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The political order and corporal coercion in Kanak societies of the past (New Caledonia)

Oceania • 68 (2) • Published In 1997 • Pages: 84-106

By: Bensa, Alban, Goromido, Antoine, Mellott, Noal.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

This historical study discusses the precolonial relationship between chiefly authority, external warfare, and cannibalism. Cannibalism was a form of human sacrifice that validated chiefly authority and a hierarchical political system constituted by ranked "dignitaries" and "commoners." Detail is provided on the customary "making" of persons, ancestors, and chiefs, and on the role of kinship in this process.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Cannibalism

Status, role, and prestige

Artificial kin relationships

Phratries

Territorial hierarchy

Chief executive

Instigation of war

Conception

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Kanak

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2019

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.

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.

4: Excellent Secondary 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; 2018

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

1973-1991

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1840-1871

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Hienghène, Koné, Ponérihouen, northern Poya, and Touho, North Province, New Caledonia

NotesAdditional notes

Alban Bensa and Antoine Goromido; translated from French by Noal Mellott (CNRS, Paris)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106)

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

38017490

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Kanaka (New Caledonian people)