Tuhami: Portrait of a Moroccan

by Vincent Crapanzano

Tuhami is an illiterate Moroccan tilemaker who believes himself married to a camel-footed she-demon. A master of magic and a superb story-teller, Tuhami lives in a dank, windowless hovel near the kiln where he works. Nightly he suffers visitations from the demons and saints who haunt his life, and he seeks, with crippling ambivalence, liberation from 'A'isha Qandisha, the she-demon.

In a sensitive and bold experiment in interpretive ethnography, Crapanzano presents Tuhami's bizarre account of himself and his world. In so doing, Crapanzano draws on phenomenology, psychoanalysis, and symbolism to reflect upon the nature of reality and truth and to probe the limits of anthropology itself. Tuhami has become one of the most important and widely cited representatives of a new understanding of the whole discipline of anthropology.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Ethnography, Africa, School, History, College

204 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1980

About the author

Vincent Crapanzano (Dist Prof, Anthropology and Comparative Literature, City University of New York) graduated from the Ecole Internationale in Geneva, received his B.A. in philosophy from Harvard, and his PhD in anthropology from Columbia University. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, the University of Chicago, the University of Paris, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, the University of Brasilia, and the University of Cape Town. He has lectured in major universities in North and South America, Europe, Hong Kong, and South Africa.

Reviews

[Oussama ben ayad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started as a reading mandatory for my research, and ended as a delightful experience which was borth informative and delightful. I am a Moroccan, and so estranged was I, reading carefully about a man the like of whom I have met on more than one occasion, the like of whom are brothers of mine in a destitute neighbourhood where I grew up. They are honest men; but they are also miserable men . . . . No wonder, then. Recourse to what they have been socialized to accept as reality is expected. The book ends with a sentence which Tuhami says earlier: That is the way it is with men.
It has changed me, this book.

[Francie Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humble. It offers a perspective into the ideas and debates revolving around ethnography and "participant observation," and I think that the way Crapanzano was able to recognize his own failure of maintaining an ethnographic distance allowed him the humility of his research. More so, when he was able to identify his cultural bias and grown immersion in Tuhami's personal accord, he took responsibility and allowed such to steer his own objectives as the fieldwork was nearing an end.

The concept of the Other and of similarities and dissimilarities that are encountered in the field, as well as how it was explained thoroughly in part four. There were a lot of flaws that did not go unnoticed in the first few parts of his re-interpretation and psychoanalysis of Tuhami's responses, but this was also addressed later on in part four. I was at first hesitant on the introduction of Moroccan culture through the lens of Tuhami himself, but the way that this was laid out through the text that was detached from personal accounts was done independently and even more detailed than I ever expected.

I am fond of how Crapanzano admits that he does not know himself the success of his fieldwork. And though no one can say for sure, I would say that the glimpse and emphasis that is regarded on the trial of an ethnographic on a personal account (on Tuhami's life) was brave. I can't say that it did not add pertinent literature on ethnography too. The nuances and the philosophical aspect added more spirit to its purpose. I can't say the same for psychoanalysis though.

Personally, I find the ethnography a success later on as I got around to finishing it. Not on the method itself, but its commentary and contribution in the field of anthropology. As Crapanzano said so himself:

"The ethnographer’s entry into the field is always a separation from his world of primary reference— the world through which he obtains, and maintains, his sense of self and his sense of reality."

[Hannah Daly]

Do books I read for school count

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many life histories for my anthropology class and this is one of the most unusual. All of the others that we have read told the life of one or a few people through stories recounted to the ethnographer. And while Tuhami utilizes the life history method, it is much different than the other ones. First of all, the subject of the novel, Tuhami, never tells the same story the same way twice. There are many instances were Crapanzano will collect one story and Tuhami will not remember the events a few years later, even denying that he was in the town where the events took place. This is a part of life histories, but it is unusual to have this happen so many times. Second, there is much more theory in Tuhami than in others that I have read. This may be my teacher's preference, but most of our novels focused on the subject rather than theoretical analysis of the subject. Again, this is just another way of making a life history, but it was unusual for my class. Overall, this is a very interesting read and helpful for anyone interested in the subject of life histories.

[Mark Kaech · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly detailed ethnography of Morrocan Muslims through in depth interviews and conversations with one man regarding his complete belief systems. Brings some amazing insight into the realities of "folk religions". Though someone calls themselves Muslim, there are many more layers then just the Muslim worldview/belief system in that person.

[Anindita Majumdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a wonderful book....it breaks barriers in anthropological writing,research...academic objectivity.

[Sofia Brown]

I had to read this for my psychological anthropology class, and at first wasn’t really into it because I generally prefer getting lost in fiction stories, but actually did end up enjoying how much this ethnography made me actively think about concepts related to reality, individuality, subjectivity, etc. Although my eyes definitely glazed over some of the pages that were describing anthro/psych concepts with overly complex language that anthropologists tend to use, overall I enjoyed the format of reading Tuhami and Crapanzano’s dialogue accompanied by analysis/reflection. I was also wary of reading this account just because of the long history of Western anthropologists entering communities to do research without thinking about potential damaging impact on the people they interact with + the tendency to treat the “other” as an object to study… Crapanzano was pretty honest and upfront about his own grappling with how his biases, background, situated realities, etc. impacted his perception of Tuhami’s life and also reflected a lot on the transference/countertransference that occurred between them which I did appreciate.

