Paper short abstract:

The paper analyses the recording enterprises of Dr William Crocker. Crocker began field research with the Canela in 1957 and continued to do so until 2011. Until now, these recordings have been largely unexamined.Today, Crocker's collection is an important aspect of Canela collective past.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyses the anthropology of Dr. William Crocker and his recording enterprise

Crocker began field research with the Canela in 1957 and continued to do so intermittently until 2011. The archive contains more than 54 years of the anthropologist's fieldwork among the Canela Indians of Brazil and it forms one of the largest visual collections of research concerning the native people of South-America. Until now, these recordings have been largely unexamined and academically undervalued. Crocker's visual collection brings alive the interior space of family interactions; the physical space of the Canela intimate life becomes increasingly important. Many of the crucial events depicted in his photos take place indoors, in the female space of the Canela rooms. Before the second half of the 20th century, anthropological interviews of women were limited. If in the 1950s, Crocker's main research assistants, as he called them, were Canela men, Crocker's photos show his understanding that the role of women within the family setting was very important to maintain a high level of social cohesion. They also speak to the dangers and pleasures of falling in love. By communicating visually, the range of relationships that we all are likely to encounter in ordinary life, Crocker introduced something closer to what I call the 'ordinary morality of life'. Today, Crocker's collection is an important aspect of Canela collective past, and these records are an invaluable resource for researchers working with the Canela, for Visual Anthropology students, and for the Canela themselves.