Pertinently, who was he, Rouch? He did not know all there was to know about the Dogon. That is why he had chosen this approach: the selected non-verbal and verbal materials concerned the same thing and came directly from the Dogon themselves. Even more im portant was the fact that the public became bouleversé, confused, and were now forced to think in other ways about the ritual.

In 1995 Saskia Kersenboom's book Word, sound, image; The life of the Tamil text with the accompanying CD-i Bhairavi Varnam was introduced in the Soeterijn of the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Amsterdam. Bruce Kapferer, one of the spea kers, pointed out that an ethnographic film or video could only present complex non-verbal phenomena in a linear way, that is, a number of aspects can only be presented in a particular order and therefore represent only one viewpoint. However, a CD-i make s it possible for the user to view a number of the aspects presented in the order he or she prefers. Hence the exposure to the phenomenon, or rather to those parts of it that are represented, can assume quite a variety of forms. In this way, the reflectio n on the phenomenon could become richer. With this remark Kapferer underlined one of the central theses presented by Kersenboom in her book. Like Rouch, and post-modernists after him, she realizes the great importance of new ways of thinking in anthropolo gy, the thinking 'laterally', as Picasso seems to have called it.

Cogently, Kersenboom does not want to contribute to these new viewpoints in any rather loose or artistically inspiring manner. On the contrary, it is the unique complexity of the phenomenon she studied that makes it impossible to translate or reduce its e ssence. It necessitates that the 'lateral thinking' concentrates itself on the intrinsic character of the phenomenon itself, led by the participants who are fully aware of its unique complexity. An optimal knowledge and experiencing of the phenomenon comp lete with all its associations is only to be obtained by intensive participant observation and living through the same kind of experiences.

Kersenboom mentions that she practised Tamil dance for twenty years, accompanying this by the study of Tamil literature and music. A report about this research, using the standpoints within the particular culture as much as possible bolstered by an additi onal interactive medium like the CD-i or CD-ROM, is a good introduction. However, although it takes into account all the verbal and non-verbal expressions by the participants during an event and is supplemented by the researcher's comments, it is not the ultimate source, Kersenboom believes.

Kersenboom does not say anything about intercultural comparison, which is difficult to do if we want to retain the unique characteristics, but according to most anthropologists still the essence of cultural anthropology.
Nevertheless, she presents us with a thorough discussion of the problem of cultural anthropology: translating texts, in which 'text' is taken in the broader sense. In a scholarly way she discusses many authors: Steiner, Bourdieu, Said, Ricoeur, Holton, Brodsky, Smith, Foucault, Peirce, Jacobson, Whorf, Huizinga, De Saussure, Trubetzkoy, Levinson, Eco, Tedlock, Lévi-Strauss, Seeger, etc. In the end, the conclusion is that reduction or translation is not possible without destroying the essence. For Kersenboom there is a new aim f or science after Post-Modernism. We should come to a new, radical form of hermeneutics by living intensively through the cultural aspect researched through participation. Only by taking part in practice we will be exposed to and set up a real dialogue wit h the 'Other', through sharing time and place and paying real attention to each other. Probably one has to imagine this intensive participant learning, building upon understanding which is obtained by a series of long periods of fieldwork in several decad es. We should not hunt for universal truths, but try to experience the infinite variety of existing truths.

The essence of the book is the description of structure and meaning of traditional Tamil poetry called Bhairavi varnam. This could be considered a complex sacred text, existing in manuscript form, but which only flowers into its value and full mea ning for gods and human beings when this text with all its verbal, but especially also its non-verbal, aspects is brought to life by a devoted dancer with the music that belongs to it.

As early as the sixth century AD the Tamils were describing their holy language, centamil, as threefold, muttamil, encompassing word, music, and danced mime, and which can generate the presence of the god and his/her power. The female temple dancers, devadasi, have been accomplishing this communication with the gods for the king and his people for two millennia. It is 'embodied knowledge' that can only be transferred by the female dancer to the public as a sensual experience. Central in all this is the varnam, a literary form expressing love for, and eventually unification with, the god. The varnam text consists of three lines, but it is introduced and developed by the dancer using several mime figures in an improvisatio n. In the end, the public is immersed in this experience of love for the god. They experience harmony with the essence of being and well-being: bliss.

The book Word, sound, image presents elaborate descriptions of the different performing aspects of the Bhairavi varnam. Kersenboom divides these aspects into form and content. The FORM discusses aspects of the performing, the language used, and music and dance figures. The CONTENT deals with the associations of these expressions with Tamil thinking. In both sections there is a frequent reference to the CD-i.

