Title To sing with pigs is human : the concept of person in Papua New Guinea / Jane C. Goodale

Published Seattle : University of Washington Press, ©1995

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Description 1 online resource (xvi, 269 pages) : illustrations, map Contents 1. The Kaulong and "Others": An Interpretive History -- 2. The Management of Knowledge -- 3. In Forest and Garden -- 4. Saying It with Shells -- 5. Pomidan and Polamit: The Kaulong Elite -- 6. We Are All Brothers and Sisters -- 7. The Reproduction of Siblings -- 8. Singing in the Forest -- 9. "Listen, There Is No Fire": Songs of Ghosts -- 10. Of Pigs and Humans: Where Forest and Clearing Meet Summary In their consuming concern with their status as human beings, the Kaulong mark progress on a continuum from nonhuman (animal-like) to the most respected level of humanity - the political "big men" and "big women." Knowledge is the key to movement along the continuum, and acquiring, displaying, and defending knowledge are at the heart of social interaction. At all-night "singsings," individuals compete through song in their knowledge of people, places, and many other aspects of their forested world. The sacrifice of pigs and distribution of pork to guests completes the ceremonial display and defense of knowledge and personhood. Goodale's analysis of songs and their ritual context adds unusual depth to the ethnography In the course of her fieldwork with the Kaulong, who live on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, Jane Goodale recognized that everything of importance to them - every event, relationship, and transaction - was rooted in their constant quest for recognition as human beings. She addresses here questions central to Kaulong society: What is it that makes an individual human? How is humanity, or personhood, achieved and maintained? Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 254-264) and index Notes Includes text in Kaulong Print version record Subject Big man (Melanesia) -- Papua New Guinea -- New Britain Island Gender identity -- Papua New Guinea -- New Britain Island Kaulong (Papua New Guinean people) -- Psychology Identity (Psychology) -- Papua New Guinea -- New Britain Island Kaulong (Papua New Guinean people) -- Social life and customs Self-perception -- Papua New Guinea -- New Britain Island Kaulong (volk) 73.06 ethnography. Big man (Melanesia) Gender identity. Ich-Identität Identity (Psychology) Interaktion Kaulong (Papua New Guinean people) -- Psychology. Kaulong (Papua New Guinean people) -- Social life and customs. Manners and customs. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Cultural Policy SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture Self-perception. New Britain Island (Papua New Guinea) -- Social life and customs New Britain Insel Papua New Guinea -- New Britain Island. Genre/Form Texts. Form Electronic book LC no. 94040671 ISBN 029580159X 9780295801599

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