Uncultural Behavior

Charles J-H Macdonald

Published by University of Hawaii Press 2006

Uncultural Behavior

An Anthropological Investigation of Suicide in the Southern Philippines

Charles J-H Macdonald

In the series Monographs for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, English-Language Series

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824865368

Overview
Contents

About this book

Until recently the people of Kulbi-Kenipaqan lived on the fringes of the modern world following traditional customs and beliefs, practicing shifting agriculture, and leading an outwardly peaceful existence in a remote corner of Palawan island. Yet this small community, basically indistinguishable in society and culture from its immediate neighbors to the north, has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. Why would the comparatively happy and well-off inhabitants of Kulbi fall victim to despair? Uncultural Behavior investigates the mystery of self-inflicted death among this nonviolent and orderly people in the Southern Philippines.

To make sense of such a phenomenon, Charles Macdonald probes the beliefs, customs, and general disposition of this Palawan people, exploring how they live, think, behave, and relate to one another. Early chapters examine group formation and the spatialization of social ties, material culture, marriage, and law, providing an extensive ethnographic account of the Kulbi way of life. The author offers insights into the spiritual world of the community and addresses the local theory of emotions and the words that supply the vocabulary and idiom of indigenous commentaries on suicide. A well-documented case study of a suicide and its aftermath gives readers an idea of how Kulbi people treat suicide and their conflicting views on the subject. Following an analysis of statistical information, the author presents five "profiles," bringing together motivations, actors, and circumstances. He concludes by examining the perspectives of neurobiology and genetics as well as psychology, sociology, and history.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Tables Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Transcription Notes Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part One: Palawan Culture and Society
The Kulbi-Kenipaqan River Basin and Its People Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Material Culture and the Symbolic Structure of Everyday Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
Social Organization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
The Spiritual World of the Kulbi People Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
Personhood, Emotions, and Moral Values Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
Part Two: Suicide
Sumling’s Death Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
Suicide Case Studies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Profiles in Suicide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	198
The Anthropological Study of Suicide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224
Explaining Suicide: Concluding Remarks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	254
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	289
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 336
Illustrations
- Other: 45 illus.

eBook

Published: October 31, 2006
ISBN: 9780824865368