Anthropology as Homage

On occasion of the seventy-eighth birthday of Ivo Strecker, Felix Girke, Sophia Thubauville, and Wolbert Smidt edited a long overdue Festschrift to honour his scientific merits in the fields of Ethiopian ethnography (especially of the Hamär ethnic group), rhetoric, and visual anthropology (e.g. MacDougall, pp. 107–114; LaTosky, pp. 199–223; Streck, pp. 317–332), as well as teaching. The Festschrift is seen as a homage to the fascinating personality of Ivo Strecker as a researcher, anthropologist, and teacher, but also as homage to the people he lives with. The Festschrift is an opportunity to give attention to Ivo Strecker and his life and work. Doing research and finding out new aspects of Hamär cultural life — and letting others know — is where he is entirely at home. This is demonstrated by the picture on the book cover showing Strecker demonstrably happy in the company of his main Hamär informant and friend, Baldambe, at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.

The editors found a meaningful way to structure the Festschrift by forming chapters according to the Hamär social categories of anamo, misso, bel, kanna, tamari nanna, and yeskenna, meaning ‘age mates’, ‘hunting friends’, ‘bond-friends’, ‘junior siblings’, ‘students’, and ‘sister sons’. The twenty-five articles of these chapters are preceded by a Preface by Thomas Bierschenk, giving biographical information on Ivo Strecker, and an introductory chapter with the headline barjo äla, which means ‘call for good fortune’, and comprises three articles introducing different aspects of Strecker’s research approach identifying it as an ‘anthropology of homage’ (Felix Girke, pp.19–27). It also renders impressions of his teachings in Ethiopia (Yohannes Yitbarek Ejigu, pp. 29–36), and allows one to hear the voice of his Hamär friend Baldambe. The Appendix lists Ivo Strecker’s publications. Most of the contributions are written in English with two exceptions in French by Philippe-Joseph Salazar (pp. 79–89) and Serge Tornay (pp. 91–105), and one in German by Karl-Heinz Kohl (pp. 137–148). The book is illustrated by many photographs, mainly showing Ivo Strecker either in the field or teaching.

Many articles relate personal encounters between the respective author and Ivo Strecker, such as Stephan Feuchtwang who tries to find out if Ivo is Hamär (pp. 73–78). Another aspect is his relation to people noted by Mitiku Gabrehiwot (pp. 409–413). Everybody wishes to tell of a personal story of their own connection to Ivo Strecker. Thus, for me personally, as one of Ivo Strecker’s students, writing a book review of this particular Festschrift is not easy. While reading the articles, memories come to mind of the travels to South Omo and the shared experiences and adventures, such as the journey we made for the exhibition project on Hamär material culture at the University of Mainz in 1995, illustrated by the picture on page 334. This followed Ivo Strecker’s ‘idea of combining classroom discussions with field excursions and visits’, as stated by Yohannes Yitbarek Ejigu (p. 29). Our last meeting was in 2017 at the South Omo Research Centre in Ginka, a place Ivo Strecker created to focus on the cultural diversity of southern Ethiopia. Ivo Strecker is a fieldworker mit Haut und Haar (‘with skin and hair’, Bierschenk, p. 11), who does not distinguish between the professional and private sphere (‘he used his own money’, Yohannes Yitbarek Ejigu, p. 32), and expects the same of his students. His methods are unconventional at times, not geared to given patterns of thinking, nor ignoring the, at times, clearly political dimensions of the information one receives as a researcher. His research is a manifestation of his appreciation of the research region — anthropology as homage. He carried out most of his fieldwork with his anthropologist wife, Jean Lydall, who merits a Festschrift of her own. Ivo Strecker likes a creative surrounding, that inspires the participants and creates new ideas. He does not keep his insights to himself but discusses them with others, sharing his passion, enthusiasm, and commitment. It is impossible not to become personal when writing about Ivo Strecker, which gives me the feeling I am writing another contribution to the Festschrift rather than a review. The texts of friends, scholars, and companions gathered in this volume provide — aside from the very personal impression and dedication to Ivo — alot of interesting and valuable information on the diverse cultural backgrounds of various regions of Ethiopia and beyond. To take just a few examples, I would like to mention the articles of Susanne Epple, Echi Gabbert, Felix Girke, and Sophia Thubauville, some of Ivo’s tamari nanna. Susanne Epple (pp. 337–350) describes the finding of new details and contexts in her long-term research in the Bäšada region, an understanding for frequently observed phenomena. In Echi Christina Gabbert’s article (pp. 351–355) about a fable from Arbore, the voice of a local person, Ginno Ballo, can be directly heard (just as Baldambe and others are heard in Ivo Strecker’s publications). Felix Girke (pp. 357–371) reflects on the role of anthropologists, tourists, and the camera in southern Ethiopia. This is what all Ivo Strecker’s students have learned to be sensitive and aware of: ‘ethnographic fieldwork requires the negotiation of social roles between the fieldworkerand his or her interlocutors, which in turn needs to be reflected upon for the positionality and perspective it creates’ (Bierschenk, p. 11). We learned to unfold our methods, results, and failures, like Sophia Thubauville (pp. 373–383) describes in her research project on transgender in Maale.

Nagaya (Hamär greeting, ‘a wish for well-being’) to Ivo Strecker.