Humors and substances : ideas of the body in New Guinea / Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern ; with contributions by Ien Courtens and Dianne van Oosterhout.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stewart, Pamela J.

Contributor:

Strathern, Andrew.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology--New Guinea.

Ethnology.

Human body--Social aspects--New Guinea.

Human body.

Body fluids--Social aspects--New Guinea.

Body fluids.

Rites and ceremonies--New Guinea.

Rites and ceremonies.

New Guinea--Social life and customs.

New Guinea.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (178 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Ideas of the body in New Guinea

Place of Publication:

Westport, Ct. : Bergin & Garvey, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book considers in depth the emergent theme of concerns over bodily fluids in health and wellness through an examination of a rich set of ethnographic materials from the Pacific islands of New Guinea. The particular structure of the book draws together otherwise disparate observations made by ethnographers on ideas of the body. It helps to reveal how these are related to ideas of sickness and curing, of witchcraft, of cannibalism, of gender relations, and of ecology and ritual. It facilitates cross-cultural comparisons with other parts of the world, as well as making clear the fundamental similarities between the societies of Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea. It also discusses the idea of the cosmos and its centrality to ideological representations of the physical and social body. Society is seen to be part of the cosmos, and the human body directly linked to, and in cyclical flow with, the elements of the life-world in general, and society in particular.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1 Introduction: Gathering the Threads of the Flow of Life

CHAPTER 2 The Scent of Sweat: Notions of Witchcraft and Morality in Inanwatan

CHAPTER 3 The Manes Kaya Healing Rite: Blood, Sago, and Sacred Cloths for the Ancestors

CHAPTER 4 A Comparative Discussion of Witchcraft and Healing Rituals

CHAPTER 5 Substance Transfer: Conception, Growth, and Nurturance in Highlands Papua New Guinea

CHAPTER 6 The Wöp Cult: Water Power

CHAPTER 7 Mind Substance

CHAPTER 8 Conclusions: Mediating Opposites

Index

About the Authors and Contributors.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-313-09693-7

OCLC:

70763670