In the absence of the gift : new forms of value and personhood in a Papua New Guinea community

Author(s)

    • Rasmussen, Anders Emil

Bibliographic Information

In the absence of the gift : new forms of value and personhood in a Papua New Guinea community

by Anders Emil Rasmussen

(Pacific perspectives : studies of the European society for Oceanists / series editors, Christina Toren and Edvard Hviding, v. 5)

Berghahn Books, 2020

  • : pbk

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Note

"First published in 2015 ... First paperback edition published in 2020"--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references (p. [188]-195) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

By adopting ideas like "development," members of a Papua New Guinean community find themselves continuously negotiating what can be expected of a relative or a community member. Nearly half the people born on the remote Mbuke Islands become teachers, businessmen, or bureaucrats in urban centers, while those who stay at home ask migrant relatives "What about me?" This detailed ethnography sheds light on remittance motivations and documents how terms like "community" can be useful in places otherwise permeated by kinship. As the state withdraws, Mbuke people explore what social ends might be reached through involvement with the cash economy.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Historical Roots for a Singaut Economy Chapter 2. Visible While Away: Concepts of Vision in Exchange Practices Chapter 3. The Power of Words: Curses and Blessings of Relatives Chapter 4. It's never tomorrow: Debt, Selfishness and the Contest of Obligation Chapter 5. Historical Roots for Community as Level of Organization and as a Concept Chapter 6. ...to benefit the community: Value and the Member of Community Chapter 7. All Things Considered: Organized Action as Appearances of Social Totalities Conclusion References Index

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