Year: 2025
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: In the focus of this contribution are the three most common seashells in the West New Guinea Highlands: Nassarius spp., Cypraea spp., and Melo spp.From five different perspectives, the deep meanings of the shells in West New Guinea Highlands culture are closely looked at: alternative geographies, trade chains, questions of value, and of gender, as well as sacralising processes are discussed with a focus on these shells.The chapter brings together the results of a several-monthslong field study along with ethnographic information from early contact times.It involves local perceptions of shells of Mee people in the far west of the Highlands, the Dani people in the Baliem Valley as a centre point of the Highlands, and the Lani people in between, as well as of the Yali in the east and the Eipo in the far east of this mountain range.This contribution connects the past with the present.
Source: ANU Press eBooks
Author: Beatrice Voirol
Institution: Australian National University
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4407680957