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Inuit Morality Play: The Emotional Education of a Three-Year-Old
Psychological anthropologist Jean Briggs shows how Inuit adults use dramatic play to transmit cultural messages and moral lessons to their children
"I could not be more enthusiastic about this brilliant book. . . . A mesmerizing ethnography."—Nancy J. Chodorow
"Is your mother good?" "Are you good?" "Do you want to come live with me?" Inuit adults often playfully present small children with difficult, even dangerous, choices and then dramatize the consequences of the child’s answers. They are enacting in larger-than-life form the plots that drive Inuit social life—testing, acting out problems, entertaining themselves, and, most of all, bringing up their children.
In a riveting narrative, psychological anthropologist Jean L. Briggs takes us through six months of dramatic interactions in the life of Chubby Maata, a three-year-old girl growing up in a Baffin Island hunting camp. The book examines the issues that engaged the child—belonging, possession, love—and shows the process of her growing. Briggs questions the nature of "sharedness" in culture and assumptions about how culture is transmitted. She suggests that both cultural meanings and strong personal commitment to one’s world can be (and perhaps must be) acquired not by straightforwardly learning attitudes, rules, and habits in a dependent mode but by experiencing oneself as an agent engaged in productive conflict in emotionally problematic situations. Briggs finds that dramatic play is an essential force in Inuit social life. It creates and supports values; engenders and manages attachments and conflicts; and teaches and maintains an alert, experimental, constantly testing approach to social relationships.
"I could not be more enthusiastic about this brilliant book. . . . A mesmerizing ethnography."—Nancy J. Chodorow
"Is your mother good?" "Are you good?" "Do you want to come live with me?" Inuit adults often playfully present small children with difficult, even dangerous, choices and then dramatize the consequences of the child’s answers. They are enacting in larger-than-life form the plots that drive Inuit social life—testing, acting out problems, entertaining themselves, and, most of all, bringing up their children.
In a riveting narrative, psychological anthropologist Jean L. Briggs takes us through six months of dramatic interactions in the life of Chubby Maata, a three-year-old girl growing up in a Baffin Island hunting camp. The book examines the issues that engaged the child—belonging, possession, love—and shows the process of her growing. Briggs questions the nature of "sharedness" in culture and assumptions about how culture is transmitted. She suggests that both cultural meanings and strong personal commitment to one’s world can be (and perhaps must be) acquired not by straightforwardly learning attitudes, rules, and habits in a dependent mode but by experiencing oneself as an agent engaged in productive conflict in emotionally problematic situations. Briggs finds that dramatic play is an essential force in Inuit social life. It creates and supports values; engenders and manages attachments and conflicts; and teaches and maintains an alert, experimental, constantly testing approach to social relationships.
275 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1998
13 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
Jean L. Briggs
7 books31 followersBA, Vassar College 1951
MA, Boston University 1960
PhD, Harvard University, 1967
"Looking back over the 45 years since I first made the acquaintance of Eskimoic cultures, I find two focal interests: interpersonal (social and emotional) relationships in Inuit families and small groups, and Inuit language. These interests have grown in and out of each other and taken various shapes at various times. Most of my fieldwork has been with camp-dwelling Canadian Inuit but, in 1961-62, I visited Alaskan Inupiat and, in the 1990s, very briefly, Siberian Yupik. My writings have all concerned Canadian Inuit. I have written on the cultural construction of the vocabulary of emotion; family life; the management of hostility in hunting camps and families; the emotional underpinnings of "attachment" and of values like "nonviolence", "concern for others", and "autonomy"; the emotional texture of a small child's life and the socialization of small children into socially valued behaviour through playful interactions with adults; gender relations; the nature of "individuality" in relation to "culture"; the psychological uses of personal names; the conceptualization of time; and changes in the operation of some of the above values under modern conditions of living in villages and towns. Since 1995, I have focused more completely on linguistic matters. Three General Grants from the SSHRC have supported, and continue to support, a project to create, with colleagues in the Linguistics Departments of both Memorial University and the University of Toronto, a bipartite bilingual dictionary of the previously undocumented Utkuhiksalingmiut dialect of Inuktitut. This dialect was, and to some extent still is, spoken in the Central Arctic area where I have done a large part of the fieldwork described above. One part of the dictionary will contain word-bases; the other will contain affixes, the linguistic units that attach to bases to create words. Finally, in recent years, I have written, by request, a number of reflective, autobiographical pieces about the development of my ways of thinking and of doing anthropology, especially fieldwork. I have no allegiances to any particular brand of theory; my interpretations tend to develop from the ground up, using AS DATA personal experience and perspectives expressed, verbally or behaviourally, by the actors in an accumulation of small specific incidents - in a manner Piaget would recognize.. I also draw on psychoanalytic ideas when the data seem to point in their direction, especially those of Winnicott about play and Anna Freud about defense mechanisms; and I have discovered that my experientially derived ideas about how social learning occurs, in Inuit society and in my own, are very much in line with practice theory, which I recently encountered in the work of Jean Lave."
