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Fasu Solidarity: a case study of kin networks, land tenure and extraction in Kutubu, Papua New Guinea

Gilberthorpe, E.

Authors

E. Gilberthorpe



Abstract

In the Fasu region of Papua New Guinea’s fringe highlands, the oil extraction industry has imposed development values and the identification of corporate groups as beneficiary landowners. In response, Fasu males have tightened the boundaries of their agnatic descent groups to become exclusive patriunits. Cash royalties are incorporated into sociopolitical exchange, so the formation of exclusive kin groups allows males to expand social networks to other regions, whilst ensuring continuing wealth for future generations. Consequently, males are becoming isolated from pre–oil exchange networks, and females are becoming isolated within villages. In this article, I map the transition of Fasu kin networks from an ideology of descent to a dogma of descent and patrilineal solidarity, locating the transition in the symbolic codes that inform kin categories. I aim to highlight some consequences of “development” and to advance knowledge on the link between kinship and descent in a postcolonial, industry-dominated Papua New Guinea.

Citation

Gilberthorpe, E. (2007). Fasu Solidarity: a case study of kin networks, land tenure and extraction in Kutubu, Papua New Guinea. American Anthropologist, 109(1), 101-112. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2007.109.1.101

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2007
Deposit Date May 17, 2007
Journal Journal of the American Anthropological Association
Print ISSN 0002-7294
Electronic ISSN 1548-1433
Publisher American Anthropological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 109
Issue 1
Pages 101-112
DOI https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2007.109.1.101
Keywords Kinship, Descent, Extractive industry, Fasu, Papua New Guinea.


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