Shakespeare in the Bush

Laura Bohannan is a cultural anthropologist. She has a degree from Oxford University and worked in West Africa with her husband studying the Tiv tribal culture. This article, based on the information among the Tiv, appeared in Natural History Magazine.

            The general argument made by Laura Bohannan in her work Shakespeare in the Bush, is that human nature is the same around the entire world. More specifically, Bohannan suggests that the older works of our time will always be translated in the same way. She writes,”…at least the general plot and motivation of the greater tragedies would always be clear-everywhere- although some details of custom might have to be explained and difficulties of translation might produce other slight changes.” (pg. 29) In this passage Bohannan is suggesting that interpretation of great works will be the same with slight differences with culture that can be easily explained. In conclusion, it is Bohannan’s belief that interpretation of work won’t be an issue because it will be translated in the same way.

            In my view, Bohannan is wrong because different cultures can interpret readings very differently than we do therefore changing the entire meaning. For example, the Tiv tribe obviously doesn’t understand the Hamlet in the way that Bohannan herself does and they change the work for her in a way that she didn’t look at it before. By the end of the reading you can tell that Bohannan changes her opinion from the beginning of the reading. Although Bohannan might object that the Tiv tribe is an extreme example of a culture difference, I maintain that there can be serious changes in interpretations because of culture difference. Therefore, I conclude that you can’t assume that a different culture is going to interpret a piece of work the same way that you do.