One of the biggest takeaways I have from Tuhami’s accounts is how they challenged my perception of time and reality. Our perceived realities are just based on certain systems of knowledge that we’ve been trained to uphold, and based entirely on the social environments we grew up in and surround ourselves with. Crapanzano talks about how he was constantly searching for what was “real” in Tuhami’s stories, which he equated with the “truth.” He believed the truth = the real covered with metaphors. But comes to realize that Tuhami was always speaking his truth, that the real was actually a metaphor for the true, and that the two were not identical. This was most clear in Tuhami’s interactions with saints, demons, and other non-human entities that he would describe in a way I perceived to be a “real encounter” with “real people” from my plane of reality, and while they were also real to Tuhami, from my perception of reality they would be considered imaginary… lots more to ponder here

Some quotes I want to remember-

“Saints and jnun enabled the articulation of reality an the expression of fantasy in a shared symbolic vocabulary that allowed the individual to transcend his embeddedness in immediate reality—to generalize his circumstances—and to take what solace he could from such transcendence”

“we cannot know completely the individuality of another”… every individual has a core individuality which cannot be recreated by anybody else/differs between everyone

“we should respect in the other the same mystery we expect others to respect in ourselves”

[Victoria Davila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tuhami was an exciting ethnographic work that covered the experiences of Tuhami, a Moroccan tilemaker haunted by a she-demon named A'isha Qandisha.

Anthropologist Crapanzano initially comes across Tuhami creating a divide as an ethnographer and has difficulty understanding the world of Tuhami from a western perspective. However, as his interviews with Tuhami continue, he gets closer and inserts himself into the life of informant. While he cannot always make sense of specific stories, he understands these things are true, for they are how Tuhami perceives them. He states that Tuhami taught him to distinguish the reality of personal history from autobiographical truth. Tuhami, on the other hand, becomes more conscious through the questioning of Crapanzano of his past experiences and how they have contributed to the personal symbolism of his connection with the jinn, A'isha.

Overall, this is a very interesting read that requires more than a touch on the surface. 4/5

[Tezcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice human and anthropological experience of reading the story of the life of Tuhami and Crapanzano analysis !
The work of Crapanzano is remarkable regarding the reflexivity especially at this period of new openings of human sciences knowledge production. As an anthropology student it's a inspiring work of reflexivity and analysis of the relationship with the "Other".
Regarding the mysterious life of Tuhami it's a really interesting perception of every aspects of life and its events. Obviously from a European perspective and with no religious background, it's a whole new world which opened to me and for me reading about "belief" or generally new systems of thinking and perceiving the world is always a delightful experience!

[Kevin McAvoy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Through many visits Crapanzano hears about Tuhami's life and society.
I found Tuhami to be superstitious beyond belief and his commentary was childish.
This book is considered to be an anthropological study of a Moroccan person but I think Crapanzano has chosen a mentally challenged individual as his case study.
Didn't care for this.

[Ian]

After several readings at different times I have a much better sense of the role that Tuhami's friend's death may have played in his possession and/or neuroses. Still a moving account and a good introduction to an earlier generation of scholarship about Morocco itself.

[Srikar Poruri · Rating 5 out of 5]

made me love anthropology

[Maria ☻]

*for class

[shakyra]

suggested in youtube video: What Is An Ethnography?! UCLA Anthropology Student Defines + Shares Examples | Cultural Anthropology

[Maisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(For anthro 136b)
Read this ethnography for a paper for class and was really not excepting to feel so emotional by the end of it.

[Leyla Zebda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful recounting of a life I have ever read enmeshed with so much incredible moroccan folklore that I am eternally upset my father deprived us of.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/hig...

[Stratis Psaltou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crapanzano says that when he wrote on 1970 his PhD thesis, The Hamadsha, he was interested in psychonalaysis, but he "felt uncomfortable with certain of its assumptios". During '70, before starting to teach in Princeton, he spent a summer in France and for the first time he read Lacan: "I was overwhelmed, excited... mainly impressed by how strikingly different a picture of psychoanalysis he had from my own". When he wrote Tuhami on 1980, he could talk with lacanian terms, saying about him that "what he wanted was rather the imaginary fulfillment of an emptiness, a lack, a manque à être, to use Jacques Lacan (1966) phrase, that he suffered" (1980: 140). In this way Crapanzano opened an intepretive way that it waits all the subsequent anthropological research.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tuhami is written as a novel/case study, but is so well crafted that it flows without it feeling overly scientific. The beginning of the book is a fantastic view of Moroccan culture and mysticism. I recognize that if I did not live in Morocco i would not appreciate much of the depth of the explanations. Tuhami allowed me to understand many things regarding the Jnoon that i have been curious about, but that people do not discuss in my community. The book went off on a tangent toward the end, then the auhtor broought it back to focus, but i felt that the conclusion lacked force. It was a really promising build up then fizzled toward the end, but overall i really enjoyed it.

[Gregry · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for Psych Anthro class at UCB with Cristiana Giordano