Book
Structure and process in a Melanesian society: Ponam's progress in the twentieth century
Harwood Academic Publishers • Chur • Published In 1991 • Pages:
By: Carrier, Achsah H., Carrier, James G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a thorough account of gift exchange among the Manus of Ponum Island. The Carriers take a position between structuralists and processualists and argue that gift-giving is based on an inherent structural logic, i.e., sets of genealogical relationships recognized by everyone, and is also a means for commenting on and actualizing those relationships, in order to open 'roads' for marriage and exchange of needed materials. They examine different ceremonial exchanges that occur at marriage, funerals, birth of the first child, and establishment of a lineage. They show how these exchanges reflect existing social structure and genealogical ideals and principles, and redistribute resources and goods. They also discuss how ceremonial exchanges have changed historically, especially after contact with Western powers and development of a regional market economy.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Public structures
- Gift giving
- Status, role, and prestige
- Mode of marriage
- Kin relationships
- Lineages
- Clans
- Burial practices and funerals
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Manus
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Melanesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1978-1986
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1978-1986
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Ponam Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Achsah H. Carrier, James G. Carrier
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 244-253) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91055265
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Manus (Papua New Guinea people)