1 Another characteristic example
A village that is inwardly alive is proof against a government policy as well as against natural cataclysms neither of which affects its spiritual energies; but it cannot withstand the disintegrating forces of trade and commercial development, the stealthy invasion of money economy, the gradual weakening of its agricultural basis, of the tie that binds it to the soil – a tie which is but a part of the bond that unites man with man, the contact with the rest of the world. For these latter are destructive forces that kill not only the physical 1 element in the communal bases—agriculture to supply domestic needs—but also the two spiritual elements which underlie the village community—religion and social unity—and with these kill the soul of the village (Boeke 1942:19).
2 As if in response to Rousseau’s Second Discourse, Clifford Geertz writes: ‘men unmotivated by the customs of particular places do not in fact exist, have never existed, and most important, could not in the very nature of the case exist’ (1973:35; cf Sahlins 1993:12-13).
3 Here is a modern song of the Enga people
When I have taken possession of them,
Of the great books of the lowlands,
I’ll happily stride back
To Wabag, that land of mine,
Where the quiet stars go by.
It’s my heritage, the land of my proud fathers,
There I’d make my home,
And there I’d settle,
There I’ll settle,
Where the stars will pass over me,
With books firm in my hand.
(Talyaga 1975: Song 21)