Songs and other expressive forms of language may carry meaning at a range of levels. A variety of factors influence the accessibility of these different layers of meaning. This paper explores issues associated with explanation of the meaning (exegesis) of night and day dance songs of the Mali Baining people of Papua New Guinea. We draw a parallel between accessibility of meaning in relation to cultural practices such as dance complexes, and accessibility of linguistic meaning in relation to specific texts, to present a framework for explaining why aspects of meaning or knowledge may remain inaccessible to researchers in cross-cultural settings.
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