Malanggan - Art, Memory and Sacrifice (Hardcover)

Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folkore Award 2003Malanggan are among the most treasured possessions in the Pacific, yet they continue to confound anthropologists. Central to funerals in New Ireland, these 'death' figures are intended to decompose as symbolic representations of the dead. Wrapped in images that are conceived of as 'skins', they are both visually complex and intriguing. This book is the first to interpret these mysterious agents of resemblance and connection as having a cognitive rather than a linguistic basis.Found in nearly every ethnographic museum in the world, Malanggan collections have been left virtually untouched. This original study begins by tracing the history of the collections and moves on to consider the role these artefacts play in sacrifice, ritual and exchange. What is the relationship between Malanggan and memory? How can Malanggan be understood as a life force as well as a vehicle for thought? In an analysis of the cognitive aspects of Malanggan, Kuchler offers a highly original conceptualization of the centrality of the knot as a mode of being, thinking and binding in the Pacific."Malanggan: Art, Memory and Sacrifice "is a groundbreaking study. Based on fifteen years of fieldwork and collection research, it provides an incisive new take on one of the Pacific's classic puzzles, as well as a wealth of new information and resources for anthropologists, collectors and curators alike.

General

Imprint:	Berg Publishers
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Materializing Culture
Release date:	November 2002
First published:	2002
Authors:	Susanne Kuchler
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 19mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	256
ISBN-13:	978-1-85973-617-3
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > History of art / art & design styles > Art styles not limited by date > Art of indigenous peoples Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > General Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Human biology & related topics > Biological anthropology > General
LSN:	1-85973-617-3
Barcode:	9781859736173

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