Early Anthroplogical Thoughts (2001)

During Golden Week 2001, Japan’s spring break, I took a plane to the island of Zammami, off the coast of Okinawa, Southern Japan. It was interesting to see an island populated by just four hundred people, most of them well below the national average wage, but essentially happy. Having bought a copy of May Colours magazine that in this particular issue was documenting profiles of gypsies from around the world, I immediately saw a parallel with the people of Zammami. Some of the gypsies were surprising, some were predictable, but nevertheless the essential ingredient was the consistency of theme to establish two main observations: on the one hand, the rich diversity, on the other an astonishing similarity, between cultural groups.

Comments