Hungry Lightning: Notes of a Woman Anthropologist in Venezuela (Paperback)

Hungry Lightning is one of the most delightful books that I had read in years. Although Doctor Yu was in Venezuela studying the Pume hunter gatherers on a grant from the Leakey Foundation for research purposes this book is ANYTHING but a dry academic tome. I'm certain that the rigid data filled, theory drenched, anthropology journal language encrusted, esoteric conclusion oriented version of this trip exists somewhere in the halls of academe - but this isn't it.

This is a wonderful working of Pei Lin's journal from a year and a half of observing the hunter gatherer Pume Indians. Pei Lin not only observes but becomes emerged in their lives.

First a synopsis: Pei Lin is asked by her long time friend (and lover?) Rusty to accompany him on a one and a half year project to gather data on a group of hunter gatherers in the remote Venezuelan grasslands. There are not many people like the Pume left in the world, and the few that are still living the traditional hunter gatherer lifestyle, I would imagine, are probably constantly being followed around by film crews from the National geographic and other similar organizations. These Pume folk, though, are still pretty original - if you catch my drift. Pei and Rusty have their daily duties of observing everything these folks do, cataloging and weighing their daily food intake, taking "anthropometric measurements," and what not.

But more than that Pei Lin is a keen observer of their personal lives, their humor (yes, there is a small section on stork hunting jokes), their religion and their dance ceremonies. In addition to that it is Pei's personal story. While they were there Pei and Rusty "went native" (my term, not theirs) and lived not only WITH but AS the Pume. They ate what they ate, (interestingly Pei Lin went from a nearly lifelong, well fed vegetarian to a half-starved wisp craving a tasty hunk of crocodile tail or anteater steak), drank what they drank, feared what they feared, and so on.

Pei Lin encounters death and illness in the Pume and nearly died herself from parasitic infestations. The subtitle of the book suggests that this book is from a woman's perspective and that it is. Pei gossips with the women while Rusty hobnobs with the men and participates in hallucinogenic rituals. When he accompanies the men on hunting expedition she accompanies the women on root and mango gathering trips, or stays at camp to help care for the children. She also aids a battered woman; participates in a tragic birth (wherein one of two twins dies, but the other survives); and must adhere to some strange menstrual rituals (no fish may be eaten while she was restricted to the menstrual hut - even if fish was all there WAS to eat on a given day.) And Pei has a particular fondness for observing and describing the old women in the group.

The book also includes some fascinating (but too brief) descriptions of Pei Lin's dreams while she was in Venezuela, and some descriptions of the day to day frustrations of life that follow one anywhere.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. This book is not only fascinating, it is tremendously fun and as a bonus he book is peppered with Pei's splendid illustrations. This book is for everybody, not just academic types, and has my absolute highest recommendations