essay

What did the eruption mean?

exiles and migrants in oceania (5) • Published In 1977 • Pages: 296-341, 401-414

By: Schwimmer, Eric G..

Abstract
This source is a semiotic analysis of native explanations of the eruption of Mount Lamington in 1951. There are four different explanations: that the god of the mountain was punishing the Orokaiva for violation of taboos, that the god of the mountain was punishing the Europeans for their execution of several Orokaivas, that the Christian god was angry at the Orokaivas for various transgressions, and fourth, that the eruption was caused by geophysical forces. Schwimmer feels that these theories '… form a well-structured whole, and together they express contemporary Orokaiva social reality' (p. 338).
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Disasters
Avoidance and taboo
Ethnogeography
Ethnosociology
Missions
Cultural participation
Public welfare
Settlement patterns
Internal migration
culture
Orokaiva
HRAF PubDate
2004
Region
Oceania
Sub Region
Melanesia
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Marlene Martin ; 1984
Field Date
1966-1973
Coverage Date
1951-1966
Coverage Place
Mount Lamington area; Popondetta Sub-District of the Northern District of Papua; Papua New Guinea
Notes
By Erik G. Schwimmer
Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-414)
LCCN
77010756
LCSH
Orokaiva (Papua New Guinea people)