GENDER AND COSMOS EMPLACED: WOMEN'S HOUSES AND MEN'S HOUSES IN BARIAI, WEST NEW BRITAIN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Authors

Naomi McPherson, University of British Columbia OkanaganFollow

Abstract

In Papua New Guinea, the men's cult houses are dramatic examples of vernacular architecture that have overshadowed the importance and symbolic meanings of the domestic dwelling, or women's houses. This essay is an ethnography of house forms, specifically women's houses and men's cult houses in Bariai, West New Britain. The focus is on relationships of articulation between the built environment and gender concepts within the framework of Bariai cosmology, which show how gender concepts and relations are emplaced and the built environment is gendered.

Recommended Citation

McPherson, Naomi (2004) "GENDER AND COSMOS EMPLACED: WOMEN'S HOUSES AND MEN'S HOUSES IN BARIAI, WEST NEW BRITAIN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 27: No. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol27/iss1/3