Sing with the Pigs is Human

According to the dictionary, 'anthropology' is the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings. The Kaulong peoples of Papua New Guinea devote their lives to moving from the lowest status to political "big men" and "big women," by displaying their accumulation of knowledge at all-night singing competitions ending in pig sacrifice and feasting. In the course of her fieldwork with the Kaulong, who live on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, Jane Goodale discovered and catalogued that everything of importance to them - every event, relationship, and transaction - was rooted in their constant quest for recognition as human beings. Goodale takes considerable time to determine both the Kaulong definition of 'human' and catalogue the tribal rituals and relationships that build into the Kaulong definition.

Her book is the result of her field work, living with...
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