Culture and Morality is a collection of essays written in honour of Christoph von Furer Haimendorf. Its arrival into the world of books should be sincerely welcomed by stu¬dents and scholars of anthro¬pology. The introduction gives us a detailed account of Haimendorf’s career and it includes references to his pub¬lished works. Contributors to this book have focussed on the theme of morality dealt with by Haimendorf in Morals and Merit (1967). Haimendorf has drawn distinctions between the moral ideas of the tribals and Hindus. Morals and Merit emphasizes that tribal individuality is greater than Hindu individuality. This is probably due to the rigidity of the caste rules which regulate the freedom of Hindu indi¬viduality. The high caste Hindu has minimal freedom in his marital and sexual life and this freedom is increa¬singly felt the further one looks down the social hiera¬rchy.
Nov-Dec 1981, volume 6, No 3