Andrew Moutu
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197264454
- eISBN:
- 9780191760501
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264454.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines some aspects of totemic names and the connection to kinship and marriage practices. It attempts to conceptualise relationships in ontological terms by identifying and employing ...
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This chapter examines some aspects of totemic names and the connection to kinship and marriage practices. It attempts to conceptualise relationships in ontological terms by identifying and employing four Western philosophical concepts — immanence and transcendence, necessity and contingency — and concretizes the nature of this conceptual approach by introducing further ethnographic material from neighbouring societies. The chapter opens with a discussion of Iqwaye and Iatmul, showing how the ontological issues of immanence and transcendence are located in social relations. It then considers the issues of necessity and contingency as they appear in the context of kinship and clan organization amongst the Iatmul and the Manambu. A theoretical dimension of this discussion concerns the manner in which time and relationships function in affecting and coordinating the behaviour of ownership. Since Iatmul names are generally considered as abundant in stock, and since they serve as vectors of integral relationships, another theoretical interest of the chapter relates to the question of the connection between relationships and infinity.Less
This chapter examines some aspects of totemic names and the connection to kinship and marriage practices. It attempts to conceptualise relationships in ontological terms by identifying and employing four Western philosophical concepts — immanence and transcendence, necessity and contingency — and concretizes the nature of this conceptual approach by introducing further ethnographic material from neighbouring societies. The chapter opens with a discussion of Iqwaye and Iatmul, showing how the ontological issues of immanence and transcendence are located in social relations. It then considers the issues of necessity and contingency as they appear in the context of kinship and clan organization amongst the Iatmul and the Manambu. A theoretical dimension of this discussion concerns the manner in which time and relationships function in affecting and coordinating the behaviour of ownership. Since Iatmul names are generally considered as abundant in stock, and since they serve as vectors of integral relationships, another theoretical interest of the chapter relates to the question of the connection between relationships and infinity.
