Field Notes #1: Communal Meal

FILENAME:      Communal Meal

TITLE:               Communal Meal

DATE:                29 April 2019
OBSERVER:     Lance Herrington

KEY WORDS:  body language; customs; ergocentric coordinates; lexicon of anatomy; personal pronouns; possessive pronouns

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY:

SETTING & SCENE:  workshop of carpenter, during break for communal midday nourishment

PARTICIPANT(S):  carpenter; 3 apprentices, 1 deliverer (briefly), and participant-observer

ENDS:                         

carpenter: to teach custom to non-member of ingroup

apprentices: to expand upon and reinforce carpenter’s lesson

participant-observer: to learn custom and associated linguistic information

ACT SEQUENCE:         

1.) Deliverer arrives and announces that it has brought foodstuffs for the group’s communal midday nourishment.

2.) Carpenter calls for apprentices to pause in their activities and assemble around large platter of foodstuffs, and invites participant-observer to join the group for communal midday nourishment by indicating a space to sit between itself and one of the apprentices.

3.) Carpenter encourages all others to enjoy the foodstuffs on the large platter; apprentices reach out to take an individual mouthful portions of the foodstuffs and begin to eat.

4.) Carpenter asks participant-observer about contents of the notebook in which he has been writing and sketching at intervals between the various work tasks of the morning.

5.) Participant-observer opens notebook and offers it to the carpenter, who extends its neck to see the page, but hesitates to take it into its own hand.

6.) Participant-observer tells carpenter that it can hold the notebook if it wants to look at the notebook more closely.

7.) Carpenter replies to the effect that if the notebook is not intended only for the participant-observer’s handling, that he is offering the notebook to it with his hand.

8.) Participant-observe, recalling memories of similar instances of reticence to accept various items from the his extended hand, expresses confusion.

9.) Carpenter called for participant-observer’s attention and reached for a slice of fruit from the large platter with its left hand, and then extended the slice to the participant-observer using its same hand.

10.) As participant-observer reached to receive the slice, carpenter withdrew its hand, smiled, and used its chin to point at participant-observer’s other hand (i.e., left hand).

11.) Participant-observer retracted his left hand and extended its right hand.

12.) Carpenter nodded its head in approval, and gave slice to participant-observer.

13.) Apprentices snapped their fingers in some form of pleasure, amusement, and/or encouragement (applause?) in response.          

14.) Participant-observer eventually understood his earlier confusion: carpenter had been saying “ your you-hand” (not only “your hand”) in reference the participant-observer’s right hand. In contrast, an one’s left hand is referred to as one’s “me-hand”.

15.) Carpenter explained with simplified speech and demonstrative pantomime that, in its culture, members used their left hands (“you-hands”) for actions that involved physical interaction and/or residual touch with others. Conversely, for actions that involved physical contact with one’s own body and personal or intimate items, members used their right hands (“me-hands”).

16.) Apprentices enjoyed demonstrating other possible example situations (several humorous) in which this distinction would occur, e.g., scratching at an itch.

17.) After repeating the question in various ways, participant-observer was able to ascertain that the equivalent ergocentric coordinates of right and left could be glossed in English as “at-me-hand” and “at-you-hand” (translating roughly as “on the left-hand-side” or “on the right-hand-side”).

KEY:  camaraderie; humorous demonstration; playful encouragement; willingness to learn

INSTRUMENTALITIES: simplified speech (‘baby talk’?) combined with demonstrative gestures and instructional pantomime

NORMS:  correction; instruction; unstructured collaboration; supported practice; entertainment

GENRE:  teaching how to perform a simple task      

REFLECTIONS:            

Participant-observer tried to recall and make note of previous interactions with community members in which ignorance of this custom may have prompted a response that confused or piqued his interest.

EMERGING QUESTIONS/ANALYSES:

Q1:  How does this pair of ergocentric coordinates compare or contrast with other ergocentric coordinates in the language?

Q2:  How does this custom come to play in physical actions that require one to use both hands simultaneously?

Q3:  How might this of cultural practice affect other features of the language?

FUTURE ACTION:       

Compile and maintain log of actions in which this customary practice is expected by ingroup members.

Inquire of carpenter and/or apprentices about Q2.