‘Worlds at War With Themselves‘: Notions of the Antisociety in Anganen Ceremonial Exchange

Abstract

Exchange is the central arena for the articulation of the social structure of the Anganen, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. Despite a vast array of potential occasions, there are two main categories of exchange, ‘mundane’ and ‘extraordinary’ (or ‘ceremonial’). These contrast strongly in incidence, the items used, structural logic and many other ways, each giving rise to a particular ‘vision’ of society. Mundane exchange is dominated by exchanges in lieu of individuals (at marriage, death etc.) and warfare related prestations. These are the most frequent exchanges in Anganen and lie at the heart of the process of social reproduction. By contrast, ceremonial exchange, yasolu, is rarely undertaken and is largely peripheral to this process. Ceremonial exchange can be seen as a response to some of the inherent deficiencies of mundane exchange. However, as is noted in approaches which posit a ‘dual nature’ to society, the extraordinary mode of ‘anti‐society’ lacks sufficient functionality to permit social reproduction. This article explores the differences between the structures of these two exchange domains and the consequences this has for meaning (concepts of time, kinship and politics, the role of women, symbolism and so on).

The ‘Two Men’ of Anganen Exchange: Structure and Concepts of the Individual in Highland Papua New Guinea

“…Wealth movement in mundane exchange pivots on two priciple forms of relations between men? referred to in Anganen as amenu ('brother collectivity', meaning agnates, certain non-agnatic coresidents and the like, see Nihill 1988). and mbetinu.…”

“…Up to six local groups may coordinate their activities which culminate in the mass slaughter of pigs and the distribution of pork, an event which only occurs once every twelve to fifteen years in any one coordinating unit. To contrast this with mundane exchange, I need only concentrate on the pork distribution and closely associated events (see Nihill 1986Nihill :373-459, 1988 for detailed discussion). While group prestige and alliance are important aspects of the event, it is the individual male who commands attention.…”

“…their 'bodies' in particular, is what fuels most mundane exchange. A man may offer a small amount of wealth to his wife's agnates, nongonaki-engi, 'children-mother', which seems designed to temporarily and symbolically negate the debt these individuals necessarily embody, allowing mbetinu to fleeting confront each other in a relation of equivalence (see Nihill 1988). Similarly, women and children do not physically mediate yasolu as they often do in mundane exchange, as men should directly present pork to their partners if at all possible.…”

Gift Exchange as Sensory Experience Among the Anganen

“…Indeed 'moka' is one of the main avenues of 'finance' (cf.A. Strathern 1978) exploited for yasolu, as not only should wealth be reciprocated at least two-fold, but these pigs do not tax the resources of the original givers' households (see Nihill 1988aNihill , 1996a. To this end, the viscera retained by the men kap givers and its preparation as gris, the symbolically female part of the pig, is interesting.…”

“…The cultural logic of encompassment comes from the idea of nu that was discussed above in terms of the association between pregnancy and its symbolic referents, net bags. Nu is a fundamental concept in Anganen, for instance in the two basic forms of relatedness that I have variously considered for the dynamics of Anganen social structure (Nihill 1988a(Nihill , 1988b(Nihill , 1996a. One form is amenu, same-sex siblingship, such as agnation and its extension to political alliance, while the other is mbetinu, cross-sex siblingship that includes relations between men related via women such as affines and cross-cousins.…”