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Book
Author Hemer, Susan R., author

Title Tracing the Melanesian person : emotions and relationships in Lihir / by Susan R. Hemer
Published Adelaide, South Australia University of Adelaide Press [2013]
©2013

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  995.3 Her/Ttm  AVAILABLE
Description xi, 311 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour), maps ; 25 cm
Summary "This book explores what it means to be Lihirian through an analysis of everyday life in the Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea. Atop four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean east of New Ireland, Lihirians are living in a world that has rapidly changed in the last century through the work of Christian missions, government administration and the development of a large gold mine (Lihir Gold Ltd). Being Lihirian in the context of these changes is challenging, yet Lihirians retain a strong sense of themselves and their islands as distinctive. This book aims to reconcile what has been termed the 'root metaphor' of Melanesian sociality as based on relational or composite personhood with the strong individualist tendencies and sense of self that are found in everyday practice in Lihir. In looking beyond the ideals of moral conduct to the practice of relations and emotion, it can be seen that the symbolism of Melanesian sociality does not encompass the practical reality of what it means to be Lihirian. Emotion is a ubiquitous part of life in Lihir. Emotions are motivations, reactions and remarks on the state of self and other; in short, emotions are integral to relations and persons in Lihir. This book considers emotions both through their performative contexts as well as the more usual lexical analyses of emotion terms and commentaries. In moving beyond lexical analyses, Hemer argues that the strong focus on the semantics of emotion in anthropology has been at the expense of the embodied practice of emotion that was apparent in Lihir."--Publisher
Notes This book is available as a free fully-searchable pdf from www.adelaide.edu.au/press
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes Also available in an electronic version
Subject Emotions.
Human ecology -- Papua New Guinea.
Identity (Psychology)
Lihir (Papua New Guinean people) -- Social life and customs.
Self.
SUBJECT Lihir Islands (Papua New Guinea) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93008452 -- Social life and customs. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001008851
Melanesia http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85083370 -- Social life and customs. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001008851
Author University of Adelaide.
ISBN 9781922064455
Other Titles Emotions and relationships in Lihir