The Gebusi: Lives Transformed in a Rainforest World - Tapa blanda

Written specifically for students, this ethnography provides an engaging, real-life account of the transition from a traditional to a modern culture. It uses vibrant personal stories and ethnographic examples to connect developments among the Gebusi of Papua New Guinea to key topics in cultural anthropology, including comparative features of subsistence, kinship, politics, religion, gender, ethnicity, nationalism, and modern development. In the early 1980s, the Gebusi conducted ritual dances and spirit seances, practiced alternative sexual customs, and endured high rate of violence. By 1998, most Gebusi had converted to Christianity and were actively engaged in market activity, disco music, sports leagues, and school. In 2008, however, public services and the cash economy had deteriorated, and people relied increasingly on their traditional customs and practices.

This second edition of The Gebusi vividly portrays both the traditions and the modern challenges of Gebusi society and culture with updated content throughout and surprising new conclusions based on the author's return to the Gebusi in 2008.

Bruce Knauft is Samuel C. Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and Executive Director of the Institute of Critical International Studies at Emory University in Atlanta. He has taught a broad range of students, including many who have gone on to conduct anthropological fieldwork in diverse world areas. Author of seven books and numerous journal articles and chapters, Professor Knauft has written extensively on topics and issues in cultural anthropology. He has been interested in the Gebusi people of Papua New Guinea since his first fieldwork among them in 198082.