MA, Boston University 1960
PhD, Harvard University, 1967
"Looking back over the 45 years since I first made the acquaintance of Eskimoic cultures, I find two focal interests: interpersonal (social and emotional) relationships in Inuit families and small groups, and Inuit language. These interests have grown in and out of each other and taken various shapes at various times. Most of my fieldwork has been with camp-dwelling Canadian Inuit but, in 1961-62, I visited Alaskan Inupiat and, in the 1990s, very briefly, Siberian Yupik. My writings have all concerned Canadian Inuit. I have written on the cultural construction of the vocabulary of emotion; family life; the management of hostility in hunting camps and families; the emotional underpinnings of "attachment" and of values like "nonviolence", "concern for others", and "autonomy"; the emotional texture of a small child's life and the socialization of small children into socially valued behaviour through playful interactions with adults; gender relations; the nature of "individuality" in relation to "culture"; the psychological uses of personal names; the conceptualization of time; and changes in the operation of some of the above values under modern conditions of living in villages and towns. Since 1995, I have focused more completely on linguistic matters. Three General Grants from the SSHRC have supported, and continue to support, a project to create, with colleagues in the Linguistics Departments of both Memorial University and the University of Toronto, a bipartite bilingual dictionary of the previously undocumented Utkuhiksalingmiut dialect of Inuktitut. This dialect was, and to some extent still is, spoken in the Central Arctic area where I have done a large part of the fieldwork described above. One part of the dictionary will contain word-bases; the other will contain affixes, the linguistic units that attach to bases to create words. Finally, in recent years, I have written, by request, a number of reflective, autobiographical pieces about the development of my ways of thinking and of doing anthropology, especially fieldwork. I have no allegiances to any particular brand of theory; my interpretations tend to develop from the ground up, using AS DATA personal experience and perspectives expressed, verbally or behaviourally, by the actors in an accumulation of small specific incidents - in a manner Piaget would recognize.. I also draw on psychoanalytic ideas when the data seem to point in their direction, especially those of Winnicott about play and Anna Freud about defense mechanisms; and I have discovered that my experientially derived ideas about how social learning occurs, in Inuit society and in my own, are very much in line with practice theory, which I recently encountered in the work of Jean Lave."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 14, 2016
What an odd and wonderful little book. I'm not expert on arctic societies, I'm not new to the world of cultural anthropology. The shift this takes at the end, and the realization the author brings you around to as she seems to have it, provides a wonderful lens to reflect back on everything you've read so far.
And say what you will about some of her behavior, as a character, Chubby Maata herself is rather unforgettable.
"That was a fruitful folly, however, because it was in the attempt to accomplish it that I realized most profoundly that cultures, even seen from a distance, don't have totalities, and even less do individuals incorporate total understandings of the culture materials available to them. So I present here a cloth full of holes, the very sort of cloth that Chubby Maata was herself weaving. My threads may not have been hers in every case-but they could have been. They are culturally possible, and I think that is the best any of us can claim for our understandings. However imperfect my conclusions, I believe the analysis demonstrates the usefulness of examining cultural and personal processes."
And say what you will about some of her behavior, as a character, Chubby Maata herself is rather unforgettable.
"That was a fruitful folly, however, because it was in the attempt to accomplish it that I realized most profoundly that cultures, even seen from a distance, don't have totalities, and even less do individuals incorporate total understandings of the culture materials available to them. So I present here a cloth full of holes, the very sort of cloth that Chubby Maata was herself weaving. My threads may not have been hers in every case-but they could have been. They are culturally possible, and I think that is the best any of us can claim for our understandings. However imperfect my conclusions, I believe the analysis demonstrates the usefulness of examining cultural and personal processes."
March 12, 2012
This is one of my favorite ethnographies. Chubby Maata is adorable and provides through her exploration of her family, friends and home incredible insights into Inuit life and identity.
June 2, 2017
I must have read Jean L. Brigg's other well-known book, Never in Anger, because I remember that the Inuit people in that book had a strong taboo against losing one's temper. In this book, Briggs explores how a really small Inuit community on Baffin Island raises their children to have the right balance of behavior to achieve this level of self-mastery. Concentrating on one three-year-old and her family, but also looking at how other people in the small group interacted with little kids, Briggs decided that what she was observing were ritualized dramas to help children think about their role in their family.
