De Aukaanse (Djoeka) beschaving

Samenvatting

Norbert Elias (Uber den Prozess der Zivilisation. Soziogenetische und Psychogenetische Untersuchungen [On the Process of Civilization: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Research], 2 Vols, Bern & Muchen: Francke, 1969), in an interpretation of courtly codes of behavior in seventeenth- & eighteenth-century France, has argued that ego restraint & highly refined forms of etiquette are connected with, if not actually caused by, the process of state formation & the concomitant growth of economic interdependence. Evidence from the Djuka (Bush Negroes or Maroons) of Surinam reveals the existence among them of highly developed etiquette & high valuation of self-restraint, despite their existence in a stateless society. The absence of fraternal interest groups & the necessity to cultivate one's ties with various groups appear to have contributed to this development. Modified HA.