Acali
The Acali expedition (or Acali experiment[1] or the Sex Raft[2]) was a 1973 social experiment that aimed to investigate interpersonal relationships in conditions of limited space and social isolation.[3][2][4] The experiment was conceived by Mexican anthropologist Santiago Genovés, who had previously been a crew member of Thor Heyerdahl's Ra expedition. The participants showed a restraint towards aggression, which frustrated Genovés and led him to start to try to create conflict, and at one point he took command of the float. Despite these attempts, the group remained peaceful.[5]
The raft had a complement of eleven people: five men and six women. It left Las Palmas, Spain, on 12 May 1973 and took 101 days to drift across the Atlantic Ocean and reach Cozumel, Mexico, with a single stopover in Barbados. Frequently dubbed the "Sex Raft" by the media,[2] it was the subject of a 2018 documentary film The Raft, by Marcus Lindeen.
The Raft
[edit | edit source]The name of the raft, Acali, comes from the Nahuatl language and means "the house on the water".[6][7]
The raft was built specifically for the experiment. It had a steel hull and dimensions of 12 by 7 metres. The cabin measured 4 × 4 metres. It was designed by José Antonio Mandri and Colin Mudie, and it was built in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[8]
Participants
[edit | edit source]| Name | Age | Gender | Nationality | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago Genovés Tarazaga | 49 | male | Francoist SpainMexico Spanish-Mexican | Anthropologist, devised the experiment |
| José María Montero Pérez | 34 | male | Uruguay Uruguay | Anthropologist, former student of Genovés |
| Servane Zanotti | 32 | female | France French | Scuba diver, responsible for conducting a study on pollution |
| Charles Antoni | 37 | male | Cyprus Cypriot | Radio operator |
| Rachida Mazani | 23 | female | Algeria Algerian | Responsible for conducting a study on pollution |
| Mary Gidley | 36 | female | United States American | Some knowledge of navigation |
| Fé Evangelina Seymour | 23 | female | United States American | Radio operator |
| Maria Björnstam | 30 | female | Sweden Swedish | Captain of the expedition |
| Edna Jonas | 32 | female | CzechoslovakiaIsrael Czechoslovak resident in Israel | Doctor |
| Bernardo Bongo | 29 | male | Portuguese Angola Angolan | Priest |
| Eisuke Yamaki | 29 | male | Japan Japanese | Cameraman |
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See also
[edit | edit source]- Stanford prison experiment (1971)
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Storyville: The Raft, BBC4, 2 Jun 2019
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ The Acali Experiment: Five Men And Six Women On A Raft Across The Atlantic For 101 Days, by Santiago Genoves
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ https://www.svtplay.se/video/23019602/flotten?info=visa [dead link]
- ^ Balsa Acali: 100 días de convivencia en el mar[permanent dead link] hemeroteca.sevilla.abc.es, accessed 7 November 2019
- ^ "New Transdisciplinary Visualities As an Alternative to Redistribute the Power of Thought", by Maris Bustamante, Social Justice 2006, 33(2), 165-170
- ^ Experimento Acali: Viaje a las entrañas de la violencia armandorubenpuente.com, accessed 7 November 2019
External links
[edit | edit source]- Raft of Passion - Episode of Snap Judgement in which Mary Gidley recounts her experience with the Acali experiment
- The Raft - Documentary film