Being 'Mande': Person, Land and Names

Angella Meinerzag

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This monograph presents an in-depth study of the Hinihon people in a remote mountainous area of the Adelbert Range, a part of Papu...

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This monograph presents an in-depth study of the Hinihon people in a remote mountainous area of the Adelbert Range, a part of Papua New Guinea under-represented in ethnography. Based on sound ethnographic fieldwork and by combining theoretical elements of the Anthropology of Landscape and the Anthropology of Person, the author explores the previously unknown local world of these 'semi-nomadic' people, as well as historical material. Who are the Hinihon and what constitutes Hinihon personhood? Of paramount importance for their cultural identity is the distinct naming system that indicates birth order within the family and avoids the use of personal names. Hinihon landscape consists of places where the people work, eat, and meet, constantly switching between these locations. Through this daily movement, a neutral landscape becomes a significant place, which, much more than just being a means of sustenance, also conveys memory, emotions and a sense of belonging. In contrast to the villages, the bush and the gardens are socialised places. 'Mande', a key term that denotes 'person' as well as 'people', reflects and imparts this Hinihon notion of relatedness with people, with the land, and with the past and future.