article
Yap eating classes: a study of structure and communitas
journal of the Polynesian Society • 88 (4) • Published In 1979 • Pages: 415-432
By: Lingenfelter, Sherwood G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Based on interviews and early twentieth century accounts, Lingenfelter reconstructs and interprets the ritual surrounding Yap eating classes (YOGUM). According to Lingenfelter, the eating class ritual is a core ritual that expresses and mediates status distinctions in Yap society. He discusses the ritual in terms of Yap's own cosmology and notions of purity and pollution. He focuses on the sacred month of MAKAN, a liminal period of fasting, learning, and seclusion, when new members are inducted into each class and the social order is turned upside down.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Eating
- Gift giving
- Status, role, and prestige
- Ordering of time
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Yapese
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Micronesia
- 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 ; 2005
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1970-1971
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1910-1940
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Rull Municipality, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Sherwood G. Lingenfelter
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 432)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 08012644
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Yapese (Micronesian people)/Yap (Micronesia)