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The Individuation of Tradition in a Papua New Guinean Modernity
Author(s) -
Errington Frederick,
Gewertz Deborah
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1996.98.1.02a00100
Subject(s) - modernity , anthropology , history , sociology , art history , philosophy , epistemology
The AA. examine changing ideas about « culture » among the Chambri of Papua New Guinea. They focuse on a transnational company's promotion of Papua New Guinean culture in national advertising and on a Chambri politician's diatribe against youth for « prostituting » their local culture. Whereas some anthropologists see culture as an inalienable ressource invoked by indigenous people to resist « modernity », the Chambri case suggests that « traditional » ideas of culture can be subtly reconfigured to support exogenous interests