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According to Brown, “Ethnology is faced with the dilemma that it must either give up for ever all hope of understanding such things as myth or ritual, or it must develop proper methods for determining as accurately as can be what meanings they have for the people to whose culture they belong.” Thus Brown has tried to develop proper methods for determining the meaning of different elements of culture in his anthropological studies.

In his study of “The Andaman Islanders” he puts the problem in these words, “We have to explain why is it that the Andamanese think and act in certain ways. The explanation of each single custom is provided by showing what is its relation to the other customs of the Andamanese and to their general system of ideas and sentiments.” Brown’s approach in this study can be called structural-functional approach. He conducted empirical research in Andaman. He has tried to show the relevance of ritual in their social life.

The relevance of rituals is shown by pointing out their function in the collective life. According to Brown, “The discovery of the integrative function of an institution, usage, or belief is to be made through the observation of its effects, and these are obviously in the first place effects on individuals, or their life, their thoughts, their emotions.

Not all such effects are significant, or at leas equally so. Nor is it the immediate effects with which we are finally concerned, but the more remote effects upon the social cohesion and continuity.” Thus according to Brown meaning and function are two different but related things. He points out that the social functions of mythology of ritual can not be discussed without an understanding of particular myths and ritual actions.

Meaning of function

Explaining the meaning of function in ethnology, Brown has pointed out, “The notion of function in ethnology rests on the conception of culture as an adaptive mechanism by which a certain number of human beings are enabled to live asocial life as an ordered community in a given environment.” This adaptation, according to Borwn, has two aspects, external and internal.

The external aspects can be found in the relation of the society to its geographical environment. The internal aspec^t can be seen in the controlled relations of individuals within the social unity. Brown has used the term, ‘social integration’ to cover all the phenomena of internal adaptation.

Comparative method

Brown is against comparison of one item in a culture to the corresponding item in another culture. According to him, in a true comparative method, we have not to compare one isolated custom of a society with a similar custom of another.

We have rather to compare whole system of institutions, customs and beliefs of one society with those of another. To put it in his own words, “In a word, what we need to compare is not institutions but social systems or types.”

Hypothesis of study

In a scientific study, according to Brown, elaboration of hypotheses and the observation and classification of facts should be carried on independently. The theorists and the observers should work with systematic cooperation. Thus Brown starts his study of the Andaman Islanders by making certain workable hypotheses.

In his own words, “Stated as briefly as possible the working hypothesis here adopted is as follows : (i) A society depends for its existence on the presence in the minds of its members of a certain system of sentiments by which the conduct of the individuals is regulated in conformity with the needs of the society. (2) Every feature of the social system itself and every event or object that in any way affects the well-being or the cohesion of the society becomes an object of this system of sentiments. (3) In human society the sentiments in question are not innate but are developed in the individual by the action of the society upon him. (4) The ceremonial customs of a society are a means by which the sentiments in question are given collective expression on appropriate occasions. (5) The ceremonial (i.e. collective) expression of any sentiment serves both to maintain it at the requisite degree of intensity in the mind of the individual and to transmit it from one generation to another.”

Brown, in this study, has used the term social function, “to denote the affects of an institution (custom or belief) in so far as they concern the society and its solidarity or cohesion.” Thus the social function of ritual in the life of Andaman Islanders is to maintain and transmit from one generation to another the emotional dispositions on which the society depends for its existence.

Brown has shown that there is a correspondence between the customs and beliefs and systems of social sentiments. He has also pointed out that there is a correspondence between the sentiments and social structure.

Thus he has pointed out relationship between the customs and beliefs and systems of social sentiments. He has also pointed out that there is a correspondence between the sentiments and social structure. Thus he has pointed out relationship between social structure and social function. He has however, not tried to discover the historical origin of these customs.

Rules of method

In his study of Andaman Islanders Brown has laid down the following rules to be observed:

1. In explaining any given custom it is necessary to take into account the explanation given by the natives themselves. Brown depends upon the explanation of a ritual given by the natives themselves, as against his own explanation of it.

He has criticized the attempts of those anthropologists who tried to discover their own subjective meaning in primitive rituals. He points out that the savage also seeks to rationalise his behaviour. He seeks to formulate reasons for his conduct.

This reason is not identical with the psychological cause of the action. However, it is intimately connected with the action itself. The anthropologists have not only to explain the ritual but also the reason that natives give for following it.

2. The assumption is made that when the same or a similar custom is practised on different occasions it has the same or a similar meaning in all of them. For example, on some occasions in a culture, personal names are not used. Here, it should be taken for granted that there is something common to all these occasions and hence the avoidance.

3. It is assumed that when different customs are practised together on one and the same occasion there is a common element in the customs. This rule is the inverse of the preceding rule. To illustrate, if different rituals are observed by mourners on a single occasion, it shows that there is some common elements in all these rituals.

4. Comparisons of customs of different races should be avoided. Brown has explained all the above mentioned rules with reference to different forms of rituals such as those practiced in marriage ceremony, peace making ceremony, initiation ceremonies etc.