Peter Metcalf

THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: A RE-EXAMINATION OF HERTZ

In common with several of the influential essays originally published in the Annee sociologique , Hertzs “A Contribution to the Study of the Collective Representation of Death” is more complex than is immediately apparent. At first sight, it appears to follow one topic in a direct fashion. Scholars already wedded to a particular theoretical viewpoint find it easy to pick out only familiar lines of argument. But a closer study reveals several interwoven themes. This is what makes the essay useful. Each argument is worth following out; each suggests a new interpretation of ones field data. But in order to make full use of Hertzs insights, it is necessary to tease apart the distinct threads of argument. THE THREE SIDES OF HERTZS ANALYSIS The most direct way to begin is with Hertzs dramatis personae: the corpse, the soul, and the mourners. Each part of the essay is devoted to one of these, producing a tripartite structure made explicit in the section headings. In his introduction to the English translation, Evans-Pritchard pointed out the “three sides” of Hertzs argument. But contrary to what Evans-Pritchard implies, the arguments differ not in which of the actors takes center stage, but in which pair of actors is brought into dialogue. We may imagine the arguments as the sides of a triangle, the corners of which are the aspects of the corpse and its disposal, the soul and the dead, and the living and the mourners (see Figure 3).