RICK JOHNSON IS AN ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT WHO GETS SENT TO THE WILD SOUTH AMERICAN INTERIOR TO DO RESEARCH. At risk to his life, he travels far up river, where, in a secluded valley, he is captured by a previously unknown group, the Euromamo. As a captive, he learns that the group's forbears had survived a shipwreck many years before, and then fought their way up river to their valley where they've been living in privacy ever since. The next day, to Rick's great concern, the Euromamo fight a battle with a neighboring group, Although Rick feared for his life, it was fought according to strange rules designed to reduce violence. After the battle, Rick returns to his captivity. He tries to learn about the Euromamo but they are unusually secretive about their society. What is it that they are hiding? With great reluctance, the tribe's Leader decides Rick may tour the Euromamo village, accompanied by a trusted villager. Rick is astounded at the very fine fountains, flower-lined pathways, and large well-maintained buildings he sees. The Euromamo are obviously quite prosperous, the key to which, Rick learns, is that they focus on building social wealth (that is, public facilities open to all) rather than on accumulating individual wealth. They place great importance on enhancing their social status, symbolized by bright enameled buttons pinned to their vests. In the course of his tour of the village, Rick learns that the Euromamo make regular trips to the coast where they sell their plant-based medicines through a processing plant that keeps their existence secret. They use the proceeds to buy books and other select items they don't make themselves. The Euromamo carefully control what they what they incorporate into their society from the outside world. This leads to some strange results, like prohibiting bullhorns for advertising but allowing pornographic VCR tapes. During his year with the Euromamo, Rick travels to several neighboring groups with different approaches to life than the Euromamo. For example, the Nihilamamo believe that life has no meaning, the Hedomamo believe that the purpose of life is the pursuit of pleasure, the Mexamamo have allowed their priests to make up rules prohibiting plant-based birth control, the Islamamo think others must change their religious beliefs to accommodate their own, the Soumamo focus on one economic activity rather than diversifying their economy, and the Adamamo put on elaborate sporting events for neighboring groups for the purpose making sales during the games. The visits highlight why the Euromamo live differently. Rick attends several irreverent services of the two Euromamo religious denominations. The Church of World Religion has concluded that all religious leaders, whether within the rain forest or outside, are witch doctors, while the Church of Science uses the scientific method to test all religious claims. In the process of refining their beliefs, each denomination rewrote the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes with the purpose of improving them. After Rick's year of research, he prepared to leave the village. The Euromamo, understandably, were very apprehensive about the prospect of Rick's writing about them. They asked him to not write his dissertation as that would divulge their existence. Their privacy would be destroyed and their culture overwhelmed by outside influences. However, if he doesn't write his dissertation, he must give up his dream of being a university professor. His dilemma comes to a head in a meeting with his graduate committee, where he must decide whether to write or not. WHAT SHOULD RICK DO?
William B. Waits was in the doctoral program in anthropology at Yale in the 1980s, an experience that is the basis for this novel. Prior to that, he earned an M.A. in anthropology at Rutgers. He also holds a Ph.D. in American cultural history and is the author of The Modern Christmas in America: A Cultural History of Gift-Giving (NYU Press, 1993). Outside academia, he worked as an attorney (J.D., 1983) and as the head of the state governmental unit that supervises New Jersey chartered banks, savings banks, and savings and loan associations. He lives in Lambertville, New Jersey.