One thing that made this book interesting for me was the use of opposite language. This is a thing some Ashkenazi Jews do, or did, with their children. Mostly people just said things directly but maybe averted the Evil Eye under their breath, but it was also a practice that I observed growing up to call children "ugly" or "stupid" in a very affectionate tone that indicated you found them anything but. My own father would sometimes look at me after I'd said something impressive and say, "Don't talk baby talk."
The distance between my family and the family of this little girl, Chubby Maata, is huge--not only a geographical distance, but in terms of what values were most dominant. Yet I felt connected to her, especially because of the way the anthropologist made her seem so sweet. Also, I realized with some tears, Chubby Maata is probably my age or just a little younger. (Briggs is super vague about when she did this field work, but she does give the dates of the times over the years when she discussed it in seminars or in writing.) In short, she's an adult for many years. I would love to hear what she thinks about how she was brought up. Is this a lost world? Was some of this because it was the 1970s? What has her life been like?
The other piece that I couldn't stop thinking about was the movie Qallunaat! Why White People Are Funny. (It's available to watch here.) The Inuit people were totally aware of what anthropologists like Briggs were doing. Briggs is also aware of her own role as a white person. The interesting thing about cultural relativism here is how much she admires the people she's studying. It's still no fun to be the person the scholars study, rather than the scholar explaining her culture for someone else. I would be very happy if Chubby Maata wrote her own story. (Not that she would use her pseudonym to do it!)
June 12, 2019
To be totally fair, this book is exactly what it says it is: a deep analysis of interactions between Inuit adults and a toddler.
To the lay reader who was hoping for a glimpse into how the Inuit live and raise their kids, the rewards are few and far between. You get occasional nuggets of information between walls of words analyzing the deeper meaning of what -- to most of us -- looks just like standard teasing of a toddler.
Briggs' premise is that it's not just teasing, it's a mode of education. I'm kinda dubious, but it's not my field.
This was not an easy read and it will not teach you much about how the Inuit live.
To the lay reader who was hoping for a glimpse into how the Inuit live and raise their kids, the rewards are few and far between. You get occasional nuggets of information between walls of words analyzing the deeper meaning of what -- to most of us -- looks just like standard teasing of a toddler.
Briggs' premise is that it's not just teasing, it's a mode of education. I'm kinda dubious, but it's not my field.
This was not an easy read and it will not teach you much about how the Inuit live.
Read
January 7, 2021Summary
An anthropological view on Inuit childrearing, specifically of a little girl codenamed Chubby Maata. The book goes over specific "dramas" the researcher Briggs witnessed and then goes into an analysis and explanation of the motives behind the actions and people involved.
Impression
I was initially expecting a more lighthearted read but soon noticed it was very scientifically written, which led me to take longer than expected to finish the book. I really enjoyed reading the dramas Briggs recounts and learning about Inuit culture and life. As Briggs did, I also grew attached to Chubby Maata!
An anthropological view on Inuit childrearing, specifically of a little girl codenamed Chubby Maata. The book goes over specific "dramas" the researcher Briggs witnessed and then goes into an analysis and explanation of the motives behind the actions and people involved.
Impression
I was initially expecting a more lighthearted read but soon noticed it was very scientifically written, which led me to take longer than expected to finish the book. I really enjoyed reading the dramas Briggs recounts and learning about Inuit culture and life. As Briggs did, I also grew attached to Chubby Maata!
Read
May 26, 2025A great dive into the phenomenology of culture through a single individual. Situated in the reflexive turn in anthropology of the 90’s, the book uses the author’s direct interactions and sensorial experiences alongside the focal point, Chubby Maata, to examine how small children interact with family and strangers in Inuit culture. A strong argument for the model of culture as a series of tools and materials with which to contend with situational/relational dilemmas
August 27, 2018
Ethnographic. Verryyyyy detailed. Highly analytical- “Thus one little girl has introduced me to a view of culture- Inuit culture, and perhaps culture in general- that is far more complex than the one I held before I met her.”
July 5, 2024
The book was ok but it definitely took a bit to read because it was kinda boring. I had to read it for a class and write an essay about it. I liked learning about the Inuit culture and their parenting tactics.
May 9, 2024
There is a long history of white anthropologists and native communities in North America, and it is not positive. This book is an example. I wanted information about how Inuit communities raise their children; however, I felt the author disrupted this community (and this mother) in the “study”, exhibited poor boundaries with the 3 year-old subject, and drew conclusions based on mood and bias verses simply asking questions of the adults about their motives and actions. I ended up reading a short NPR article about Inuit Morality Play and felt I learned more in that ten minutes than the time I spent with the book. Frustrating.
started-and-abandoned
May 2, 2019Borrowed this from the library due to an interesting story I read that referenced it, but more of an academic anthropology book than I’m really in the mood for right now.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews