Local Knowledge and “Other Anthropologies”

Abstract

The article examines the problems of ethnographic description and representation of the culture of Others and analyzes the ontological limitations inherent in anthropology, which call into question the very possibility of obtaining objective knowledge about the studied cultures. The concept of “other anthropologies” is proposed, which implies the recognition of heuristically significant alternatives to the Eurocentric perspective in the descriptions and interpretations of cultures. Such an approach, which is based on the ideas of E. Viveiroz de Castro, raises the following questions: what can we, ethnographers, be taught in a theoretical and ideological sense by acquaintance with the cultures that are the subject of research? what is the contribution of different cultures to the production of new disciplinary concepts and theories? to what extent are we ready to recognize and include “folk” knowledge “on equal terms” in our scientific discourse?