Rites of Terror: Emotion, Metaphor and Memory in Melanesian Initiation Cults Author(s): Harvey Whitehouse Reviewed work(s): Source:

The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Dec., 1996), pp. 703715 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3034304 . Accessed: 06/01/2012 15:59
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RITES OF TERROR: EMOTION, METAPHOR AND MEMORY IN MELANESIAN INITIATION CULTS

HARVEY WHITEHOUSE

TheQueen's University ofBelfast

Melanesian initiation frequently cults rites instil profound lasting incorporate that a and terror intheinitiates. article This surveys several contemporary of theories these traumatic ordeals, and that theories argues these establish generalities atthecostofadequate only engagement the with and in cognitive affective processes entailed ritual I propose newapproach, performance. a based on theories 'flashbulb of whichpenetrates memory', moredeeplythe religious experiences in and engendered traumatic for ritual, also accounts certain recurrent of patterns political in association initiation systems. 'Ritesof terror' hereenvisaged partof a nexusof are as and psychological sociological processes, dubbed 'imagistic the modeofreligiosity'.

Terror an integral is component religious of in experience many thesocieties of of Papua New Guinea. Following hair-raising a accountof penis-bleeding amongtheIlahita Arapesh, Tuzinobserves thewholeordeal'is carefully that andsuccessfully to horror itsvictims' in designed inspire maximum (1980:74). Barth describes a Baktaman how novice so terrified theordeals initiawas by of tionthat defecated thelegsofhiselders hadtobe excluded he on and from the groupofboysbeinginitiated of initiation (1975: 56). In his analysis Orokaiva Schwimmer cites & (1973: 177) approvingly Chinnery Beaver's(1915) claim in that function therites to instil a of is 'absolute lasting and terror thecandidates'. In his discussionof Bimin-Kuskusmin Poole likewise initiation, the of that of emphasizes terror novices, observing 'thepiercing thenasalsepta andtheburning forearms created mosttrauma, of ... the overt producing signs ofphysical in and/or psychological shock sixcases'(1982:144).Examples could, of course, multiplied. thisregion be In ordeals notconfined are to terrifying initiations; mayalso be evident suchdiverse they in contexts mortuary as rites of of (as in Schieffelin's [1976]description theburning Kalulidancers), possession (as in Williams's[1928: 67] account of the injuries caused by inducedconvulsions), millenarian supernaturally and & activity in Elbert (as of reof Monberg's [1965:399-400]transcriptionan account thebloodbaths from 'cargocult'on theislandof Bellona).It wouldnotbe unduly sulting a fanciful describe to these sorts practices 'rites terror'. of as of in The principal of of dynamics 'rites terror' be identified theinitiation may of of these system the Orokaiva northern Papua.Schwimmer (1973) divides rites intoseveral occurin a fixed phaseswhichdo not necessarily sequence. One phaseentails isolation novices a hutwhere, several the of in for months
Inst. J. Roy.anthrop. (N.S.) 2, 703-715

