Customary Strangers: New Perspectives on Peripatetic Peoples in the Middle East, Africa and Asia

Abstract

Customary strangers: New perspectives on peripatetic peoples in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Edited by Joseph C. Berland and Aparna Rao. Westport CT: Praeger. 2004. 342 pp. isbn 0-89789-771-4 The editors of this volume, Joseph C. Berland and the late Aparna Rao, are among the pioneers who have helped establish peripatetic studies as a distinct specialization comparable to the studies of other better known adaptive strategies. Because of the respect I have for them as scholars as well as for many of the scholars represented in the volume, who have done their own field research and based their conclusions on solid data rather than airy speculation, I welcomed the opportunity to review this anthology. Although the collection is said to be inspired by the presentations at the 1995 conference of the Gypsy Lore Society at Leyden, only five of the papers originate from that session; over 60 percent of the papers were solicited from elsewhere. Some of the papers, for example, Marx's on the Al Arish, or Rasmussen's on the Tuareg, in my view, are not really on peripatetics, but may have been included because they exemplify aspects of the 'stranger' model, rather than satisfy the criteria for peripatetics. But, of course, the criteria themselves are still under consideration and no general agreement has been reached on what could be considered as minimal necessary criteria. Ironically, the papers of this volume demonstrate that peripatetic studies, originally an off-shoot of Gypsy studies, has advanced further in addressing serious questions about analogous nomadic adaptations than have those Gypsy studies sidetracked by political agendas or mired in postmodern nihilism. Because what we still need in Gypsy studies is better conceptualized and grounded basic description as well as comparative and taxonomic studies before embarking on more theoretically oriented research, I shall focus on those aspects of the articles rather than merely summarizing their substantive findings which in many cases are also considerable. The organizing theme of the collection is Simmel's 1908 work on 'The Stranger', whose phrases, 'the customary stranger' or 'the wanderer . . . who comes today and stays tomorrow', are quoted by almost all the authors, and whose elaborations are worked extensively into their descriptions. Yet this attempt to shoehorn all the rich variety of the peripatetic societies discussed into a single paradigm is also the chief weaknesses of the collection. A few of the authors point out that the fit is not perfect, but the discrepancies, which should be an impetus for conceptual refinement, are rarely explored further. Cervello, for example, notes (p. 123) that the 'stranger' concept is only one aspect of the peripatetic existence. It is clear that future studies need to look beyond Simmel for guidance, but so far other applicable theoretical constructs and models seem to be in short supply or have simply not been recognized as relevant. The editors also rely on the work of Marlene Sway and her attempt to wed middleman minority theories with Simmel's concept of the stranger. However, Sway's acquaintance with peripatetics was superficial at best and as a result much of her theorizing was ungrounded remaining on the abstract level. Even a cursory acquaintance with peripatetic groups would reveal that many of the eleven criteria she mentions (cited pp. 7-8) do not always apply and although they may sometimes be present they are by no means necessary or sufficient criteria. Certainly not all peripatetics can be considered 'culture brokers' or 'middlemen', although the concept is vague enough to allow multiple interpretations, for example economic and cultural. But even so, peripatetics most often mediate for no one, but simply act for themselves; here 'middle-manship' may be confused with adaptation. Nor are peripatetics necessarily 'objective outsiders' and when they are it is only in limited spheres of activity, where they operate with assumptions not shared by the other side and thus gain a tactical advantage. …