How Did The Gebusi Culture Change

Throughout Bruce Knauft’s book, The Gebusi, there are four distinct periods that showed the change that the people went through. In his work, Knauft describes each of these cultural changes in great detail. Knauft lived and studied with that Gebusi in the time periods of 1980-1982, 1998, 2008, and 2013.
Knauft’s first visit in the early 80’s was marked by the Gebusi’s relative isolation and distinct and unique cultural attributes. The Gebusi people dressed in traditional clothing, often times very minimal. They followed their own religion that was similar to sorcery. They followed strict rituals in many areas of their lives and community. They had little to no “monetary” economy as each of the people had specific jobs that would sustain the

All of this changed greatly when Knauft visited again, almost twenty years later, in 1998. Knauft immediately noticed their adaptations throughout their culture. Something that Knauft could almost immediately notice was their change in clothing apparel. They gave up their more traditional clothing for much more “modern” attire. Some other cultural attributes such as their religious affiliations, relationships between men and women, use of rituals, economy, and overall connection with the outside world had also drastically changed. Once the spread of Christianity came to the Gebusi, their religious affiliations upended. Most everyone became Christian, causing a diminishing affect to their traditions and practice of sorcery and ritual life. Their rituals, specifically, came to only be used as a way of competition, rather than the sacred nature that they possessed previously. The relationship between men and women also changed immensely. In the context of marriage, they no longer practiced the sister exchange. As reciprocity was diminished, inequality became apparent between the people. This was largely due to the increased economy gained through government funding. This, then created a new focus on capital gain that