The Magical Body: Power, Fame and Meaning in a Melanesian Society (Studies in Anthropology and History, 23) - Hardcover

Eves, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9057023059 ISBN 13: 9789057023057

Publisher: Routledge, 1998

Synopsis

An intriguing exploration of the role and significance of the body in the world of a Pacific Islands People, the Lelet of New Ireland (Papua New Guinea). In vivid ethnographic detail, the monograph captures the fluidity and complexity of Lelet conceptions of corporeality and their significance to identity as they encounter the influences of modernity, in the form of colonialism, Christianity and cash-cropping. The author examines the importance of the body to constructions of identity and difference, and its role in the constitution of place and space. The book provides a richly detailed ethnographic study of magical belief and the body whilst paying particular attention to the polyvalent meanings of bodily images and metaphors as they are used in numerous contexts of magic.

About this title

Review

"This book is a valuable addition to a growing body of literature offering perspectives on Melanesian phenomenology, particularly with respect to the indigenous engagement with Christianity and the paraphernalia of colonialism. The creative adaptation of the Lelet and their cultural vitality in a fast-changing world are nicely captured here, in a clear and easily readable text."
-Michael Goddard of University of Newcastle, UK

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 9057023059
• ISBN 13: 9789057023057
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 324