Translator's Note 15: In Search of the Mystery of Culture
Introduction 23 To identify the causes of lifestyle
Prologue 29

Holy Mother Cow

Real Life and Traditional Lifestyles 37 | Ecosystems: Disconnection and Sustainability 43
The Origin of Taboo 49 | Different Caste Meanings of Customs 54

Pig worshippers and pig haters

Between Rationality and Irrationality 67 | Conflict and Harmony between Natural and Cultural Communities 74
Psychodrama of Worship and Festival 81 | Slaughter and the Protein War 89

Primitive war

War: Its Causes and Consequences 99 | Population Growth and War 104
The Circle of Consciousness: Ecological Balance 113 | Species Preservation and Infanticide 117

uncivilized men

Gender Discrimination and Hierarchy 125 | The Extremes of Male Supremacy: The Yanomamo 130
The Meaning of the Duel 135 | Victory: The Plunder of Women 142 | The Yanomamo: Enlightenment and Extinction 146

potlatch

The Desire for Showoff 157 | The Socioeconomics of Gifts 163 | The Principle of Reciprocity 170
The Destruction of Reciprocity: The Gift of the Strong 175

Ghost cargo

Contact with Cargo and Worship 185 | The Faces of Early Missionaries 197
Cargo Worship: Rewards and Punishments 204

Messiah

Differences in Faith 211 | The War of Liberation in the Bible 218 | The Activities of Christ 226
Messianic Prophets and Robbers 231 | Lessons from Militant Messianism 233

The Secret of the Prince of Peace

The Life and Historical Context of Christ 239 | The Secret of the Messianic Life 246
Death and Resurrection 254 | The Revelation of the Messiah 260 | The Conflict Between James and Paul 265

Broom and the Devil's Banquet

Witches and Wizards 273 | The Inquisition 278 | The Roots of Madness 285

Witch Frenzy

System Maintenance and Heresy 293 | System Maintenance and Holy War 298 | The Secrets of the Witch Hunt System 303

The Witch's Return

Countercultural Attitudes and Theories 313 | Shamanistic Superconsciousness 320 | Counterculture and Christianity 326

Epilogue 333
341 Revised edition of Socio-Economic Meaning Hidden in the Mystery of Culture
Reference 345
Search 355

Marvin Harris, a giant in anthropology

Marvin Harris is a leading American cultural anthropologist.
He presents the diagram of 'reproductive pressure → production increase process → destruction/depletion of ecological environment → emergence of new production method' as a key to understanding the process of cultural development.
It is argued that through these ecological adaptation patterns, we can understand the principles of evolution and development of family systems, property relations, political and economic systems, religion, and food culture.


Harris conducted fieldwork in Brazil, Ecuador, and other countries, and studied the impact of colonialism on cultural ecology, the problems of underdeveloped countries, and cross-cultural studies of racial and ethnic relations.
He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1953, and has also served as a professor at the University of Florida and president of the Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association.
Until his death in 2001, he traversed the broad horizon of cultural anthropology from the perspective of cultural materialism.
Harris's cultural materialist perspective is well expressed in his books The Rise of Anthropological Theory, Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture, Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches: The Riddles of Culture, and Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures.


Among them, 『The Mystery of Culture』 is a general education book in essay format for the general public rather than a specialized book for anthropology majors, so even beginners can read it with interest.
It also captures the essence and core of Harris's cultural theory.


The Mystery of Culture Begins with the Secret of Cow Worship

In this book, Harris explores 'Why Hindus Worship Cows', 'Why Jews and Muslims Abhor Pork', 'Why and What Primitive Warfare Happened', 'The Unequal Relationship Between Men and Women', 'The Root Causes of Potlatches and Ghost Cargo', and 'The Essence of Christian Civilization'.
These different lifestyles may seem unrelated, but they are actually organically connected.
Therefore, if you follow Harris's argument step by step from Chapter 1, you will naturally understand the contents of the next chapter, and by the time you reach the final chapter, you will have a comprehensive understanding of what Harris is trying to say in "The Enigma of Culture."
This will be a new reading experience for readers.


“The purpose of this book is to uncover the basis of lifestyles that appear not only irrational but also inexplicable.
Some of the enigmatic customs described here can also be found among pre-literate peoples or among indigenous peoples, such as the boastful American Indian chiefs who burned their possessions to show off how wealthy they were.
Another custom can be found among Hindus in developing societies who would rather starve than eat beef.
Some other customs are still associated with witches and messiahs, which are part of mainstream civilization.
(Page 29)”

Let's take a quick look at the first question that comes up: 'Why Hindus Worship Cows'.
"Why do starving Indians, who have nothing to eat, not slaughter and eat cows, but instead worship and serve them?" Westerners attribute this incomprehensible behavior to the mystical spirit of the East or to irrational Hindu doctrines.
Of course, it is extremely easy to dismiss something that is incomprehensible as religious or irrational.
But is it really because Indians are irrational, because of their mysterious unique culture, that they do not eat fat cows even when they are starving?

Harris attempts to answer this question from a materialist perspective.
Simply put, cost-benefit analysis underlies Indians' behavior.
Indians do not act this way because they are irrational or ignorant.
They, too, chose the option that offered greater benefits than costs based on thorough calculations.
Let's take a closer look.
Indian farmers, facing a labor shortage, use cows to their full potential.
Milk the cows, use their dung as fuel, and feed the cows the town's garbage.
They make you work the fields all day long pulling a plow.
Ultimately, humans receive numerous services from cows.


To attract traders, the Kwakiutl erected prominent log sculptures, which we mistakenly call totem poles, on the sandy beach in front of their village.
The carvings here symbolize the titles bestowed upon the village chiefs for generations. Of course, if they were truly hungry, they could slaughter and eat a cow to satisfy their hunger, but they would soon regret it.
Because the cow's labor force cannot be used in the long term.
In other words, for Indians, the benefit they get from keeping the cow alive is greater than the benefit they get from slaughtering and eating the cow.
That is why Indians taboo cow slaughter.


If we follow Harris's perspective, the Indians' behavior of not slaughtering and eating cows even at the risk of starving to death is rational, while the Westerners' perspective of not understanding them is irrational.
Harris says.

“The main reason we have overlooked the underlying causes of our lifestyles for so long is because everyone has believed that only God knows the answer.
_Marvin Harris”

If we actively investigate the causes behind our lifestyles, rather than just passing them by, we can grasp the essence of cow worship and all subsequent cultural phenomena.
The first volume of Marvin Harris's trilogy on cultural anthropology, "The Enigma of Culture," will guide readers on a feast of cultural anthropology that penetrates the essence of cultural phenomena.