In conducting anthropological investigations, an essential component is that ethnographers forge working alliances with their informants in order to gain entrance into their worlds and study their environments. The anthropologist embarks on the construction of a mutually rewarding relationship by demonstrating a sincere desire to learn about a culture with the objective of disseminating its fundamental nature in a socially useful manner. In visual anthropology, the social distance that originally exists between the anthropologist and subject reveals itself immediately in the photographer's first pictures, and this visual information, a measuring devise of sorts, clues the anthropologist's succeeding interactions.14
Evidence of adjustment manifests itself in the developing partnership and in subsequent sets of images. Photographs taken during nineteenth century encounters between British recorders and Asian or African peoples, for example, visually exemplified how the Western photographers related to their subjects. Whether posed with stern facial expressions and stiff body language, or according to the activities that occupied them, the natives appear as artifacts or strange creatures.15 This is due in part to the physical distance between them and the camera; subjects were typically posed in a fully frontal position or profile, ostensibly to illustrate body type, shape, form, dress, and ornamentation. Close-up shots were rare and whatever eye contact there was with the camera communicates a mutual wariness or mistrust between subject and photographer.
The protocol for establishing an association with prospective agents indicates preliminary research of their cultural system(s). This might be a cursory review of their
--end of page 16--
history, art, and religion. A more penetrating cultural study could stimulate the anthropologist's mimetic faculty and encourage a temporary metamorphosis of identity.16 The ethnographer's intellectual sensibilities and goals would direct this initial theoretical quest, which would in turn refine the focus of the investigation and inform the design of methodology so that it is suitable and appropriate for the intended study.
The procedure I formulated for this investigation indeed began with review of literature, followed by the composition of a letter of introduction for prospective participants (for sample of letter, see appendix). I followed up each letter with a brief telephone conversation to answer any questions and discuss possible opportunities for conducting my visual investigation. At the same time, I began building a database of religious spaces by querying fellow academics, friends and family members, and acquaintances. Dr. Mike McMullen, professor of sociology at UHCL, suggested I contact Dr. Helen Rose Ebaugh, professor of sociology at the University of Houston main campus, who oversees a project that studies religious groups in Houston. She shared database of 245 religious groups categorized by ethnicity and denomination (see appendix) that included Hispanic Catholics, Hispanic Protestants, Middle Eastern Christians, Middle Eastern non-Christians, Vietnamese Buddhists, Vietnamese Catholics, Vietnamese Protestants, Korean Christians, Korean non-Christians, and Chinese Christians.
For the purposes of establishing a geographical context and keeping track of the places of worship I researched and photographed, I purchased a wall size map of Houston. I also gathered and collected a wide variety of written materials pertaining to specific religious groups and religion in general: academic reports and surveys, theoretical texts, history books, compilations of statistics, personal writings of religious leaders and commentators, and church flyers, bulletins, and other
--end of page 17--
in-house publications. Additionally, I downloaded a variety of information from the Internet and amassed a large number of web sites and web pages maintained by individual congregations, as well as web sites built by scholars and other experts on religion (see references for complete list of sources).
The Internet also facilitated the construction of an extensive network through which I established and maintained contact with many individuals from various religious groups, like the Zoroastrian Association of Houston. I discovered that this group exists in Houston after exchanging e-mail correspondence with Canadian academic Dolly Dastoor, who responded to my query. She gave me contact information for the Houston congregation and offered to speak to the church officers on my behalf as a way of introduction. Thus, the Zoroastrians became the first religious group to participate in my study.
It was during the course of photographing this group that I began to formulate a technical procedure for photographing interaction and iconography. I learned on site what kinds of equipment would be the most effective in carrying out visual research: 35 mm versus medium format, color versus black-and-white film, slow or fast film, quantity of film, long or short lenses, flash or natural light, or both, a noisy but automatic point-and-shoot, or a quiet manual single lens reflex camera, etc. Initially, I photographed religious groups with black-and-white film, but reconsidered this choice and began to use color film after many congregants and several photographers and artists pointed out that color is integral to religious culture. Not only did color not distract from the religious content of a photograph, as I had originally hypothesized, color is significant to architecture, iconography, dress, foodstuffs, and other devotional materials essential to ritual and ceremony. Without the color image, I could not fully depict the character and
--end of page 18--
quality of religious life. (for comparison of color and black-and-white images, see transparencies# 60 and 61).
