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.
| ISBN: | 9780521079877 |
| Publication date: | 2nd July 1971 |
| Author: | Andrew Strathern |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 254 pages |
| Series: | Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology |
| Genres: |
Anthropology |