This study will analyze the use of the theory of functionalism in two ethnographies, The Nuer, by E.E. Evans-Pritchard, and Blood Is Their Argument, by Mervyn Meggitt. The book by Evans-Pritchard represents an early version of functionalist theory (1940) and the work by Meggitt represents a later version (1977). The study will compare the two works in terms of the authors' use of the theory of functionalism, explicit and implicit, and how they applied the theory to the people and societies they were studying.
Functionalism began as a critique of earlier history-based theories. It argued that it was possible to understand a culture without focusing on the history of the culture as a central concern. Functionalism focuses on the "functions" that the interrelated parts of the culture perform. To understand why a people does something is to understand the action itself: "Human societies are natural systems in which all the parts are interdependent, each serving in a complex of necessary relations to maintain the whole" (Bohannan & Glazer, 1988, p. 414).
Evans-Pritchard, in his study of the Nuer, includes the sub-title "A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People." We see, then, that the author aims to focus on the ways that these people produce their food and how they organize their society. In other words, the concerns are economic and political. From a functionalist viewpoint, Evans-Pritchard will examine the interconnectedness of these two aspects of the Nuer society, and how the functions of their activities reveal the intentions and impulses behind specific acts.
Evans-Pritchard immediately makes clear the interconnectedness of these two aspects in the functionalist view with reference to the Nuer study. He says that "political institutions" are the "main theme" of his book, but these political institutions "cannot be understood without taking into account environment and modes ...