Guinea Society Research Articles

What Makes Hari Run ?

■ The substance of this article is a narrative about a man considered mad in a highland Papua New Guinea society, and about his interaction with his com munity and with an anthropologist who tried unsuccessfully to change the com munity's negative attitude towards him. It is argued that his madness was socially constructed, and cannot be adequately explained using a psychiatric paradigm, even if the psychiatric approach were modified to accommodate cultural differ ence or notions of culture-bound syndromes. It is further argued that the social construction, a dialectic of group and individual praxis, can be analytically con textualized in a moral imperative grounded in the community's kin-ordered mode of production, and can be interpreted as a communal exercise in moral iconography.

Foundations for New Guinea Nationhood

The key aspects and features of the talk 'Fifty Thousand Years of New Guinea History' given by Jack Golson at the Hohola Community Centre to the newly formed New Guinea Society are discussed. The changes that New Guinea has undergone and continues to undergo for the betterment of the people are highlighted.

The Cassowary's revenge: the life and death of masculinity in a New Guinea society

Donald Tuzin first studied the New Guinea village of Ilahita in 1972. Many years later, he returned to find that the village's men had voluntarily destroyed their secret cult which allowed them dominance over women. This study examines the labyrinth of motives behind this improbable, devastating act. The villagers' mythic tradition provided a basis for this revenge of Woman upon the dominion of Man, and remarkably, Tuzin himself became a principal figure in its narrative. The of the magic-bearing youngest brother from America had been prophesied, and the villagers believed that Tuzin's return from the dead signified a further need to destroy masculine traditions. This is an intimate account of the lives and experiences of Ilahita's men and women. Tuzin also explores how the death of masculinity in a remote society raises disturbing implications for gender relations in our own society.

The Cassowary's Revenge: The Life and Death of Masculinity in a New Guinea Society.

The Cassowary's Revenge: The Life and Death of Masculinity in a New Guinea Society.

The lost drum: the myth of sexuality in Papua New Guinea and beyond

This text provides a theoretical experiment in anthropology and an analysis of myth and ritual in Papua New Guinea societies. Fashioning an anthropological method from psychoanalytic theories, it uncovers a discourse on sexuality, consumption, voice and subjectivity.

Health and Survival in Modernizing Papua New Guinea Societies.

In developed countries, deaths from infectious diseases have decreased and those from chronic diseases have increased with modernization. In many developing countries which are undergoing rapid modernization, these changes have been accelerated, with marked variation from population to population. A typical pattern is observed in the risks of chronic diseases, like cardiovascular disorders and diabetic mellitus, which are closely associated with activity pattern and food intake. This paper reviews the relationship between modernization and health conditions in South Pacific countries, Papua New Guinea in particular, and discusses the significance of health and diseases in achieving ongoing sustainable development.

The evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea societies; A reappraisal

Bien que fortement controverse, l'A. reaffirme a partir de preuves prehistoriques que les differences entre les Hautes Terres de l'Est et de l'Ouest de Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinee resultent d'un passe different, et que les societes de faible (est, Etoro) et de forte (ouest, Enga et Melpa) production agricole et d'elevage de cochons possedent des configurations sociales et culturelles distinctes

Community development and the primary school teacher in the developing world: An analysis of recent trends in Papua New Guinea

Since Independence in 1975, one of the main roles of the primary school teacher in Papua New Guinea has been to promote community development. Recent policy, however, is aimed at making community development the central focus of primary teaching. This paper argues that such an orientation is likely to result in community discontent, the creation of restrictions on the extent to which worthwhile lifelong learning can take place, and failure to lay the groundwork for a technically orientated economy. Recent policy aimed at giving primary school teachers a major role in out-of-school community development is also inappropriate given the limited nature of teacher training candidates, the nature of the teaching environment, and the nature of Papua New Guinea society.

Foucault in the Highlands: the Production of Men in Papua New Guinea Societies

Foucault in the Highlands: the Production of Men in Papua New Guinea Societies

Transcendence in Society: Case Studies.

Introduction, T.M.S. Evens and James L. Peacock contradictions in feminist practice - individualism and collectivism in a feminist health centre, Sandra Morgen sorcery salvation and the politics of death in a lowland New Guinea society - a case-study of a modernizing culture and consciousness, Christopher Darrouzet charisma, martyrdom and liberation in Southern Honduras, Jefferson C. Boyer children in church - a case of transcendence and accommodation, Isabel B. Terry dividing the indivisible - forces of order and schism in a black primitive Baptist church, Brett Sutton multiplying by dividing - conflict and transcendence among primitive Baptists of the Blue Ridge, Ruel W. Tyson, Jr. and James L. Peacock.

Sexual ideology and experience in a Papua New Guinea society

Recent anthropological interest in sexuality has been closely related to symbolic constructions of gender in different societies. Most studies explore the cultural constitution of sexual meanings without addressing how sex is experienced by actors. Material from the Bumbita Arapesh of the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea reveals that the local cultural ideology of male sexual domination does not adequately describe actual sexual experiences of Bumbita men and women. Cultural ideology states that men control sexual encounters as a part of their masculine essence, yet in actual marriages women often take the initiative in limiting sexual practice following postpartum prohibitions. Contrary to cultural expectations, men exhibit anxiety concerning sexual relations in a marriage. The public assertion of sexual dominance and suppression of sexual intimacy compensate for a sense of vulnerability accompanying sexual experience. An analytical distinction between "cultural ideology" and "individual experience" helps clarify the climate of sexual relationships in a cultural context.

How Many Highlands?D. K.Feil, The Evolution of Highland New Guinea Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987, xii,313 pp. A$59.50.

