Sir Raymond Firth was born on March 25, 1901, in New Zealand, and died February 22, 2002, in London, England. He stayed in New Zealand throughout his childhood and began his studies at Auckland University. He then left New Zealand to start school at the London School of Economics where he received his doctorate. He attended the University of Sydney for three years and then returned to the London School of Economics where he became a full professor.
Firth was best known for his research on the Maori and other peoples of Oceania and Southeast Asia. (Firth, Sir Raymond (William)) His first major contribution to anthropology was Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Maori (1929). After beginning with the Maori, Firth continued to study the economic organization of primitive societies. This lead to his works on the Kauri gum industry and the fishing industry of Malaysia. Firth also had a great interest in the social structure and religion of the Tikopia from the Solomon Islands, and the anthropological treatment of symbols.
Raymond Firth was also well know for his work concerning sacrifices. In 1963, Raymond began his work on the influence of economics on the ideology of sacrifice. Firth concluded in his work that "sacrifice is ultimately a personal act in which the self is symbolically given" but it is often conditioned by "economic rationality and calculation." (Sacrifice)
Firth contributed a great deal to anthropology through his many works. He was even knighted for his work in 1973.
"Firth, Sir Raymond (William)" Encyclopedia Britannica Online
"Sacrifice" Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Written by: Janet Nusser 2001