Just Talk: Gossip, Meetings, and Power in a Papua New Guinea Village Volume 11

by Karen J. Brison

Just Talk examines the often overlooked role of gossip and rumor in creating power in small Melanesian communities. The Kwanga of the East Sepik Province of Papua, New Guinea think that malicious gossip is almost as dangerous as sorcery. They spend hours in community meetings, looking into rumors about sorcery, adultery, and other sources of trouble. To understand how "talk" can create and ultimately destroy the position of Melanesian leaders,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520077008
• ISBN13: 9780520077003
• Release Date: September 1992
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"