After the introductory text there are about forty topics that can be chosen. The first menu shows 'varnam', 'performance', 'form', 'content', 'help', and 'exit'; see Photo 1

Photo 1: The first menu on the CD-i.
Clicking on 'varnam' will give a 4.5 minute video showing the dance, of which a short section is given in Video Example 1

'Varnam' shows a 4.5 minute part of the Bharaivi varnam, danced by Saskia Kersenboom in a studio. On a 34cm monitor (27cm x 21cm) this is presented as an image of 19cm x 19cm. See Video Example 1

Film 1

Bharaivi varnam, danced by Saskia Kersenboom 616 KB, filetype: mov

'Performance' allows the possibility for musical analysis ('sound') or the analysis of the sung text and the meaning of the performed dance movements ('word/image'). In both cases the 4.5 minutes of 'varnam' is shown again, but now the size of the images is 8cm x 8cm; underneath the musical analysis or the translation of the sung text with the meaning of the dance movements moves from right to left. See Video Example 2

Film 2

Analysis of the sung text (Tamil and English text), and meaning of the dance movements performed ('word/image') 939 KB, filetype: mov

If things go too fast, it is possible to stop sound and image for a moment at any point. Going back a few seconds was not possible on the apparatus I used (Philips cdi 470). However, any subject could be started anew at any moment.

FORM and CONTENT both have a menu of eighteen subjects (see scheme below). In both cases the unit consisting of verbal text (word), music (sound), and dance mime (image), together forming the Bhairavi varnam, is central in the presentation. In both FORM and CONTENT these aspects are subdivided into 'space' and 'time'. In FORM there is another subdivision into 'drills', 'skills', and 'competence', in which respectively basic units, compositions, and larger performance complexes are discussed. In CONTENT there is another subdivision in to 'text', 'world', and 'performer'. These subheadings respectively indicate notation systems, information about the world view as expressed by the Bhairava varnam, and information about the performance and the performers of the Bhairava varnam .

Scheme of the classified information
FORM
Space				Time
Word	Sound	Image		Image	Sound	Word
letter	note	hand	drills	beat foot	beat hand	letter
prosody	scale	gesture	skills	step	cycle	prosody
line	phrase	mime	competence	salvo	cluster	line
CONTENT
Space				Time
Word	Sound	Image		Image	Sound	Word
text	mood	suggestion	text	notation	codification	manuscript
context	melody	frame	world	mimesis	recitation	recitation
characters	interpretation	impact	performer	role	part	post

Photo 2: Placing the pointer on the spot FORM - Space - Image will show the word 'hand'. Clicking on this point, will give information about the single hand positions; see Video Example 3 .

Film 3

Some of the single hand positions, shown under FORM - Space - Image; see Photo 2 708 KB, filetype: mov

Film 4

Interpretation of the melody, shown under CONTENT - Space - Sound. 'Rasa, that is the tasting of the melody' 1026 KB, filetype: mov

The ordering of the CD-i is reflected in the ordering of the book. The different subjects on the CD-i take between half a minute to more than four minutes. In this way the user can obtain information about the different non-verbal aspects in an 'encyclopa edic' way, not possible when using the medium of writing. The CD-i is extremely informative and contributes to a large extent to an auditive and visual image in which, for instance, also the motor system (rhythmic movements) and emotion will be addressed.

There are of course a few shortcomings. I could not find the improvised text, depicted by the dance, on the CD-i in the book. Also, in the book there is no clear reference to the sources used for all kinds of pictures and objects presented on the CD-i. Be sides this, I missed recordings of a female dancer with orchestra, and with public. The latter especially, in its own context, seems essential for a good understanding.

I do not understand Kersenboom's ultimate scientific aim, although I greatly admire the documentation presented with this publication. It seems an exemplary ethnography, a 'pile of quality' on which, with some abstraction, very useful anthropology can be built.

Cogently, the thorough treatment of the anthropological problem of translating 'texts' seems to me absolutely appropriate and important, although this section is difficult to read. I must beg to differ when Saskia Kersenboom concludes that reduction and a bstraction for comparison is not possible. It seems to me that comparison is the essential task of cultural anthropology, and therefore reduction and abstraction - with the greatest attention and care - both need to take place.

Kersenboom rightly discusses these problems. The complexity of the 'embodied knowledge' has a central place in this. I take this notion very seriously in my own work as ethnographic filmmaker, and there is an ever-increasing support for this viewpoint fro m neuro-physiology, neuro-psychology, and neuro-linguistics. In the operationalization of this we need the support of audiovisual apparatus in research, with, among other things, the need to include long video shots, analysis of the registered actions, ge neration of questions, feedback from the participants by showing them the recordings and posing these newly formulated questions, together with interpretation of the actions analysed by making use of our scientific theory. The audiovisual report will play an important part together with the monograph.

There are already quite a few monographs published with an accompanying ethnographic film or video. Saskia Kersenboom has gone a step further in the right direction with this book and the accompanying CD-i. I strongly recommend this twofold publication, a ll the more so as it will refresh your mind.