Timetable of the course

1^st week

Understanding cannibalism and head-hunting

The lecture will focus on understanding cannibalism and headhunting as cultural phenomena. Emphasis will be placed on an anthropological perspective informed by the concept of cultural relativism. The lecture will present cannibalism and headhunting as a very old phenomenon in human history.

Recommended reading:

William Arens – Mean-Eating Myth (1979).

Laurence Goldman – The Anthropology of Cannibalism (1999).

2^nd week

Colonialism and indigenous people

More or less reliable information on cannibalism and headhunting comes from the colonial period, so it is important to understand colonialism itself. This lecture will focus on the birth of European colonialism and its developmental stages. Special attention will be paid to the colonization of Oceania. The colonial system will be described in detail using the example of the Territory of Papua.

Recommended reading:

Talal Asad – Anthropology & Colonial Encounters (1973)

Edward Said – Orientalism (1978)

George Stocking – Colonial Situations (1991)

3^rd week

Head trophies in world cultures

The lecture will focus on the diversity of headhunting and head trophies in different cultures around the world. The aim of the talk is to offer a broader context for understanding these phenomena in the cultures of Oceania. Selected cults from South America, Africa and Asia will be presented.

Recommended reading:

Wilfried Rosendahl and Alfried Wieczorek – Schädelkult (2011).

4^th week

Definition of Oceania cultural areas

Oceania is a macro-region rich in cultural, linguistic, and natural diversity. It is divided into Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. These three cultural areas were defined by European navigators as early as the 19th century. This lecture will focus on the definition of these areas and their inhabitants. The lecture will also scrutinize the concept of cultural area itself.

Recommended reading:

Douglas Oliver – Oceania, 2 vols. (1989).

5^th week

Missionaries in Oceania

The lecture will focus on the case of James Chalmers. This missionary was killed and eaten by the inhabitants of Goaribari Island in 1901. The lecture will provide a broader context for the spread of Christianity in Oceania and discuss the details of the killing of the missionary. The lecture will show Christianity as one of the pillars of colonialism.

Recommended reading:

Peter Maiden - Missionarie, Headhunters & Coilonial Officers (2003)

6^th week

Head trophies in Papuan Gulf: the case of Kiwai People

James Chalmers was accompanied by people from Kiwai Island, all of whom were killed and eaten. The Kiwai people themselves were infamous in the area as head-hunters and man-eaters. This lecture will focus on their culture and describe the cultural reasons for headhunting and man-eating. The lectures will be based primarily on the knowledge gained by Gunnar Landtman during his field research.

Recommended reading:

Gunnar Landtman – The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea (1927).

Francis E. Williams – Papuans of the Trans-Fly (1936)

7^th week

Crocodile’s back – Sepik People of New Guinea

The lecture will focus on cannibalism and the cult of human heads in East Sepik. Special attention will be paid to the Mundugumor cultural group (Yuat River) who became infamous precisely because of man-eating. The lecture will discuss their culture and describe their cult of sacred flutes. It was not only the Mundugumors who underwent back scarification to resemble the crocodile skin.

Recommended reading:

Margaret Mead – Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935).

Nancy McDowell – The Mundugumor (1991).

8th week

Mokomokai or Toi moko of the Maori People

Mummified Maori heads have formed part of the collections of many European ethnographic museums. The first was brought to Europe by Joseph Banks, who was part of Cook's expedition. This lecture will describe the cultural context of the processing of mokomokai (mummified heads) and the trade in them. The lecture will also address the cultural revitalization of Maori indigenous culture and the repatriation of mokomokai to New Zealand.

Recommended reading

Horatio Robley – Moko or Maori Tattoing (1896).

9^th week

Asmat people and Michael Rockefeller

Michael Rockefeller sought to expand the collections of the Museum of Primitive Art, founded by his father in New York. The young Rockefeller disappeared during his trip to the Asmats. This lecture will focus on the culture of the Asmat people and the symbolism of their carvings. The Asmats are known for headhunting and cannibalism. We’ll use the example of Michael Rockefeller to show what could have happened.

Recommended reading:

Michael Rockefeller & Adrian Gerbrands (ed.) – The Asmat (1967).

Dirk Schmidt (ed.) – Asmat Art (1993).

10^th week

Marind-Anim people and victim’s name

Headhunting parties made their way from what is now Indonesia to remote areas. The goal was to collect the human heads of slain enemies. The boys’ initiation into adulthood was conditioned by obtaining the head whose name they were given. The group’s expeditions were far from their homes. This lecture will present the worldview of this group and contextualize the headhunting and cannibalism which was an integral part of their lives.

Recommended reading:

Jan van Baal – Dema (1966).

11^th week

Dead ancestors and kuru disease

The lecture will focus on the kuru disease that has threatened the New Guinean Fore group. They practiced endocannibalism in the form eating their deceased relatives. As a result of eating relatives’ bodies, a mortal disease spread among them. The natives, however, associated it with the sorcerers’ activities.

Recommended reading:

Shirley Lindenbaum – Kuru Sorcery (2015).

12^th week

Final Summary

The aim of the lecture is to summarize the course and offer a generalized view of cannibalism and headhunting in Oceania

Finally, no more recommended reading