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Rethinking Mana
By: Keesing, Roger M.
Subject(s): Anthropology | Oceanic Religion-Mana | Mana | Language-Oceanic-Mana | Oceanic Language | Linguistic | Anthropological Research-Mana-Oceanic Language In: Journal of Anthropological Research 40(1)Summary: Comparative data are assembled to suggest that in Proto-Oceanic, mana was canonically a stative verb meaning 'be efficacious, be successful, be realized, "work". Where mana was used as a noun, it was (and in most daughter languages is ) not a substantive but an abstract verbal noun : 'efficicy', 'success', 'potency'. Anthropological misinterpretations of mana from Codrington onward as a medium of power represent, for most daughter languages, pervasive translation error. Mana is a condition, not a "thing": a state inferred retrospectively from the outcome of events. Where mana was used as a substantive, it seems to accompany the emergence either of extreme political hierarchy and the sancity of chiefs (eastern Polynesia) or secret religious cultism (parts of eastern Melanesia).| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal | Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya | Available |
Comparative data are assembled to suggest that in Proto-Oceanic, mana was canonically a stative verb meaning 'be efficacious, be successful, be realized, "work". Where mana was used as a noun, it was (and in most daughter languages is ) not a substantive but an abstract verbal noun : 'efficicy', 'success', 'potency'. Anthropological misinterpretations of mana from Codrington onward as a medium of power represent, for most daughter languages, pervasive translation error. Mana is a condition, not a "thing": a state inferred retrospectively from the outcome of events. Where mana was used as a substantive, it seems to accompany the emergence either of extreme political hierarchy and the sancity of chiefs (eastern Polynesia) or secret religious cultism (parts of eastern Melanesia).