Bronislaw Malinowski was an important Polish ethnographer naturalized as an Englishman who, in his work "Argonauts of the Western Pacific", analyzed the cultural manifestations of the native tribes of the Trobriand archipelago in New Guinea Melanesia. His fieldwork began during the first half of the 20th century.

Understanding Bronislaw Malinowski

Malinowski chose as his object of study the Kula institution, and from there, to observe cultural elements such as social structure, mysticism, forms of work, among other cultural structures. In general, the Kula was not economically oriented, but rather a social ritual of exchanging gifts among the different tribes of the archipelago and even among more distant islands at certain times of the year.

Bronislaw's choice of this cultural element as an object of study is due to the grandeur of the Kula, in its number of tribes that practiced it and the enthusiasm of its participants, thus being the largest institution in all of New Guinea Melanesia. In his work, Bronislaw Malinowski took endless care to clearly explain the methods he used in his research.

This method was based on the ethnographer's observation, without the massive use of questionnaires or statistical documentation, where the researcher's immersion in the studied society would be the key point, because in this way it would be possible to closely investigate the customs, theThis way the scientist would get a real notion of the tribe's conceptions and values.

Bronislaw Malinowski and a second method

The attention of the population is directed to events, such as an upcoming festival, or a rite of passage, it is at this moment that succinct questions and comments should be madeby the researcher in order to stimulate the inhabitants to comment on what is happening, because the whole psychology of the tribe would be focused on the given event.

A second method which can be classified as "The anthropological golden rule", basically consists that the researcher never uses precepts, prenotions, or own value judgments, existing in his environment, in his society, because the worldview of his civilization will be very different from the worldview of his object of study, in Malinowski's case, his European society in comparison to tribesregarded as primitive.

The scientist must be careful to analyze a culture according to the conceptions of those who practice it, of the society that owns it. Many scholars have thought about this rule, such as Durkheim, Franz Boas, Levi Strauss, among others, besides Malinowski himself. In short, the researcher's impartiality is his greatest challenge. Although there are several techniques for a work of this size, these two are theWith due respect, and relativizing, these methods can be adapted to the psychoanalyst's clinical practice.

Bronislaw Malinowski and the "Imponderables of real life

In relation to the first "Imponderables of real life", the analyst, during free association, must let the patient speak openly, freely about his problem, with minimal interference from the psychoanalyst, with the sole purpose of conducting, influencing, through observation and investigation, the path along which the speech must follow.

In the case of direct questions, the patient may give a mere answer just to respond to the analyst what was asked, having in this way an answer, a vision tied to his question, a quick answer in the case of therapy is inconceivable, all the details provided by free speech will be lost.

This method, when used, will help in the remembrance in the cathartic process, so that there is then the ab-reaction and the possibility of cure of a past trauma. Still on the free association, that is, the process in which the patient talks about his neuroses, the psychoanalyst should make use of the second ethnological method, "The anthropological golden rule", having in mind that the analyst, when armed with hishis own precepts, prenotions, and values, he will have a contaminated, pre-molded, and made-up view of his object of study.

Final considerations

The search for the greatest possible impartiality will enable the psychoanalyst pure and real information about an illness. Ethnology, besides being closely related to psychoanalysis, can contribute a lot to it. The two sciences ask the same questions, respectively one questions the collective psychic action, and the other the action of a specific psyche.

Émile Durkheim in his work entitled "The Rules of the Sociological Method" presents difficulties in dissociating sociology from the study of the psyche. As he himself points out, all collective manifestations are the a priori result of an individual psychology.

A coherent, responsible, innovative study, reformulating, introducing and removing many elements of ethnological techniques, can help the development of the young psychoanalytic science.

This article was written by Jonas Félix de Mendonça, professor of sociology at the public school system of the State of São Paulo. I write as a hobby, but with professional intentions. I venture into horror stories, romance, politics, sociology, philosophy and psychoanalysis. contact: Whatsapp- 17996569880 Email: [email protected]