Author : Jan Verschueren
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004287302
Total Pages : 123 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)
Book Synopsis Jan Verschueren's Description of Yéi-Nan Culture by : Jan Verschueren
Download or read book Jan Verschueren's Description of Yéi-Nan Culture written by Jan Verschueren and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joannis Cornelis Verschueren (1905-1970) worked as a Roman Catholic missionary in southern Irian from 1931 until 1970. In the 1950s he wrote a number of papers on the Yéi. These papers, based on older field notes and a research trip through the area, are recapitulated in this volume. Verschueren provides genuine inside information and his data are new and authentic. The four papers in this volume create a picture of a typical lowland culture with a surprising emphasis on headhunting, an uncommon way of segregating the sexes, and a highly elaborated system of phallic symbolism. Topics discussed in this volume are territorial, clan and moiety organization; kinship, marriage and conjugal life; the founding myths of Yéi-nan ritual and other rituals; initiation; sickness and healing; death, burial and mortuary feasts; other ceremonies.