Book

Sala'ilua, a Samoan mystery

Columbia University PressNew YorkPublished In 1982 • Pages:

By: Shore, Bradd.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This book explores salient features of Samoan culture as reflected in the daily life and interaction of villagers in a locality called Sala'ilua. Beginning with a brief account of events surrounding the murder of a titled village 'Orator' by the son of a senior village 'Chief,' the author explores several ambiguities in the internal logic and organization of Samoan culture and society. These ambiguities are exemplified in the pervasiveness of symmetry and complementarity in social relationships which, according to the author, reproduced deep-seated structural tensions in the status and roles of individuals within families, kinship groups and neighborhoods.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Community structure
Community heads
Community councils
Status, role, and prestige
Etiquette
Ingroup antagonisms
Inter-community relations
Lineages
Rule of descent
Kin relationships
Inheritance
Offenses against life
Initiation of judicial proceedings
Legal norms
Territorial hierarchy
Social personality
Ethos
Cultural identity and pride
Sociocultural trends
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Samoans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Polynesia
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.
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.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2007
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1971-1973
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1971-1973
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Samoa
NotesAdditional notes
Bradd Shore
Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-326) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
81024188
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Ethnology--Samoa--Sala'ilua/Sala'ilua (Samoa)--Social life and customs