article
Houses in Lesu: the historical anthropology of a New Ireland society
Journal of anthropological research • 63 (1) • Published In 2007 • Pages: 51-72
By: Aijmer, Göran.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article examines features of habitation and domestic symbolism in Lesu houses as originally observed by Hortense Powdermaker in 1929-1930. It reconstructs important aspects of early social life in Lesu society with a focus on houses as mundane institutions and as expressive devices. The examination concerns the organization of shelter into continuous groups and social communities. Men's houses and women's houses stood out as symbolic topoi, each evoking a main cultural modality. The respective iconic narrations of these two possible worlds offered radically different solutions to the existential problem of continuity.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Cultural identity and pride
- Household
- Family relationships
- Topography and geology
- Community structure
- Dwellings
- Architecture
- Public structures
- Building interiors and arrangement
- Food preparation
- Outbuildings
- Burial practices and funerals
- Cult of the dead
- Religious and educational structures
- Gender status
- Mythology
- Postnatal care
- Cosmology
- Sacred objects and places
- Sexual intercourse
- Eating
- Life and death
- Kin relationships
- Localized kin groups
- Regulation of marriage
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Lesu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- 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
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- 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.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not applicable
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1920-2007
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Lesu, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Göran Aijmer
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-72)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 73645054
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- New Ireland Province (Papua New Guinea)
- Ethnology--Papua New Guinea--New Ireland
- Lesu, New Ireland (Papua New Guinea)