After the Cult: Perceptions of Other and Self in West New Britain (Papua New Guinea)

An expert on Melanesian cultures, Jebens (Frobenius-Institut) examines the cultural perceptions of other and self as expressed in cargo cults and masked dances in West New Britain (part of Papua New Guinea). The author contrasts indigenous terms, images, and concepts with their western counterparts, the latter partly derived from the publications and field notes of anthropologist Charles Valentine (who has been turned into a kind of mythical figure in the local culture). Based on anthropological fieldwork and archival studies, Jebens addresses the relation between western and indigenous perceptions of self and other, between tradition and modernity, and between anthropological ancestors and descendants. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Holger Jebens is Adjunct Professor at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of Goethe University, Senior Research Fellow at the Frobenius Institute and Managing Editor of Paideuma. He spent many years doing fieldwork in highland and seaboard Papua New Guinea. His publications include Cargo, Cult, and Culture Critique (Hawai’i University Press, 2004), Pathways to Heaven (Berghahn Books, 2005), and The end of Anthropology (co-ed., Sean Kingston Publishing, 2011).