Title: A Papuan plutocracy : ranked exchange on Rossel Island /
Authors: Liep, John.
Publisher: Aarhus University Press ; Gazelle [distributor] ; David Brown [distributor],
Year: 2009
Subjects: Shell money Papua New Guinea Rossel Island.; Social classes Papua New Guinea Rossel Island.; Massim (Papua New Guinean people) Rites and ceremonies.; Massim (Papua New Guinean people) Social life and customs.; Kula exchange Papua New Guinea Rossel Island.; Ceremonial exchange Papua New Guinea Rossel Island.; Papua New Guinea Social life and customs
Abstract: "This book is an ethnography of a Melanesian island, an exploration of ranked exchange and a critique of anthropologoical exchange theory. John Liep unravels the complex society and exchange system on Rossl Island east of New Guinea."--Jacket.
Contents: Foreword / by Stephen C. Levinson -- Preface -- Introduction -- Prologue. Massim transformations -- pt. 1. The setting. Rossel Island ; Frameworks of practice ; Dimensions of power ; Economic domains -- pt. 2. Ranked exchange. Shell money and valuables ; The cycle of social reproduction ; The pig feast ; The remaining forms of payment ; The rules and practice of ranked exchange -- Epilogue. A Papuan plutocracy -- Glossary.