E.E. Evans-Pritchard
- In full:
- Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
- Born:
- September 21, 1902, Crowborough, Sussex, England
- Died:
- September 11, 1973, Oxford, Oxfordshire (aged 70)
- Notable Works:
- “The Nuer”
- “Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande”
E.E. Evans-Pritchard (born September 21, 1902, Crowborough, Sussex, England—died September 11, 1973, Oxford, Oxfordshire) was one of England’s foremost social anthropologists, especially known for his investigations of African cultures, for his exploration of segmentary systems, and for his explanations of witchcraft and magic.
Education
Evans-Pritchard received his early education at Winchester College. He then attended Exeter College, Oxford, where he studied modern history. Following his undergraduate studies, he pursued postgraduate anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Major works
He then did fieldwork among the Azande and Nuer of what is now South Sudan. Two books about these peoples, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande (1937) and The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People (1940), made his reputation.
Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande is the product of his extensive fieldwork conducted between 1926 and 1930 among the Azande people. Evans-Pritchard documented Azande belief systems, emphasizing that their understanding of witchcraft, magic, and oracles is integral to their social organization and daily life. Evans-Pritchard argued that, instead of being mere superstitions, these beliefs represent a coherent system providing explanations for misfortunes and mechanisms for conflict resolution within Azande culture. He highlighted practices such as the “poison oracle,” which plays a crucial role in determining guilt and resolving disputes. This challenged Western anthropological views, which often regard such belief systems as irrational, by showing that witchcraft and magic are rational within the context of Azande culture.
The Nuer is a seminal ethnographic study of the Nuer people. It explores several key themes and provides a comprehensive understanding of Nuer society. From a study on the role of cattle as both an economic resource and a symbol of social status to examining the Nuer’s pastoral lifestyle and how it shapes their daily practices, the book covers an array of topics and provides deep insights into the social structure and political organization of the Nuer people. Evans-Pritchard analyzed their segmentary lineage system, in which kinship ties are the basis for political and social organization in an acephalous (leaderless) society. He described how the Nuer’s segmentary system functions in a flexible yet structured manner, enabling them to respond dynamically to conflicts and alliances.
In 1940 Evans-Pritchard and Meyer Fortes edited a volume of essays, African Political Systems, that revolutionized the comparative study of governments.
Later life
Although Evans-Pritchard was throughout his life a prolific writer, especially on kinship, religion, and the history of anthropology, his later writings were eclipsed by his earlier work. His later writings were often theoretical essays and lectures on the relations between anthropology and other social sciences. These revealed a great depth of scholarship but were often controversial and divergent from the trends of the time. However, his influence as a teacher in the latter part of his life was considerable, for under his guidance the Oxford school of social anthropology attracted students from many parts of the world; and he sponsored fieldwork in Africa and elsewhere as a member of the Colonial Social Science Research Council.
Awards and honors
Evans-Pritchard received numerous academic honors. He was awarded the Rivers Memorial Medal in 1937 and the Huxley Memorial Medal in 1963, which recognized his significant contributions to the field of anthropology. He served as the president of the Royal Anthropological Institute from 1949 to 1951 and was elected to prestigious organizations, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958 and the American Philosophical Society in 1968. He also received honorary doctorates from several universities, including the University of Chicago, Manchester University, and the University of Bristol. Additionally, he was made a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 1972. He was a professor of social anthropology at Oxford and a fellow of All Souls College from 1946 to 1970, and he was subwarden from 1963 to 1965. He was knighted in 1971.