Gender, ritual and social formation in West Papua : a configurational analysis comparing Kamoro and Asmat / Jan Pouwer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pouwer, Jan, author.

Series:

Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 258.

Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde ; 258

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mimika (Indonesian people).

Asmat (Indonesian people).

Ethnology.

Manners and customs.

Ritual.

Sex role.

Social conditions.

Papua Barat (Indonesia)--Social conditions.

Papua Barat (Indonesia).

Papua Barat (Indonesia)--Social life and customs.

Indonesia--Papua Barat.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 300 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Leiden - Boston Brill 2010

Leiden : KITLV Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This study, based on a lifelong involvement with New Guinea, compares the culture of the Kamoro (18,000 people) with that of their eastern neighbours, the Asmat (40,000), both living on the south coast of West Papua, Indonesia. The comparison, showing substantial differences as well as striking similarities, contributes to a deeper understanding of both cultures. Part I looks at Kamoro society and culture through the window of its ritual cycle, framed by gender. Part II widens the view, offering in a comparative fashion a more detailed analysis of the socio-political and cosmo-mythological setting of the Kamoro and the Asmat rituals. Next is a systematic comparison of the rituals. The comparison includes a cross-cultural, structural analysis of relevant myths. This publication is of interest to scholars and students in Oceanic studies and those drawn to the comparative study of cultures. Jan Pouwer (1924) started his career as a government anthropologist in West New Guinea in the 1950s and 1960s, with periods of intensive fieldwork, in particular among the Kamoro. A distinguished anthropologist, he held professorships at universities around the world.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Chapter I: Prologue

Chapter II: The ‘female’ contribution to life: Ema Kame rituals

Chapter III: The ‘male’ contribution to life: Kaware ritual

Chapter IV: The initiation of male adolescents

Chapter V: Marking death

Chapter VI: The theory of comparison and the context of the rituals

Chapter VII: Ema Kame and Emak Cem

Chapter VIII: Honouring the dead: Asmat display and performance

Chapter IX: Male to female: Social opposition versus communal solidarity

Chapter X: Initiating young males and commemorating the dead: On nose piercing and spirit poles

Chapter XI: Asmat headhunting and the initiation of male adolescents

Chapter XII: Conclusions

Chapter XIII: Epilogue

Glossary

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes glossary, bibliographical references (pages [281]-288) and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

ISBN:

9789004253728

9004253726

OCLC:

808384659

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004253728 DOI