"The Mekeo "man of sorrow

Sorcery and the Individuation of the Self

Bibliographic Data

ID2467338
AuthorsMichele Stephens, Michele Stephen (La Trobe University, corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume23
Issue1
Pages83-101
Publication date1996-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Ethnologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-0496 • E-ISSN: 1548-1425
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/ae.1996.23.1.02a00050
OpenAlexW2079634699
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited24

The pervasiveness of sorcery and witchcraft beliefs in Melanesia is well documented. Recent discussions of Melanesian concepts of person and self, emphasizing their "divisibility" and lack of boundedness, help to explain why Melanesians feel so vulnerable to intrusions and invasions by other, more powerful selves. This article explores the process whereby a man assumes the role of sorcerer, or "man of sorrow," in Mekeo society. In describing how the vulnerable, open, and divisible self of an ordinary Mekeo person is gradually transformed into one believed capable of annihilating others, this article challenges the assumption that self-differentiation is a concern only of Western cultures

Aesthetics · Divisibility rule · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Individuation · Psychoanalysis · Self · Sociology · Sorrow · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Mathematics · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology