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A'aisa's Gifts: A Study of Magic and the Self (Studies in Melanesian Anthropology) (Volume 13) First Edition

by Michele Stephen (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
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Filled with insight, provocative in its conclusions, A'aisa's Gifts is a groundbreaking ethnography of the Mekeo of Papua New Guinea and a valuable contribution to anthropological theory. Based on twenty years' fieldwork, this richly detailed study of Mekeo esoteric knowledge, cosmology, and self-conceptualizations recasts accepted notions about magic and selfhood. Drawing on accounts by Mekeo ritual experts and laypersons, this is the first book to demonstrate magic's profound role in creating the self. It also argues convincingly that dream reporting provides a natural context for self-reflection. In presenting its data, the book develops the concept of "autonomous imagination" into a new theoretical framework for exploring subjective imagery processes across cultures.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0520088298
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0520088290
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    University of California Press
  5. Publication date
    March 1, 1995
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.95 x 1.03 x 8.96 inches
  8. Print length
    412 pages
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michele Stephen, Associate Professor of History, La Trobe University, Australia, is coeditor of The Religious Imagination in New Guinea (1989).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First Edition (March 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520088298
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520088290
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.95 x 1.03 x 8.96 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

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Michele Stephen

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Top reviews from the United States

  • J. Turner
    4.0 out of 5 stars An Uncommanly Great Ethnograthy
    Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2000
    Michele Stephen does a fantastic job weaving a wonderful story, personal narrative, and intellegent analysis in this anthropological work. She is reflexive in her work, reminding the readers where she is coming from, what biases she may be burdened with by her own culture, and to work with the readers on their potential level(s). I have read a great number of ethnographies, and I have to say this is without a doubt the best WRITTEN one I have come across - combining analysis with prose that remains interesting, explanatory, and provoking. I have hesitated to give it the punch of five starts because I feel that Stephen had goals too high at times, almost teasing the reader with explanations of every facet of Mekeo culture while actually concentrating solely on the element of magic and the mind. But, without a doubt, her cultural analyses were very good and intellegent - I was very impressed with her ability to weave so many theorists and philosophies into a story that stays essentially focused on the people and the complexity of their relationships.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • kaioatey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Inengeai ungaunga au-'i fou a-pi-"aongai.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2012
    The Mekeo are a fairly prosperous tribe in southeastern PNG, making a living by growing and selling sweet potatoes, taro, coconuts and betel nuts in Port Moresby. Stephen describes a stratified hierarchical society based on patrilinear clans in which every person's role is precisely defined both in terms of societal relations/obligations and their cosmological counterparts. The tribe is divided into peace, war and 'sorcery' (ugauga) factions each of which has senior and junior family lines, and one's relative position within the clan comes with the power of ritual charms allocated to that family line.

    The book shows the implications that such distribution of power has on the Mekeo. Ordinary reality is a reflection of events that occur in the non-ordinary reality inhabited by mythical heroes, ancestor spirits and various kinds of 'bush spirits' with which humans interact through their souls (or 'dream selves', lalaugas). One can arrange the unfolding of events through ritual implementation of symbolic representations of the mythical domain, thus ensuring success in hunting, love, health but just as often, illness and demise of the victim. This is no laughing mater for the Mekeo. Everyone is your potential adversary (including, and especially) your immediate family. Within the family and the tribe every - even the most insignificant -perceived transgression is punished, often times disproportionately. As a result, Mekeos develop inscrutable, wary yet (on the surface) relaxed attitudes and an extraordinary awareness of communicative minutiae. "Men of sorrow" such as Stephen's mentor A'aisaga are sorcerers charged with enforcing of the social norm by bespelling/manipulating the dream selves of their fellow villagers.

    What comes across fairly well is the remarkable courage and persistence of the author who participated in and learnt what seem to be some of the most dangerous ritual practices of the Mekeo, many of which contradict Western concepts of 'fairness' or 'common sense'. Like many anthropologists who 'apprenticed' to local magicians around the world, Stephen faces the challenge of explaining the apparent effectiveness of 'dreamwork' practices on people living in the 'real' world. She valiantly tries Jungian, hypnosis, cross-cultural etc paradigms but does not succeed in building an appropriate explanatory framework. Still, what the book shows is the immense power that tribal memory & symbolic representations that is exerted when they intersect with a living culture. Power that affects tribal members as well as those who did not grow within the culture itself. By uprooting ourselves we Westerners have lost - for better - or worse - contact with powers that reside in our mythos; animals, spirits and ancestors. Instead, many chose to submit to a warlike Middle Eastern deity which insists on proselytizing, domination and exploitation. Although Stephen shows that tribal life in the tropics is not (what M. Mead might have us believe) a bed of wine and roses but rather a daily struggle for survival on the spiritual plane, I discerned much satisfaction there that derives from aliveness at human core that transcends our atomistic perspective. By forsaking our mythos we Westerners have forsaken that life. This book provides food for thought with implications that go way beyond anthropology as we know it today. Top notch fieldwork, highly recommended.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Maddie
    2.0 out of 5 stars :(
    Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2009
    IMHO: Absolutely boring book if you are not a specialist on the topic.
    The language/style is heavy and hard to follow.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A masterpiece!
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