The Rope of Moka: Big-men and Ceremonial Exchange in Mount Hagen New Guinea

by Andrew Strathern

Overview

In the Mount Hagen area of central New Guinea, warfare has been replaced since the arrival of the Europeans by a vigorous development of moka, a competitive ceremonial exchange of wealth objects. The exchanges of pigs, shells and other valuables are interpreted as acting as a bond between groups, and as a means whereby individuals, notably the big-men, can maximize their status. Professor Strathern analyses the ways in which competition between big-men actually takes place, and the effects of this competition on the overall political system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521099578
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/11/1975
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology , #4
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.59(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Groups; 3. Ceremonial grounds; 4. Warfare, alliance, and compensation; 5. Moka transactions and media of exchange; 6. Moka chains; 7. Counting pigs and shells; 8. Disputes and struggles precipitated by moka occasions; 9. Moka and the status of big-man; 10. The moka system and the behaviour of big-men; Appendices