Nigel Barley (anthropologist)

Nigel Barley (born 1947 in Kingston upon Thames, England) is an anthropologist famous for the books he has written on his experiences. His reputation was established with his first book, The Innocent Anthropologist (1983), a witty account of anthropological field work in Cameroon. After working in Africa and writing more books about his time there, he moved to Indonesia, where he wrote in a variety of genres: travel, art, historical biography, and fiction. His first book there, the humorous Not a Hazardous Sport (1989), described his anthropological experiences in Tana Toraja.

Barley studied modern languages at Cambridge University and completed a doctorate in social anthropology at Oxford University. He held a number of academic positions before joining the British Museum as an assistant keeper in the Department of Ethnography, where he remained until 2003.

Barley's first book, The Innocent Anthropologist (1983), was a witty and informative account of anthropological field work among the Dowayo people of Cameroon. The anthropologist Tony Waters calls it a memorably written story, and writes that it is the book he gets students to read for an understanding of "field work, ethnography, and cultural anthropology." Waters says he truly admires the book as it gives a realistic idea of field experience, but "Oddly, I find few anthropologists who have read it, much less heard of it."

This was followed by other books about Africa including A Plague of Caterpillars (1986) and Ceremony (1987).

Barley then spent some years in Indonesia, branching out into other genres: travel, art, historical biography, and fiction. His first book based on his time there was the humorous Not a Hazardous Sport (1989) describing his experiences in Tana Toraja in the mountains of Sulawesi, the non-sport in question again being anthropology.

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