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(Iteanu1990: 46), they observe tabooon washing are generally a but treated well. Duringa secondphase,the novices, blindedby barkcloth hoods,are herded together thevillage brutally in and attacked senior by menwho assume theguiseof spirits (embahi). thecourseof thisordeal, In novices gradually are corralled a ceremonial onto platform. Thenthere follows muchlonger a period ofseclusion. According Iteanu, secondseclusion to this lasts between for three and sevenyears, whichtimethe novicesmustnot be seen or heard during their beyond placeof confinement, painof death(1990: 47). Duringthis on novices learn playsacred to instruments period, and (flutes bullroarers). third Schwimmer's phaseconcerns debut thenovices, the of decked in full out dancing regalia. The novicesenterthe dancing groundin a dense phalanx, brandishing mockspears stone and clubs. fourth A phaseinvolves presentathe tionof 'homicidal emblems'(otohu), whichtimeaged warriors at recite the namesof menthey in havekilled battle, before otohu fastened theforeare to heads of the novices.There is a finalphase which is not includedin Schwimmer's but Williams Iteanu and summary, which as regard indispensable. Thisphaseentails, other the among acts, distributionamassed of wealth. Iteanu the stresses fact novices responsible sharing cutsofpork that are for out from a not the lofty platform, unlike onetowhich wereearlier driven theembahi. they by All ethnographers theOrokaiva of havestressed terrifying the nature the of embahi The early accounts Chinnery Beaver(1915),further of and ceremony. enriched Williams in by (1930:181-3), a convey senseoftherealpanicinduced the Orokaiva and theanguish parents of who are witnesses their to novices, suffering. as morerecently there always risk is Moreover, Iteanu observes, a that the somechildren notsurvive ordeal may (1990:46). Any thoroughgoing analysis of the ceremony needs to take into accountits traumatic and clearly I life-threatening character.am goingto examine critically several current apto proaches theinterpretationthiskindof ritual, of that arguing theprincipal weakness all of themis that of fail they to showhow thecomplex conceptual andemotional of I shall of are aspects 'rites terror' interconnected. then propose an alternative the of memories the to theory, linking formation affect-laden of initiation. political dynamics Melanesian Current to approachesrites terror of Blochhas recently Orokaiva used initiation elucidate to whathe callsthe'irreducible structures religious of His starting phenomena' (1992:4). pointis that there a universal is of of recognition thebiological processes birth, maturation, deterioration death reproduction, physical and which characterize life-cycles the of humans many and other are to Socialgroups, species. however, notsubject thiskindofprocess; havea notional whichis unaffected they permanence, by thearrival departure particular and of In Bloch members. a Durkheimian spirit, a a social order. arguesthatritual provides way of conceptualizingtimeless the and and ritual afof Through caricature violent negation biology process, firms transcendent the in order of of authority society, represented thetimeless theancestral world. into to According Bloch,theembahi ceremony amongtheOrokaiva brings an destruction focus image transcendental of the permanence through symbolic in as ofearthly The are vitality. hoodednovices likepigs, so far their persecution

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is by the embahi construed a hunt,and theyare herdedonto a platform as associated butchery. someingenuity, with With Blochargues pigsrepresent that of mammal thebiological aspects humans. of Beingtheonly other species large to in indigenous PapuaNew Guinea, to pigsareespecially similar humans their withhumans by reproductive characteristics. arealso uniquely They associated to and virtue their of integration sociallife. into Theyarereferred as 'children' the their deaths mourned. are Bloch maintains, therefore, pigsrepresent that vital bodily or aspects people. of moveThe embahi, contrast, likebirds. by are Blochargues that feathers, the ments and vocalizations the embahi of have strongavian connotations. of According Bloch,thebirdis symbolically mirror to the image thepig.Birds arelinked the world withan immortal extraterrestrial existence beyond village ofvigorous a activity, and ageing. birth Avian imagery provides wayofconceptualizing sacredor spiritual the side of humanity, which is somehowthe In theembahi of transformative ceremony, the opposite corporeal, experience. ancestors. that All pig-like aspects the novices 'killed'by thebird-like of are This remains thenovices their of is sacred, transcendental character. is nurtured of the during periodof seclusion awayfromthe vitality villagelife,where are (appropriately enough) novices saidto 'grow the feathers'. The ritual is couldnotendat thispoint, becausetheaimof initiation notto 'kill'thenovices, to deliver life but them backintovillage as changed persons. This is notsimply matter recovering vitality beaten a of the whichwas earlier of thenovices theembahi; is a matter conquering vitality, of that out by it of to account the for bringing under it transcendental control. Thisenables Bloch and and of triumphant militaristic of thedebut.The brandishing spears tenor in of and of clubs,theconferral otohu, theclimbing theplatform theguiseof hunters butchers and rather prey, than publicly declares newroleofinitiates the and in the cycle as killers rather victims. than Theyarereinstated thevillage, life theproduction moresacredthan but process, theyare now morebird-like, before. keeping In withHertz's(1960: 77) imageof the 'socialbeinggrafted is transcendental upon the physical individual', authority seen as penetrating which This is a process intothefleshly, bodyof theinitiate. vital moredeeply shellis utterly will continue life at the through untilfinally, death, corporeal consumed. imof certain Bloch'sre-analysis Orokaiva initiation ideological emphasizes of violence. to the plications ritual According thisapproach, mostimportant killed is effect theembahi of the are ceremony that novices symbolically or,more transcendental their so precisely, vitality negated thattheybecomepurely is as The whichBlochdescribes 'reboundreturn thenovices, of beings. jubilant a political and ingviolence'(1992: 6), is a wayof conceptualizing instituting order whichis subject ancestral to authority. or as applied theembahi to A problem withBloch'sinterpretation, ceremony to PapuaNew Guineainitiation in general, that doesnotcapture is it rites very to of muchof theconscious According Bloch,embahi experience participants. as is of violence part a bifurcation as process, cognitively simple itis ideologically the In of irreducible ofreligious core thought, terror powerful. thecontext this of a mereside-effect theparticuofOrokaiva novices seemsto be superfluous, that larchoreography to One whichhappens be involved. gainstheimpression

