The Abandoned Narcotic by Ron Brunton
Ron Brunton revives a problem posed by the great anthropologist W. H. R. Rivers in History of Melanesian Society (1914): how to explain the strange geographical distribution of kava, a narcotic drink once widely consumed by south-west Pacific islanders. Rivers believed that it was abandoned by many people even before European contact in favour of another drug, betel, drawing his speculations from the ideas of the diffusionist school of anthropology. However, Dr Brunton disagrees. Taking the varying fortunes of kava on the island of Tanna, Vanauta, as his starting point, he suggests that kava's abandonment can best be explained in terms of its association with unstable religious cults, and not because of the adoption of betel. The problem of kava is therefore part of a broader problem of why many traditional Melanesian societies were characteristically highly unstable, and Dr Brunton sees this instability as both an outcome and a cause of weak institutions of authority and social coordination.-
Outline of a Theory of Practice
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Kinship and Marriage
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The Anthropology of Numbers
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Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity
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Production and Reproduction
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Muslim Society
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People of the Sea
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The Sacred Void
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In the Society of Nature
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The Architecture of Memory
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Kinship and Class in the West Indies
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World Conqueror and World Renouncer
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Power and Intimacy in the Christian Philippines
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Contesting Culture
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Spirits of Protest
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The Roads of Chinese Childhood
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Resources and Population
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Mangrove Man
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The Trading Crowd
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Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt
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The Making of the Modern Greek Family
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Power and Religiosity in a Post-Colonial Setting
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Social Inequality in a Portuguese Hamlet
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People and the State
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Individual and Society in Guiana
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Priests, Witches and Power
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Religion and Custom in a Muslim Society
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Tradition as Truth and Communication
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Bartered Brides
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Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa
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Spirit Possession and Personhood among the Kel Ewey Tuareg
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Varieties of Javanese Religion
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Strategies and Norms in a Changing Matrilineal Society
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The New Racism in Europe
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South Coast New Guinea Cultures
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Overlooking Nazareth
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The Fish People
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Identity through History
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A Place of their Own
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Tradition and Modernity in the Mediterranean
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Stealing People's Names
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Casting out Anger
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Elite Politics in Rural India
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The Making of the Basque Nation
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People of the Zongo
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Native Lords of Quito in the Age of the Incas
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521040051 |
| ISBN 10 | 0521040051 |
| Title | The Abandoned Narcotic |
| Author | Ron Brunton |
| Series | Cambridge Studies In Social And Cultural Anthropology |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2007-09-10 |
| Number of pages | 228 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |