A'aisa's Gifts: A Study of Magic and the Self (Studies in Melanesian Anthropology 13)
By
Michele Stephen (Author)
Paperback
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Description
Filled with insight, provocative in its conclusions, A'aisa's Gifts is a groundbreaking ethnography of the Mekeo of Papua New Guinea and a valuable contribution to anthropological theory. Based on twenty years' fieldwork, this richly detailed study of Mekeo esoteric knowledge, cosmology, and self-conceptualizations recasts accepted notions about magic and selfhood. Drawing on accounts by Mekeo ritual experts and laypersons, this is the first book to demonstrate magic's profound role in creating the self. It also argues convincingly that dream reporting provides a natural context for self-reflection. In presenting its data, the book develops the concept of "autonomous imagination" into a new theoretical framework for exploring subjective imagery processes across cultures.
About the Author
Michele Stephen, Associate Professor of History, La Trobe University, Australia, is coeditor of The Religious Imagination in New Guinea (1989).
More Details
- Contributor: Michele Stephen
- Imprint: University of California Press
- ISBN13: 9780520088290
- Number of Pages: 404
- Packaged Dimensions: 156x234x23mm
- Packaged Weight: 590
- Format: Paperback
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Release Date: 1995-03-13
- Series: Studies in Melanesian Anthropology
- Binding: Paperback / softback
- Biography: Michele Stephen, Associate Professor of History, La Trobe University, Australia, is coeditor of The Religious Imagination in New Guinea (1989).
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