The Hat People

Katie and Bella are doing well, just for the record.  I have been advised by my muse, however, to talk about other things besides the cats on this blog.  Therefore...

My inner anthropologist was piqued recently to find that my wife and brothers-in-law had all, (almost) independently purchased the same type of hat.  This may be the beginning of a social movement or the founding of a tribe of hat people.  Anthropologists, of course, are inevitably excited by the discovery of a new group of indigenous people with a strange, heretofore unknown culture since it is not only intellectually stimulating but potentially provides the grist for journal articles, professional advancement, etc.  Fame and fortune also often come with such discoveries.

I've often had second thoughts about my decision to abandon anthropology as a profession and so I wondered if this might be a door just opened that would allow my re-entry to the field.  A social or cultural anthropologist will, of course, immediately see the hat people as a cultural and social phenomenon.  This is a variant on the old saw (!) that says when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  However, since all of the members are blood relatives, one must not dismiss the potential biological ramifications of this discovery out of hand.  Fortunately, I have immediate access to experts in genetics with whom I can explore these possibilities.

At the same time, this nascent culture has interesting linguistic components including a variant of the English language that includes a number words that are similar to English and yet different in fundamental ways.   There are also curious phonetic and syntactic elements that, aside from physical appearance and mode of dress, identify the speaker as a member of a different tribe to those not from the Hat People's geographic area.  This is similar in many ways to the relation of Scots English to standard English.  Here too, fortunately, I know a trained linguist who will be able to address the linguistic aspects of the tribe in more detail.

As the ethnographer for this group, I will be watching closely and will, in fact, live with one of the tribal members in her hogan.  It will be important to remain aware of the "observer effect" so as not to influence the behavior of this subject.  I will report back at a later date after I've had time to become better acquainted with the culture of this interesting new group of native peoples of the north.  ;>)