A major study that challenges classic ethnographic
representations of ancestor worship
Death, eschatology and exotic indigenous death ways
have long held a privileged position in the ethnographic and popular literature
on Borneo. Until the publication of this study, however, ancestors have
remained a strangely neglected topic. Differing from classic ethnographic
representations of ancestor worship based on Sino-African material, this volume
will be not just of interest to regional specialists; it will also enrich the
general anthropological theory of ancestors, kinship and religion.
‘Ancestors in
Borneo Societies is a superlative collection of essays, a model of
comparative analysis within an Austronesian framework. An excellent
introduction established a clear framework, provides the appropriate context
and develops a focus for the detailed examination of ideas of ancestry, while
each of the eight chapters, based on extended fieldwork, offers dense
ethnographic description. It is an intellectual pleasure to sink into and
absorb what this book has to offer.’
– James J. Fox
‘Since Robert Hertz’s 1907 pioneering study, the
island of Borneo has fed the theoretical debate on death and mortuary rites. So
far, however, the question of ancestors has remained underexplored. In this
volume, fresh scholarship, based on deep field experience and clearly departing
from narrow anthropological concepts, examines the variety of contexts in which
ancestors are manifested in relation to kinship, political authority, and
religion, and offers a superior contribution to our theoretical understanding
of ancestor ship – and a fascinating voyage into complex representations of the
self, the should and the hereafter.’
– Bernard Sellato
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 16 August, 2012.
