Malanggan are "death" figures found in the Pacific which continue to confound anthropologists, they are intended to decompose as symbolic representations of the dead. This work interprets these mysterious agents of resemblance and connection as having a cognitive rather than linguistic basis.

Malanggan: Art, Memory and Sacrifice is a groundbreaking study. Based on fifteen years of fieldwork and collection research, it provides an incisive new take on one of the Pacific's classic puzzles, as well as a wealth of new information and resources for anthropologists, collectors and curators alike.

ContentsList of Figures and Maps ixPreface xiIntroduction 11 Gathering Places 112 Matriliny in the Making 353 Sacrifice and Calendrical Rites 594 The Building up of the Fire 815 Images of Malanggan 1116 On Building and Thinking 1517 Potent Absence and the Dynamics of Sacrificial Economy 167Conclusion: The Repast Recaptured 187Bibliography 195Index 209