From sweet potatoes to God Almighty: Roy Rappaport on being a hedgehog

Abstract

Recognized as a principle figure in ecological anthropology, Roy Rappaport is best known for Pigs for the Ancestors (1968). His work in the anthropology of religion has received less attention. Least acknowledged is Rappaport’s role in defining an "engaged anthropology." Drawn from interviews conducted by Tom Fricke in the year before his death in October 1997, the article gives insight into these three facets of his professional life. Beginning with an account of his fieldwork with the Tsembaga Maring, the discussion takes up his core themes, ideas that evolved out of this experience and with which he was engaged as he worked to finish Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity (1999).