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an equallysatisfactory resultcould be achieved the embahi in ceremony by symbolically killing novices the without them. I to actuallyfrighteningwilltry show that thisis notthecase.But,before can understand roleof terror, is we the it first necessary appreciate many thecognitive to that of processes involved in PapuaNew Guineainitiation arethemselves rites rather disconcerting, may and notfit very easily withtheprinciple 'rebounding of violence'. Bloch'shypotheses aboutthesymbolic valueof birdsand pigsare notsubstantially derivedfromOrokaivastatements. This is whollyjustifiable in principle, would be trueof anythorough and interpretationthesymbolic of valueofthese animals. Whatever understandings cultivated are through use the or in of porcine avianimagery Orokaiva in initiation, arenottransmitted they Williams language. commented length theabsence exegetical at on of commentary to ritual attaching Orokaiva (see, forinstance, 1928: 175-6),and Schwimmer his supports observation novicesare not givenverbalinterpretations that of initiatory symbolism (1973: 177).Evenifthey were, that wouldnotbe theend oftheanthropological formeaning Gell 1980;Sperber quest (see 1975).In the case at handvirtually entire the burden cultural of transmission on the rests ritual themselves. acts Blochintuits therevelations Orokaiva of that initiation iconically are codified. In his interpretation, physical behavioural and the characteristics pigsare of for concrete metaphors humancharacteristics. Thus, undercertain circumthe of the stances, killing pigswouldimply destruction negation porcine or of in in the of qualities the sacrifier, a manner whichparallels symbolic killing novices like are in behaving pigs.Contra Bloch,however, novices nottreated a makesthem likepigsin general, in a waythat but makes waythat specifically like of embahi connotes the them wild pigs.The 'hunting' novices numerous by wild the collective pigdrives which Orokaiva renowned for are (Williams 1930: of 1973: 143). This technique hunting involves 45-7; Schwimmer frequently themembers several of who to to wild villages, setlight thetallbladegrass drive animals intothehandsoftheir The in pigsand other pursuers. novices initiationwho aresimilarly herded hunted not, and do resemble domestic therefore, but pigs,as Blochassumes, wild pigs.Domestic pigsareindeedanthropomorof into but phically cognized virtue their by integration sociallife, thecase of wildpigsis rather different. Ifwildpigsarelikepeople, then hasnothing this to of of do with world physical death images thevillage activity, maturation, andso it are human on; as Iteanuobserves, is becausethey likealienand dangerous killedand eatenifencounenemies to were who,prior pacification, likewise in senior tered theforest that (1990: 37). In so faras novices appreciate their nurkinsmen treating are themlikequarry thusrepudiating former and their emotion. this likely stimulate is to confusion strong and turant, protective roles, makeof all thishasnever beencomprehensively Whatsensenovices explored oftheOrokaiva, knowledge other of New Guineareligbut byethnographers of us of ionsencourages to be wary a simplistic understandingiconicity. are in ofporcine avian and initiation Bloch'sinterpretations imagery Orokaiva butthistheory seemsto and generated a highly by original ambitious theory, asand muchof theintellectually bypass challenging emotionally stimulating if For pects of religious experience. example, it is arguedthatthe 'core' from in are cultivated theembahi understandings ceremony fetched everyday

