THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

that, with his influence, a nascent cult such as that was one which, in
the changing politics! and cultura! traditions of the time, could become
established amongst the Kiranti in genera!, It fitted in with both
Kiranti po!itica! and cultural aspirations, while for the Yakha it
maintained a tradition of observing b ~ ~ subverting t
those aspects of the
religion of the Hindu state which best fit into pre-existing cu!tura!
forms.
Thus, development took place through a socio-cultural matrix, This
matrix also helped define 'people' and their 'environment'. We have
looked now at both, and how it was impossible to understand perceptions
of one without also understanding perceptions of the other. The
observat ion and recording of other people's percept ions is
conventionally taken as the forte of the social anthropologist. In the
process of attempting to understand how the Yakha of Tsmaphok viewed
themse!ves and their world, it was easy to forget wider issues such as
the theoretical problems within anthropology to which our understanding
could contribute, or how our understanding cou!d be used in an applied
context, It is to these questions that the last chapter will return.
Notes: Chapter Eight
1. Cf. Smith's comments in a review of the pancayat system: "there are
few, if any, villages among the 3,000 [in Nepal1 that have not benefited
by receiving help in agriculture and education or funds and technical