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This paper compares social inequality in the Melanesian societies of the Rossel Islanders and the Wanggulam Lani. As regards the Rossel Islanders, I rely on the ethnography of John Liep. For the Wanggulam Lani I use my own research among them. The comparison shows how, in these two societies, men acquired prestige and power in different ways: on Rossel Island by prominence in transactions in wealth items, and among the Wanggulam Lani by warriorhood and leadership in war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative study of the way of life of the Ekagi-me of the central highlands of west New Guinea and the Dani from the Western Highlands in Papua New Guinea just before colonization is provided. The author argues that both cultures shared an intensive agrarian economy based on sweet potatoes, however, the social structure developed differently with the Dani from Papua New Guinea adapting a ritualized Big Man society.

Tussen Orientalisme en Wetenschap. Het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde in Historisch Verband 1851-2001 [Between Orientalism and Science. The Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology in its Historic [...]