TY - BOOK ID - 78343727 TI - A'aisa's gifts PY - 1995 SN - 0520915275 058512986X 9780520915275 9780585129860 0520087615 0520088298 9780520087613 9780520088290 PB - Berkeley University of California Press DB - UniCat KW - Mekeo (Papua New Guinean people) KW - Philosophy, Mekeo KW - Magic, Mekeo KW - Ethnopsychology KW - Self (Philosophy) KW - Dreams KW - History & Archaeology KW - Regions & Countries - Australia & Pacific Islands - Oceania KW - Dreaming KW - Subconsciousness KW - Visions KW - Sleep KW - Philosophy KW - Cross-cultural psychology KW - Ethnic groups KW - Ethnic psychology KW - Folk-psychology KW - Indigenous peoples KW - National psychology KW - Psychological anthropology KW - Psychology, Cross-cultural KW - Psychology, Ethnic KW - Psychology, National KW - Psychology, Racial KW - Race psychology KW - Psychology KW - National characteristics KW - Mekeo magic KW - Mekeo philosophy KW - Bush Mekeo (Papua New Guinean people) KW - Mekeo (Papua New Guinea people) KW - Ethnology KW - Papuans KW - Rites and ceremonies KW - Dreams. KW - Magic, Mekeo. KW - Philosophy, Mekeo. KW - Psychology. KW - Rites and ceremonies. KW - Papua New Guinea KW - Social life and customs. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:78343727 AB - Filled with insight, provocative in its conclusions, A'aisa's Gifts is a groundbreaking ethnography of the Mekeo of Papua New Guinea and a valuable contribution to anthropological theory. Based on twenty years' fieldwork, this richly detailed study of Mekeo esoteric knowledge, cosmology, and self-conceptualizations recasts accepted notions about magic and selfhood. Drawing on accounts by Mekeo ritual experts and laypersons, this is the first book to demonstrate magic's profound role in creating the self. It also argues convincingly that dream reporting provides a natural context for self-reflection. In presenting its data, the book develops the concept of "autonomous imagination" into a new theoretical framework for exploring subjective imagery processes across cultures. ER -