion in Tikopia'' (1970)
* ''History and Traditions of Tikopia'' (1971)
* ''Symbols: Public and Private'' (1973)
* 'The Sceptical Anthropologist? Social Anthropology and Marxist Views on Society' in ''Marxist Analyses and Social Anthropology'' M. Bloch, ed. 29–60. London: Malaby (1975)
* 'An Appraisal of Modern Social Anthropology' ''Annual Review of Anthropology'' 4:1–25 (1975)
* 'Whose Frame of Reference? One Anthropologist's Experience' ''Anthropological Forum'' 4(2):9–31 (1977)
* 'Roles of Women and Men in a Sea Fishing Economy: Tikopia Compared with Kelantan' in ''The Fishing Culture of the World: Studies in Ethnology, Cultural Ecology and Folklore'' Béla Gunda (ed) Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó 1145–1170 (1984)
* ''Taranga Fakatikopia ma Taranga Fakainglisi: Tikopia-English Dictionary'' (1985)
*
* ''Religion: A Humanist Interpretation'' (1996)
* 'Tikopia Dreams: Personal Images of Social Reality' ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 110(1):7–29 (2001)
* 'The Creative Contribution of Indigenous People to Their Ethnography' ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 110(3):241–245 (2001)
Other sources
* Feinberg, Richard and Karen Ann Watson-Gegeo (eds) (1996) ''Leadership and Change in the Western Pacific: Essays Presented to Sir Raymond Firth on Occasion of his 90th Birthday'' London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology. London: Athlone (third
festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
for Raymond Firth).
*Foks, Freddy (2020
'Raymond Firth, Between Economics and Anthropology' in ''BEROSE – International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Freedman, Maurice (ed) (1967) ''Social Organization: Essays Presented to Raymond Firth'' Chicago: Aldine (first festschrift for Raymond Firth).
*Laviolette, Patrick (2020) 'Mana and Māori culture: Raymond Firth's pre-Tikopia years'.
History and Anthropology' 31(3): 393-409.
* Macdonald, Judith (2000) 'The Tikopia and "What Raymond Said"' in Sjoerd R. Jaarsma and Marta A. Rohatynskyj (eds), ''Ethnographic Artifacts: Challenges to a Reflexive Anthropology'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press 107–23.
* Parkin, David (1988) 'An interview with Raymond Firth' ''Current Anthropology'' 29(2):327–41.
* Watson-Gegeo, Karen Ann and S. Lee Seaton, (eds) (1978) ''Adaptation and Symbolism: Essays on Social Organization'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press (second festschift for Sir Raymond Firth).
*Young, Michael (2003) Obituaries: Raymond William Firth, 1901-2002.
Journal of Pacific History' 38(2): 277-80.
Papers
Sir Raymond Firth's papers are held at th
London School of Economics– including hi
photographic collection
References
External links
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 8 July 1983 (poor video recording)Article on Firth's time at LSE''Daily Telegraph'' obituaryFirth's papers at LSE Archives*
ttp://www.esds.ac.uk/qualidata/pioneers/pioneerdetail.asp?id=pioneer_people_firth Raymond Firth at "Pioneers of Qualitative Research" from the Economic and Social Data Servicebr>
Raymond Firth music field recordings *Resources related to research
BEROSE – International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology Paris, 2020. (ISSN 2648-2770)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Raymond William
Social anthropologists
Economic anthropologists
Anthropologists of religion
British humanists
New Zealand anthropologists
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Fellows of the British Academy
Academics of the London School of Economics
New Zealand centenarians
Men centenarians
1901 births
2002 deaths
People educated at Auckland Grammar School
University of Auckland alumni
New Zealand Knights Bachelor
Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Presidents of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Alumni of the London School of Economics
20th-century anthropologists
New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom
Members of the American Philosophical Society