Pacific ViewpointVolume 31, Issue 1 p. 77-79 Book ReviewFree Access How Many Highlands? D. K. Feil, The Evolution of Highland New Guinea Societies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987, xii,313 pp. A$59.50. Chris Healey, Chris Healey Northern Territory UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Chris Healey, Chris Healey Northern Territory UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 May 1990 https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.311007AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume31, Issue1May 1990Pages 77-79 RelatedInformation

WOMEN'S FACIAL TATTOOING AMONG THE MAISIN OF ORO PROVINCE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: THE CHANGING SIGNIFICANCE OF AN ANCIENT CUSTOM

The Maisin women of northeastern Papua New Guinea are among the last coastal Papuans to tattoo their faces. This article first describes the techniques and social process of Maisin tattooing. We then examine the resilience of the custom in light of changes in puberty rites and notions of gender. We argue that these contexts have lost their cultural salience as a result of the Maisins' incorporation into the larger Papua New Guinea society. Tattooing has acquired new significance as a marker of cultural identity in a multicultural setting and as a sign of the Maisin people's commercial success as makers of indigenous art.

HIERARCHY AND ‘HEROIC SOCIETY‘: MANAM VARIATIONS IN SEPIK SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Anthropologists have come to recognize that in addition to the prevalence of egalitarian relations, many New Guinea societies also exhibit elements of hierarchy as well. This article discusses the nature of hierarchy in some Sepik societies through the comparative analysis of the social structure of four Sepik area societies on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea. Using Sahlins' definition of ‘heroic societies’ based upon a principle of ‘hierarchical solidarity’, the article argues that the form of hierarchy found in Manam Island society is different in type from that of the neighboring societies of Boroi, Murik and Wogeo. An additional diagnostic feature of heroic societies is what Sahlins refers to as ‘heroic history. In Manam the cultural form this takes is a ‘heroic’ variation of the myth of two brothers common throughout the area.

The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies. D. K. Feil

<i>The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies</i>. D. K. Feil

The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies.

The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies.

The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies.

The Evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea Societies.

SELF‐REGULATION: AN INTERPRETATION OF PETER LAWRENCE'S WRITINGS ON SOCIAL CONTROL IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

In his monograph on the Garia (1984), Peter Lawrence emphasised two issues over and again. One was the integration of the traditional cosmic order: the religious and sociopolitical realms complemented each other and were not to be thought of as different in kind. Second was the observation that 'man sees himself as the focal point of both' (1984:220): the networks and relationships in which a person is bound up are subject to that person's efforts, so that even where the expectation is greatest, as among close kin, any sense of moral indebtedness must be created. Two parallel themes emerge with equal emphasis from his writings on law and politics, found in a cluster of articles written in the years leading up to Papua New Guinea's Independence, and intended to have general applicability (1969, 1970, 1971a). The first was that in these stateless societies there was no separate body politic to take legal action for the maintenance of social order; the second was the importance he attached to 'self-regulation' as 'a vital part of social control in all New Guinea societies' (1969:30; 1970a: 19). It is on Lawrence's concept of self-regulation that I focus. What one might otherwise take as rather self-evident in his remarks about the integration of the social order will turn out to be rather less so.

Kwoma Death Payments and Alliance Theory

Recent analyses of exchange in the structure of Papua New Guinea societies have focussed predominantly on competitive or ceremonial forms of reciprocity, such as the Moka, Tee, and Kula, rather than the complex, multigenerational exchange relationships that marriages commonly establish between wife-giving and wife-taking groups. One consequence of the neglect of affinal in favor of ceremonial exchange is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine for many otherwise well-described societies what affinal transactions take place, how they are related to such other aspects of social structure as the extensive negative marriage rules characteristic of this region, and in those societies where competitive systems are found, how the ceremonial and affinal aspects of exchange are articulated. To take one of several possible examples, Feil (1984) reports that the Tee competitive exchange system of the Tombema Enga is built upon and interdigitates with a base of affinal exchange relationships. But Feil is ambiguous as to whether affinal and competitive exchange are distinguishable institutions or a unitary phenomenon. For instance, he states that exchange partners in the Tee are invariably conceptualized as affines--i.e., as linked by a marriage (e.g., Feil 1984:101, 156)--but he also states that not all affines are exchange partners (Feil 1984:102, 127-8). What is not clear from Feil's various reports is whether affinal transactions ever take place outside the context of the Tee and, if so, to what extent; whether some categories of affines are more likely to be chosen as exchange partners than others and on what grounds; and what the implications are for kinship relationships generally of passing over particular affines (including matrilateral relatives) as exchange partners in the Tee. In contrast to many recent Papua New Guinea ethnographers, however, Feil (1980) provides a detailed account of the wide-ranging Tombema marriage prohibitions, and how these are related to the structure of the competitive exchange system. This paper has two aims. The first is to contribute to the ethnography of affinal exchange systems in New Guinea by describing the cross-generational exchange relationships and wider alliances that marriages establish between individuals and groups in one lowland Papua New Guinea society. The structure of these alliances shows a striking similarity to those underlying affinal exchanges in many other Papua New Guinea societies and points to some very widespread but largely neglected similarities in the structures of both lowland and highland social systems (but see Rubel and Rosman 1978). It is beyond the scope of this article to examine these similarities in detail, but I will allude to some of the most basic in the discussion of two highland societies in the conclusion.

Good Company and Violence: Sorcery and Social Action in a Lowland New Guinea Society

Good Company and Violence: Sorcery and Social Action in a Lowland New Guinea Society