another, from 1974, by Frank Manning, in Journal of American Folklore deals with attention to number plates as well as nicknames. The first really struck this Canadian anthropologist when I did research in Guyana in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, as I was then unfamiliar with plates continuing to identify the vehicle, rather than changing or being updated annually. Guyana then had relatively few cars or motorbikes, and memorization of plate numbers fed gossip, as movement of owners could be tracked, e.g. to a parking spot near the home of an “outside woman”
No, I wasn't aware of these references - thanks v. much. Also, number plates! Such an interesting topic!!! I may have to write a post on them at some point, so thanks very much for the idea.
I am gratified, as one so long out of academia, to have been able to spark your interest!
The Number Plates “game” probably works in small-scale societies or where there are few registered vehicles. I was last in Guyana in 1976, but I know from reading its newspapers that there are now many more cars and motorbikes. I do not know whether people still keep track of people in the same way, or to the same extent. It was fun, though, to hear where the car of a government minister or other Important Person had been sighted!
You might be aware of some oldish anthropological treatments of the salience of nicknaming — especially for males — in “West Indian” cultures.
https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/nwig/73/1-2/article-p35_2.pdf
another, from 1974, by Frank Manning, in Journal of American Folklore deals with attention to number plates as well as nicknames. The first really struck this Canadian anthropologist when I did research in Guyana in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, as I was then unfamiliar with plates continuing to identify the vehicle, rather than changing or being updated annually. Guyana then had relatively few cars or motorbikes, and memorization of plate numbers fed gossip, as movement of owners could be tracked, e.g. to a parking spot near the home of an “outside woman”
No, I wasn't aware of these references - thanks v. much. Also, number plates! Such an interesting topic!!! I may have to write a post on them at some point, so thanks very much for the idea.
I am gratified, as one so long out of academia, to have been able to spark your interest!
The Number Plates “game” probably works in small-scale societies or where there are few registered vehicles. I was last in Guyana in 1976, but I know from reading its newspapers that there are now many more cars and motorbikes. I do not know whether people still keep track of people in the same way, or to the same extent. It was fun, though, to hear where the car of a government minister or other Important Person had been sighted!
I found your article on the puzzle of Washing Machines in UK Kitchens on Sapiens, and I now plan to read many of the items on this site.