article
Food festivals and politics in Wogeo
Oceania • 40 • Published In 1969 • Pages: 304-328
By: Hogbin, Herbert Ian.
Abstract
This is a description and discussion of a food festival. The objective is for a headman to humiliate his rival with a shower of gifts which the latter would be unable to repay. The first hurdle is to get the rival headman in the same room so that the challenge can be made with a rolling coconut. Several schemes are reported. The author proceeds to describe how gifts are accumulated and presented, then the following feast and the redistribution of food. Finally there is the counter gift. Overall, this reads like a parable of how Cold War nuclear powers might avert an unthinkable escalation to warfare.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2014
- Region
- Oceania
- Sub Region
- Melanesia
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 2012
- Field Date
- 1934
- Coverage Date
- 1932-1934
- Coverage Place
- Vokeo Island, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
- Notes
- By Ian Hogbin
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCN
- 38017490
- LCSH
- Vokeo Island (Papua New Guinea)