Transactional symbolism in Belauan mortuary rites: a diachronic study

Parmentier, Richard J.

article

Transactional symbolism in Belauan mortuary rites: a diachronic study

journal of the Polynesian Society • 97 (3) • Published In 1988 • Pages: 281-312

By: Parmentier, Richard J..

Abstract
This article discusses the symbolic meanings of items transacted in Belauan mortuary rites. The focus is on the kinds of meaningful objects, social roles and groups brought into play during mortuary rites, and modalities of transaction or exchange which couple these objects and these social relations. In analyzing these issues, the author notes closer parallel between Belauan funeral rituals and patterns of funerals documents in other Indonesian and Oceanic societies. These patterns include the journey of the ghost to a western land of spirits, the role of mats and cloth in sedimenting the effect of kin, the imposition of silence and inactivity during the mourning period, the use of mortuary practices to signal differences in social rank, the lengthy period of delay between the burial and the final settlement of affinal obligations, and the transformation of the dead into fructifying ancestral spirits.

Dying

Burial practices and funerals

Mourning

Special burial practices and funerals

Life and death

Gift giving

Exchange transactions

Status, role, and prestige