Help me find a book on a unique tribe?

September 30, 2005 9:58 AM

I'm trying to find a book mentioned on mefi a while ago. It talks about a tribe of people who have a unique sense of motion or time. I've searched but nothing relevant comes up. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
posted by clockworkjoe to science & nature (10 comments total)

Is it Marge Piercy's "Woman On the Edge of Time"?
posted by Sara Anne at 10:07 AM on September 30, 2005

Oh wait, no. It couldn't be. You're looking for non-fiction. Sorry.
posted by Sara Anne at 10:11 AM on September 30, 2005

Sounds like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about the Hopi tribe. Maybe in this thread: What concepts do not exist in the English language?
posted by heatherann at 10:15 AM on September 30, 2005

This is a stretch, but the Tralfamadorians (aliens) in Vonnegut's Slaugherhouse-Five experience all time simultaneously.
posted by rafter at 10:17 AM on September 30, 2005

Oh wait, no. It couldn't be. You're looking for non-fiction. Sorry.

Oh, how I long for the days that I would have deleted my above post on preview.
posted by rafter at 10:17 AM on September 30, 2005

No, that's not it. Neat link though. This tribe has a unique sense of motion and the entry has link to amazon about the book.
posted by clockworkjoe at 10:18 AM on September 30, 2005

Perhaps the Trobrianders? Here's a related link about language and perception that uses them as an example.
posted by plexiwatt at 11:01 AM on September 30, 2005

No, the unique thing about this tribe is that they have a unique sense of motion. They perceive it differently than virtually everyone else on the planet. Someone studied them and wrote a book about it.
posted by clockworkjoe at 11:06 AM on September 30, 2005

I did a Google search for your main keywords, then searched MeFi for "Aymara": could it be this entry?
posted by mumble at 11:20 AM on September 30, 2005

Prett sure mumble has it -- http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/15958
posted by Rumple at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2005