Die Mi-Kultur: Der Hagenberg-Stämme im östlichen Zentral-Neuguinea. Eine religions-soziologische Studie
An ever more Pacific-looking past of Britain and other parts of Europe is being constructed by archaeologists. Melanesian anthropology is being continually mined for supposed ethnographic parallels to elucidate the European Neolithic with its 'Big Man' societies and 'dividual' individuals. Although this Melanesian turn in European archaeology is fuelled by a detailed poring over of the minutiae of Pacific and other Third and Fourth World ethnographies, it manages to ignore totally the results of the archaeology of these ethnography-rich regions. This paper discusses the long-term commentary provided by archaeology on the short-term vision provided by the ethnography of Melanesia. It questions the appropriateness of much of the use of analogy by archaeologists in the face of population declines in much of Melanesia in the recent past by something like 90 per cent of pre-contact figures and in the face of evidence that the classic 'Big Man' style of leadership in that region is arguably as modern a creation as the Welfare State, and is a social form possible only under conditions of colonialist pacification.
According to many people, including Papua New Guineans, dreams allow communication with the dead, spirits, and deities. An examination of dream narratives provides a window through which to view the social life-worlds of people, perceptions of self and personhood between the genders and otherwise, and patterns of thinking. The literature on dream research and the scientific or psychological interpretation of dreaming and dreams is very extensive (see, e.g., Tedlock 1987 and Van de Castle 1994), as is work on phenomenological approaches to dreaming and to social life generally (e.g., Jackson 1996; Parman 1991; Riches 1995; Stephen 1996; Tuzin 1997). Some earlier studies of dreaming in the New Guinea Highlands include, for example, Herdt (1987); Meggitt (1962); Meigs (1983); and Wagner (1972). These studies indicate the diversity of concerns that may be revealed by or taken up in dream narratives. In all instances it is clear that dreams are treated as potentially serious, perhaps privileged, sources of information that bears on the circumstances of the dreamer. Nevertheless, people recognize that dreams may be difficult or impossible to fully interpret. Our discussion includes materials from two areas in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Hagen and Duna, from which we have collected ethnographic materials. The historical timelines will be given in relation to each case. We begin our discussion with the topic of dreams and knowledge and then we show how dreaming impacts wakeful life and vice versa.
Über die Grenzen der Kulturen hinweg sind die primären Reaktionen bei Verlust eines nahestehenden Menschen universal: Wie somatischer löst psychisch empfundener Schmerz Weinen aus. Das Weinen seinerseits, ein seit der Geburt genutztes Signal, bewegt die Mitmenschen und läßt sie Verhaltensweisen des Tröstens und der Betreuung ausführen. Trauer und Totenklage, letztere vom Duktus des Weinens pankulturell einheitlich geformt, folgen gleichsam vulkanischen Motivationen, die aus den affektiven Hirnzentren strömen und dem kontrollierenden Kortex nur wenig Spielraum zu kultureller Überformung lassen. Das ist wohl der Grund dafür, daß auch die sekundäre Antwort der Lebenden auf den Tod ein weiteres universales Verhaltensmuster erzeugt.
This chapter focuses on the connection between “disavowed volition” and dreaming among the Tzotzil Maya of the highland Chiapas, Mexico. It studies the social and psychological dynamics of “dream investiture” and shows the ways basic epistemological and ontological assumptions toward dream experience lead to a culturally distinct approach to self-assertion and wilfulness.
The climate of any region is of interest to those who live there, impinging as it inevitably does on their lives. This paper explores the interest evinced in the weather by some Wola speakers, living in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is an attempt at an ethno-meteorology, a scarcely researched but creditable field of enquiry. It compares and contrasts observations of the climate and records of the weather with local people's comments and thoughts on these phenomena. The paper covers both daily weather patterns and annual seasons, with a detailed investigation of rainfall patterns, cloud cover, wind and pressure, and temperature and humidity variations. It concludes on the management of climatic perturbations, notably infrequent frosts.
Theologische Beiträge aus Papua Neuguinea . Edited by Horst Bürkle ( Erlanger Taschenbücher 43 ). Erlangen: Evangelische ‐ Lutheranische Mission, 1978. Pp. 345.
Traditionen und Christentum in Chimbu‐Gebiet Neuguineas; Beobachtungen in der Lutherischen Gemeinde Pare . By Friedegard Tomasetti. ( Arbeiten aus dem Seminar für Völkerkunde der Johann Wolfgang Goethe‐Universität Frankfurt an Main 6 ). Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner. 1976. Pp. 200.
Papuan Belief and Ritual . John Parratt. New York, Washington, Atlanta and Hollywood: Vantage. 1976. Pp. xvi + 101.
The organisation of a recently used stone axe factory in the Papua New Guinea highlands is examined with respect to the concept of chiefdoms and the emergence of centralised societies in the archaeological record. The case of the Tungei illustrates the fact that acephalous tribal societies can mobilise a large workforce for co‐operative, economic ventures. It is shown that a well‐suited ideology helped a great deal to prevent the quarrying effort from becoming fragmented and that leadership involved direction rather than command.
The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies. D. K. FEIL.
Toward an Anthropology of the Will is the first book that systematically explores volition from an ethnographically informed anthropological point of view. While philosophers have for centuries puzzled over the degree to which individuals are "free" to choose how to act in the world, anthropologists have either assumed that the will is a stable, constant fact of the human condition or simply ignored it. Although they are usually quite comfortable discussing the relationship between culture and cognition or culture and emotion, anthropologists have not yet focused on how culture and volition are interconnected. The contributors to this book draw upon their unique insights and research experience to address fundamental questions, including: What forms does the will take in culture? How is willing experienced? How does it relate to emotion and cognition? What does imagination have to do with willing? What is the connection between morality, virtue, and willing? Exploring such questions, the book moves beyond old debates about "freedom" and "determinacy" to demonstrate how a richly nuanced anthropological approach to the cultural experience of willing can help shape theories of social action in the human sciences.
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