Wisdom Sits in Places

Wisdom Sits in Places (University of New Mexico Press, 1996) is a non-fiction book of essays by American ethnographer and anthropologist Keith Basso. In the book, Basso explores the role of place-names, or toponyms, in the language and culture of the Western Apache. In doing so, he sets forth an argument that the way of life of the Western Apache can only be understood by examining their sense of place, and he makes the case that more cultural anthropologists should consider place when seeking to understand the worldview of different cultures. After publication, the book won the 1996 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction, as well as the J. I. Staley Prize from the School of American Research and the Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing.

The book is structured as four non-chronological essays, each featuring a different individual from the Western Apache community of Cibecue, in Arizona. Over an 18-month period, spread out over five years (1979-1984), Basso investigated place-names by traveling around the region with Apache consultants, speaking with them at their homes about places, and listening to how place-names were used by Apache men and women in daily conversation. Before delving into the results of his research, Basso lays out the importance of place-making as a cultural activity, one that involves both imagination and memory, and notes that little ethnographic work on place-making has been done—setting the stage for his own investigation.

In Chapter 1, Basso travels around the region with a Western Apache historian named Charles Henry. Henry’s history lessons consist of stopping at various sites and speaking of the events that happened there as if they were taking place directly in front of him. As Basso learns from Henry, the different ways in which place-names relate to these narratives reflect the changing conditions faced by early Apache. Basso notes that this method of interpreting the past demonstrates a sense of history rooted not in dates of events, but in where events occurred and what they reveal about Apache social life.

In Chapter 2, Basso focuses his investigation around a series of statements, made by Western Apache individuals, that defy easy interpretation without cultural context. For help understanding this context, Basso turns to Nick Thompson, whom he describes as an influential member of the community and good friend. Thompson focuses not on places but on stories; as it turns out, they’re closely interwoven, because one of the kinds of Western Apache narratives—historical tales—are not only about the events the stories describe, but also about where those events took place. They’re also about the listener, since Apache storytellers use historical tales as correctives to listeners’ bad behavior, linking those lessons to features of the landscape. With this context, Basso says, we can understand the statements offered at the beginning of the chapter.

In Chapter 3, Basso learns how “speaking with names” allows Western Apache individuals to draw on ancestral authority when dealing with difficult social situations. This exploration centers on an encounter Basso witnesses at the home of a well-liked local woman named Lola Machuse. Basso observes a small group, including Machuse, offering a series of place-names in response to the concerns voiced by a woman named Louise, about the conduct of her brother. While Basso is initially confused about how their responses relate to each other, Machuse helps him understand they’re engaging in a process called “speaking with names”—inviting Louise to travel to the places they name and learn from the tales that took place there.

In the final section, Basso learns how place-making relates to Western Apache selfhood—specifically, in the development of wisdom. He’s guided by a man named Dudley Patterson, who has spent much of his life learning about places and their stories. Patterson tells Basso that wisdom comes from contemplation of places, which he compares to a source of water that never dries up. Reflecting on places leads to mental smoothness—a product of mental resilience and steadiness—which is the source of wisdom. Basso notes that while every Apache can attain wisdom, few actually do. Those who succeed can draw on a large repository of place-based narratives for guidance in how to act wisely.

Closing the book, Basso states that as conditions in Cibecue change, fewer young people are following the path of wisdom as exemplified by Patterson. However, he notes, sense of place is likely to remain important, even as it increasingly draws on different source material.