from pigs to pearlshells: the transformation of a New Guinea Highlands exchange economy

Abstract

The character of the goods exchanged seems to have an independent effect on the character of exchange.(Sahl ins 1972:215)Exchange, whether ceremonially elaborated or more mundanely practiced, has become, for anthropologists working in Papua New Guinea, a theoretical concept of prime importance. Like descent in Africa, studies of exchange in Melanesia have shed bright light on political and economic institutions and behavior, and, in all its reciprocal varieties, exchange has been shown to permeate every aspect of social life. As a dominant organizational principle, it has provided a measure of comparability to an otherwise bewildering range of variation in Melanesian societies. Malinowski and Seligman of course pointed the way to i t s importance, but Mauss (1954). with his gift to anthropology of "total prestation," first noted that exchange activities have the enormous capacity to encapsulate so many social practices and express the gamut of cultural values.The analysis of exchange has, however, focused almost solely on i t s functional value for maintaining or expressing social relations; the transactions themselves have been seen as secondary.' The outstanding monographs of Strathern (1 971) and Young (1 971), and more recently of Sillitoe (1978). have shown ceremonial exchange to be a "social contract" between groups and individuals, promoting social control and, on balance, being a positive integrating force in societies lacking formal judicial procedures. While concentrating attention on what exchanges "do," the material side of transactions has been largely ignored. Sahlins's (1972:185) point that "a material transaction is usually a momentary episode in a continuous social relation" could be the theme of most studies of Melanesian exchange. This paper analyzes two neighboring, interconnected exchange systems in the New Guinea Highlands: the Melpa moka, a system primarily of pearlshell exchange, and the Enga tee, in which pigs are the most valued exchange items. The entailments of exchanging pearlshells and pigs, the sociopolitical implications of each, and the historical circumstances affecting both systems are examined. ther in the background. The social concomitants of exchange, rather than production, are generally the point of departure, a view recently criticized by some economic anthropologists (Frankenberg 1967;Meillassoux 1972Meillassoux , 1978 Clammer 1978). This paper examines items of exchange and their implications in two Papua New Guinea Highlands exchange systems. Essential to this consideration is an analysis of the actual exchange items of value, how are they produced, and the resulting relationships between people who produce them. Working outward from these starting points, I argue that other social, political, and economic phenomena can be explained and major differences between these societies and their exchange systems illuminated. M y aim is comparative, but I rely heavily on data collected on the tee ceremonial cycle of the Enga of the western New Guinea Highlands. Earlier public...

Gender Symbolism and Power Relations: A Reassessment of the Amb Kor Cult of Mt. Hagen

“…Andrew Strathern, reviewing the evidence from the I930s, evaluates Vicedom's characterization of Hagen and postulates that its change to the society he observed could be due to the arrival of Europeans in the area. The processes involved in this trans-2 formation have recently been outlined by Feil (1982). ' Feil concentrates on that concept vital to highland ethnographers, namely exchange, but breaks with tradition by examining what isbeing exchanged, and what it is being exchanged for.…”

« Faire crier le cochon »

“…En Asie et en Océanie, les études sur le porc sont légion et il n'est guère possible ici d'y rendre justice (Rubel et Rosman 1978 ;Feil 1982 ;Canberra Anthropology 1984 ;Goodale 1985 ;Mudar 1985 ;Dwyer 1990 ;Gold et Gujar 1997 ;etc.). En Nouvelle-Guinée, le porc serait apparu il y a 6 000 à 9 000 ans et aurait été rapidement domestiqué 11 .…”

Alternating Ontologies: Exchange and Ritual in Anganen History

“…Transformation here needs to be considered as a more finely grained development than the evolutionary perspective of many of these large regional comparisons can manage (or are intended to achieve). The impact of material change on exchange in both colonial and pre-colonial settings in the Highlands is extensively documented (Feil 1982(Feil , 1987Gregory 1982;Hughes 1977;A. Strathern 1971).…”

“…Nonetheless, the increase in shell numbers must have radically affected exchange practice and, due to this convoluted interrelating of social practices in Anganen, other forms of practice, such as ritual, as well. In the literature, the role of shell inflation has largely been discussed in relation to ceremonial exchange, most notably moku in Hagen (Feil 1982;A. Strathern 1971).…”