Cosmos and Society in Oceania.

Glick, Paula Brown

The 10 papers published in this collection originated in a conference in 1990. The editors identify the theme: Society and Cosmos: their Interrelations or their Coalescence in Oceania (p. 18); Monnerie calls this La societe et l'univers: leurs relations ou leur coalescence en Melanesie' (p. 128). The change in the title from 'Melanesia' to 'Oceania' should be noticed. Certainly, the papers by Gell on central-eastern Polynesia, Toren on Fiji, and some of the discussion of Annette Weiner concern Polynesia. I do also wonder if other papers were presented at the conference, and this is a selection.

In their introduction, the editors were hard put to find agreement among the contributors. They find unity in anthropologists' agreement about their principal concerns, and find consensus '... in the common recognition that, in the Pacific, society and cosmos, as we understand them, are not distinguished. (p. 18) The key conception is the coalescence of society and cosmos. At this point I wondered how unique and representative of the Pacific Islands or Oceania this generalization is. They continue 'In each society studied, other crucial global distinctions are, however, made' (p. 18). it most certainly appears from the essays that each society, or should I say each author, finds a different organization of the cosmos. The editors treat the essays as separate contributions, and so they should, for there is little reference to other papers, and the models, sources, and organizing concepts are quite varied.

The authors (excepting Toren and Munn) have attempted to reach back to cosmos and society of the past. Most of the description of ritual and analysis of cosmological and social concepts are presented as timeless, abstract statements. Some of the essays utilize data published by others. and these mainly from early, pre-modern anthropology. Since most of these communities have seen at least a generation of mission activity, schools, and other influences, the analyses are necessarily the author's reconstruction based upon these early reports. Thus Monnerie and Iteanu combine their own field observations with early studies. On the other hand, Hirsch, Lewis, de Copper, Josephides and Torch mainly report their own field work and their chapters include eye-witness accounts. Only Torch discusses Christian concepts, for example, predestination.

Munn considers Kaluli gisalo song rites, especially their place-name references, as exemplifying memory worlds. She sees this as a general anthropological problem, and certainly recent discussion on Oceania confirms this.

To me, the most illuminating discussion of cosmos and society is in Eric Hirsch's discussion where he explains and combines models of de Coppet and M. Strathern as they apply to the Fuguye. That is, he considers de Coppet's encompassing model of the social whole as derived from ancestral origins, realized in the performance of ritual. This Hirsch combines with Marilyn Strathern's model of Melanesian sociality as the revelatory nature of social practice, personal agency and achievement. He sees in the ritual process revelation leading to encompassment: ritual, cosmos and society coalesce.

Unfortunately, few of the other contributors so clearly state how their conclusions derive from such a model or models. The reader may not perceive that Gnau illness (Lewis), Polynesian tattooing (Gell), Fijian desire and compassion (Torch), Mono-Alu ancestors and spirits (Monnerie), Orokaiva ancestors (Iteanu), Kewa songs and myths (Josephides), 'Are'are feasts and conversion of shell money (de Copper), or Oceanian sibling incest taboos (Weiner) portray the unity of cosmos and society.

In different ways the editors and some authors make Dumont's theory of hierarchy central to their analysis of cosmos and society in Oceania. Thus Gell discusses Polynesian differentiation and fusion: Torch the chiefs, ancestors and gods: Monnerie nobles and commoners: de Copper two kinds of bigmanship: Iteanu initiates and non-initiates: Weiner siblings, Josephides men and women. All are hierarchic organizations of society and cosmos.

The conference tapped works in progress - some chapters are selections from works already or soon to be published. While the essays do stand alone, nearly all of them are fragments of larger works: the chapters are compiled or selected for the theme of cosmos and society. The absence of a common definition of society and cosmos, the great variety of distinctions made by the contributors, is not in my mind a defect of the collection. The volume succeeds in presenting an array of ten well-wrought essays. The reader will find many ways that society and cosmos may be represented, to illustrate the vitality of tiffs little-discussed field. The editors are to be commended for taking up the challenge, and we may look for analyses of society and cosmos in Oceania that develop the models of de Coppet, Strathern, Hirsch, Dumont, Munn, some recombination of these, or yet another model. The field is open.

Paula Brown Click New York City