Wrapping in Images by Gell

Wrapping in Images by Gell

In traditional Polynesian societies, tattooing played a key role in the social construction of the person. This study is the first to provide a comparative analysis of tattooing in its original setting, based on a comprehensive survey of the documentary sources, both written and visual. Drawing on modern social theory, psychoanalysis, and contemporary anthropological studies of Polynesia, Alfred Gell demonstrates that tattooing formed part of a complex array of symbolic techniques for controlling sacredness and protecting the self. This framework is used to elucidate the iconographic meaning of tattoo motifs, as well as the rich corpus of mythology surrounding tattooing in certain Polynesian societies, and the complex rituals associated with the tattooing operation. However, not all ancient Polynesian societies placed an equal emphasis on tattooing, and not all exploited the basic metaphors of tattooing in the same way. Dr Gell provides a wide-ranging comparative political analysis of the main Polynesian societies in order to show consistent correlations between forms of political structure and different tattooing institutions. In this way, Wrapping in Images can be read as a general introduction to Polynesian comparative sociology, viewed from the perspective of body symbolism.

Wrapping in Images: Tattooing in Polynesia promised to be that long-awaited treatise which would address and analyse the complexities of tattoo in Polynesia.. Gell's approach to this topic combines current psychoanalytical and deconstruction theories ... Wrapping in Images adds to the dialogue concerning Polynesian tattoo. As a resource it does offer new insights and theories about the relationship of tattoo and status. * Museum Anthropology *
A significant contribution to Pacific history and the anthropology of Polynesia. * Choice *
Depth and scope and a degree of audacity that take it far beyond the purely academic problem ... it proves to be particularly pertinent for analyzing Polynesian thought. * Pacific Arts *
Wrapping in Images ... is in the best tradition of British social anthropology: clever and crisp, filled with structural and symbolic insights and organization by means of "controlled comparisons" ... it succeeds admirably, elucidating structures of tattooing in the inscription of Pacific bodies ... an ambitious book which displays remarkable scholarship and erudition. * American Anthropologist *
well-written volume ... Wrapping in Images is an impressive scholarly achievement which will interest both those new to Polynesia and specialists in the field. For the novice, this book provides a useful introduction to the region and its scholarship ... Gell presents provocative ideas about both Polynesian cultures and the nature of tattooing which will undoubtedly stimulate further discussion ... More specifically, this work presents a detailed test case which has the potential to shape ongoing debates about the relationships between Polynesian cultures. * Anne D'Alleva, Journal of the Anthropomancal Society of Oxford, 26/2 (1995) *
This impressive study takes a comprehensive view of the practice of tattooing in Polynesia ... The scope of Gell's investigation is impressive, and it's interpretation ultimately convincing. * Ruth Barnes, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol.60 no.1 1997 *

Alfred Gell was a reader in Anthropology at the London School of Economics, and was posthumously awarded a Professorship by the School.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780198280903
ISBN 10	0198280904
Titel	Wrapping in Images
Autor	Alfred Gell
Serie	Oxford Studies In Social And Cultural Anthropology - Cultural Forms
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Oxford University Press
Erscheinungsjahr	1996-03-28
Seitenanzahl	358
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar