Writing traveling cultures : travel and ethnography amongst the Yakkha of East Nepal.

Abstract

This article addresses the debates surrounding Clifford's paper 'Traveling Cultures' and its argument that greater attention should be paid to 'routes' as well as 'roots' in anthropological research. It is based on research into the socio-cultural effects and outcomes of migration amongst the Yakkha, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group originating in the middle hills of East Nepal. It considers the methodological implications of Clifford's approach through the description and analysis of thirty-six hours spent in the company of a Yakkha family and friends in the Nepalese Tarai, serendipitously encountered while the author was 'en route'. The conclusion drawn is that Clifford's 'strong' form of 'fieldwork as travel practice' is more difficult to justify than his 'softer' suggestion that 'routes' and 'roots' be studied together.