Un trophée fait fille ou lorsque l’étranger n’existe pas

A trophy made daughter, or when strangers do not exist. This article described how, on the island of Selaru, any man or woman, or even a sea-cow or a cut-off head, landing on the shore for the first time, is considered a prey, spoils to be thrown back into the sea or introduced into the village. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Simonne Pauwels
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative 2009-03-01
Series:Ateliers d'Anthropologie
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/8212
Description
Summary:A trophy made daughter, or when strangers do not exist. This article described how, on the island of Selaru, any man or woman, or even a sea-cow or a cut-off head, landing on the shore for the first time, is considered a prey, spoils to be thrown back into the sea or introduced into the village. In the latter case, the new arrival is ritually transformed into a relative before nightfall. For the anthropologist this “instant integration” is surprising. But this is a predatory society that integrates all those that it can transform into family and relegates the others to the margins, by qualifying them as “sorcerers” or “non-humans”. However, they all play a role in the majors predations - hunting and head-hunting - required for the fertility of women and gardens.
ISSN:2117-3869