Visual ethnographic research, as in this photographic project, requires a knowledge and understanding of the role that the camera plays in the anthropologist-informant relationship. It is a bridge of communication between strangers, allowing each party to cross over and discover unfamiliar worlds.17 The journey into religious spaces is an especially complicated one. Religious activities such as ritual, worship, and meditation are deeply profound and personal experiences. For many people, the act of visually recording the human image or materials of devotion, particularly during times of religious practice, is a violation of the spirit, the soul, and/or their deity or deities.18 The consequence of deferring to the wishes of the worshiper in this regard is that no photographs can be made of people or events specified by the congregants or religious leadership. In addition, until comfortable with the photographer's presence, subjects may become self-conscious, "holding back," playing to the camera.
In the case of the ultra-orthodox Jewish congregation, Young Israel of Houston, the rabbi forbid taking pictures of people, but did allow me to photograph physical spaces, iconography, and articles of devotion, such as a Mezuzah (see transparency #12), the Torah, tallit katans (a special four-cornered garment, similar to a poncho, worn by men), and yarmulkes, or skullcaps. The resulting photographs of this religious space contain much cultural information about Jewish life and religious practice. For further discussion about how visual description provokes dialogue, see chapter 5, Cultural Baggage: To Caption or Not to Caption.
Photographs of people engaged in religious activities are themselves tools of ethnographic investigation in that they initiate dialogue between the anthropologist and
--end of page 19--
informant. I created a portfolio of such pictures during the preliminary phase of my study by showing prospective participants pictures of previous photo essays I had produced. This instilled a confidence, trust, and mutual respect that allowed me to photograph during their time of devotion. In addition, I explained that their signed consent forms would limit the usage of their images to scholarly application and would be exhibited and published accordingly (for sample of consent form, see appendix).
I thus launched and cultivated many working relationships with worshippers and leaders throughout the greater Houston area. Each association (though all were created for the same purpose) was unique and was shaped, defined, and developed by the agents' cultural notions of education, cooperation, fellowship, spirituality, and worship. Many individuals generously and enthusiastically included me in their religious activities, and often encouraged me to participate in their worship services. The general opinion was that I would garner a more edifying experience by becoming personally involved in ritual and ceremony.
The photographs taken at Southeast Zone-Masjid I.S.G.H. exist only because I wore a shalwar kameez, a traditional dress, and donned a dupatta, or head cover during the services of Eid-ul-Fitr, a ceremony that indicates the end of Ramadan. Costumed appropriately as a faithful Muslim woman, and with permission from the imam (prayer leader or head priest, see transparency # 52), I was free to roam the mosque (though mosque rules prohibited me from photographing the men during actual prayer). I took photographs of the women as they prayed, and made portraits of individuals and groups in various poses and environments. The conspicuous presence of the camera attracted attention and many people approached me to express interest in my work. Their conversation frequently emphasized cultural details specific to their congregation as a
--end of page 20--
way of explaining their religious significance and their social or ethnic contribution to culture in Houston.
Religious leaders were quick to grant me an audience and were very liberal with their time, especially when I returned to share photographs I had taken at previous visits. These visual documents set in motion a more advanced dialogue and gave legitimacy to my work, for now there was tangible evidence of our collaborative efforts. The photographs prompted clergy and congregants of different faiths to respond to their content and to the manner in which I had recorded, not only their particular place of worship, but also other groups. They usually offered suggestions on possible activities or proceedings that would be useful for my research and often granted me permission to photograph events and materials normally not accessible to photographers. Often, high ranking individuals would offer schedules of events and highlight important activities or play down less significant proceedings.
The senior pastor of South Wind Baptist Church, for example, stated that any documentation of activity other than that of the Sunday sanctuary would be of little or no value because all religious activities that occur during a typical week culminate in the Sunday service. He emphasized that this service would sufficiently represent the religious culture of the church, and that photographing choir rehearsal, for instance, would be inconsequential for the purposes of my research. At first glance, it would appear that this pastor was attempting to influence my research by controlling the scope of what I would photograph. However, such an agenda, to take charge of the way in which I would possibly depict his congregation, reflects a conscious and appropriate effort to protect the sanctity of the church.
--end of page 21--
It is reasonable to conclude that in this joint venture, the integrity of his congregation compelled the pastor to negotiate the terms of our developing association. In any case, we reached an agreement about what I would photograph, the pastor promised to notify the congregation about my impending photographic work, and I promised to return periodically with photographs to give back to the church members. This type of collaborative effort implies equal but different roles. By pooling our knowledge, talents, and abilities, the congregants and I created a visual diagram of the religious diversity that contributes to the definition of culture in Houston.
--end of page 22--