In 1969, Miss Dunham published a second book, Island
Possessed, a more detailed anthropological view of her
association with Haiti. In addition to books, she published
numerous articles, short stories, and stage productions revolving
around her anthropological research of Haiti, the Caribbean,
and Africa.
She was particularly attracted to Haiti, eventually purchasing
property in the country in 1949 (Habitation Leclerc) and choosing
to live half of her time in the region. She no longer considered
herself an anthropologist simply studying the people and their
cultures; rather, she became enmeshed in the life, even becoming
a priestess in the vodou religion. Dunham understood the importance
of cultural relativity by researching various cultures. As an
anthropologist, she looked beyond the physical conditions of
a place and the individuals within it, and revealed the significant
elements of the cultures. While studying societal rituals and
dances in Africa and the Caribbean, she found a way to incorporate
these movements into not only a new style of dance but also a
more fundamental way of understanding a distinct group of people.
Contrary to the large body of work that Miss Dunham produced
on her anthropological studies, she seldom received the same
scholarly recognition as other social anthropologists such
as Margaret Mead, Franz Boas, or the more widely acknowledged
African American anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. However,
Dunham maintained a serious, detailed account of her areas
of study. Dances of Haiti is a look inside the significant
body of work that she recorded in studying the people of that
culture. This research explains symbolism of movements within
rituals, and dance as a social, psychological, and religious
function. Furthermore, Miss Dunham was one of the first social
anthropologists to describe in detail the impact that a researcher
could have on his or her environment of study. It is doubtful
that her recognition in the field of anthropology will ever
be synonymous with that of her impact on choreography and dance,
but her considerable amount of published work will no longer
allow for her to be ignored.
>> Click on each
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Tree of
Life
A 20th-century flat, metal tree sculpture with
cutout images. Made by Almann, Haiti. Gift of Katherine Dunham.
On display at the Missouri History Museum in the Reflections Gallery.
Missouri Historical Society Museum Collections.
In the 1940s, 55-gallon steel
oil containers came into Haiti carrying fuel reserves for navy
ships. The Haitians collected the emptied and discarded drums
and found ways to put them to good use. Metal workers in the
small town of Croix-des-Bouquets flattened the steel and cut
it into figurative images that usually portrayed deities and
spirits from their local religion (general information published
by the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe to accompany
a steel cutout pictured in its 2001 calendar), ca. 1975. Missouri
Historical Society Collections.
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