In much of Melanesia, the process of social reproduction unfolds as a lengthy sequence of mortuary rites - feast making and gift giving through which the living publicly define their social relations with each other while at the same time commemorating the deceased. In this study Robert J. Foster constructs an ethnographic account of mortuary rites in the Tanga Islands, Papua New Guinea, placing these large-scale feasts and ceremonial exchanges in their historical context and demonstrating how the effects of participation in an expanding cash economy have allowed Tangans to conceive of the rites as 'customary' in opposition to the new and foreign practices of 'business'. His examination synthesizes two divergent trends in Melanesian anthropology by emphasizing both the radical differences between Melanesian and Western forms of sociality and the conjunction of Melanesian and Western societies brought about by colonialism and capitalism.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: United Kingdom, 27 April 1995

Format: Paperback / softback, 315 pages

Other Information: 14 b/w illus. 3 maps 13 tables

Dimensions: 22.6 x 15 x 1.8 centimeters (0.46 kg)

Writer: Robert J. Foster

Table of Contents1. Introduction: history, alterity, and a new (Melanesian) anthropology; 2. Commoditization and the emergence of kastam; 3. Kastam, bisnis and matriliny; 4. Finishing the dead: an outline of Tangan mortuary feasts and exchanges; 5. Replacing the dead: identical exchange and lineage succession; 6. Performing lineage succession: feast giving and value-creation; 7. Performing lineage succession: transformative exchange and the power of mortuary rites; 8. Conclusion.

Promotional InformationA study of mortuary rites in the Tanga Islands, Papua New Guinea.

Reviews"Foster offers a powerful and innovative analysis of Tangan notions of personhood, agency, value and exchange through this account of mortuary feasts. His historical perspective provides insight into how these notions have shifted in response to new opportunities for exchange within the Melanesian context. In short, for scholars concerned with the interchange between the crises of modernity and indigenous perspectives of social reproduction, this book is a welcome and essential contribution." Ilana Gershon, Chicago Anthropology Exchange "Foster's attempt at forging [a] new Melanesian anthropological approach is as subtle as it is courageous, and Melanesian and non-Melanesian scholars alike will find his book an informative read." American Anthropologist "In short, this book will become a classic, in at least two senses: its innovations are firmly grounded in disciplinary and areal traditions, and it should provide a template for others attempting to situate ritual structures in historical contexts." Richard Parmentier, Ethnohistory