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thenit is hardto see how initiation knowledge, might engender revelatory experiences. According thistheory, to knowledge thatone already possesses is in aboutpigsandbirds dramatically re-presented ritual performance.there If is a senseof 'revelation' it is presumably then rooted an appreciation the in of hierarchical relationship between of corporeal aspects humans(their porcine qualities) immortal (their and ones avianqualities). This,in itself, unlikely is to or be particularly surprising impressive, sinceit is a pervasive aspectof discoursein religious communities everywhere, not simply outcomeof and an ritual. This is affirmed thewayBlochconstrues by iconicity initiation: in that pigsreproduce, mature die is known and independentlyritual; so too is of but thefact birds notseemto ageanddie,thefact they that do that movein spaces wherehumanbodies cannotgo, and so on. These attributes speciesare of known independently ritual of action and arere-presented rather thancreated at bytheembahi to of ceremony, leastaccording myreading Bloch. Yetthere alsoa strand Bloch'sargument is to which seemstodeny iconicthe ity avian of imagery, suggesting immortality by that is only'thinkable' a result as of a binary logicin whichimages the'other of world'are constructed of out contrasts theperceptible, with As world. Blochputsit,this a process is physical bywhich'a mirror-like alternative is existence setup' (1992:20). A senseofthe is revelatory character ritual thereby of rescued, at a theoretical but premium. The recourse binary digital to or codification makes appear the'transcenit that of dental'emerges an artefact the ritual as rather thanof everyday process, The of couldimply a people'severyday perceptions birds experience. ideathat worldoutside becomes burdensome rather biological process theoretically than useful. It seemsto me,however, these that do is problems notariseificonicity seen to operate a waythatconflicts in witheveryday and It attitudes assumptions. thenbecomespossibleto explorethe revelatory of character initiation rites without in whichreducereligious seeking refuge digital operations conceptto that formation a verysimplethought instance, pigsare to birds what (for bodiesareto spirits). to on the It is necessary puttheOrokaiva and material one side,for moment, initiation examine whichhave been morecomprehensively studied. systems Some especially out workhas been carried by Barthamongthe impressive in the of or a Baktaman,society which power iconic codification, ofwhatBarth Bateson1972) 'analogic' lies of calls(following codification, in thecultivation and paradox, mystery, multivocality secrecy. Barth shownthat has Baktaman initiators entertain ambivalent attitudes towild malepigs.On theone hand, wildpigsfrequently wards damage gardens andaretherefore of and from initiation inimical theprosperity crops banned to ritual. theother On and hand,their ferocity virility leastthevitalservice (not in domestic desirable in they provide impregnating sows) exemplify qualities of carried battle into men.Barth how warriors (1975) describes a group novice in of had themandible a wildmalepigthat they justkilled theactofcopulation. the to the of was Following success this raid, mandible introduced themalecult attitude wildboarpersisted theextent thebonesof to that butan ambivalent to from temples. the other werestill debarred specimens

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the WhatBlochhas to sayaboutpigsamong Orokaiva might equally said be In the aboutpigsamong Baktaman. bothenvironments, aretheonlylarge pigs both mammals, wildanddomesticated animals valued their are for meat, in and behavioural physiological and terms their resemblances humanbeingsare to muchthesamein bothsocieties. Thereis,however, reason privilege no to the connexion between andideasofvitality biological pigs or process. attitudes The of theBaktaman wildpigs,in thecontext everyday focuspritowards of life, on destructive marily their habits:
men seem to regard themselves involved a continuous withthe wild as in Baktaman war pigs;they spendhoursin themen'shousesdescribing depredations detail, their in discussing their habits individual and on location next and move(Barth idiosyncrasies, speculating their 1975:39).

A novice with of in confronted a relic this public enemy thecontext a fertility of cultis likely experience to and wildpigsarenotthekind confusion, a sensethat As ofcreatures might one suppose. Barth putsit:
An auraof mystery insight created darkhints and is that are by things notwhatthey appear. That ignorant are is of assumptions negated guarded by knowledge theverystuff mystery cult(1987:33).

A clueto themeaning themandible likely be picked bythenovice of is to up in contemplating aggressiveness virility wildmalepigs.In addition the and of to overtheparadoxical character thisrevelation, noviceis likely of the mulling to the withother items temple associate mandible of sacra: bonesofancestors, the and theblackened of the ceiling theculthousewhichin turn connotes blackenedvineusedtotiethenovices togetheran evenmoreexplicit of image male with 1975:67). Aboveall,thefirst encounter thepigmandible solidarity (Barth withthe tortures privations third and of will be associated degreeinitiation, of whichare amongthe mostterrifying all Baktaman rites.But hereI am aheadofmyself jumping It is notonlyin theBaktaman that case lendsitself the to porcine imagery of and cultivation ideas about masculinity spirituality. Among the Ilahita use the initiators pigincisors lacerate glans to of as Arapesh, penises novices part of an actof purification sacralization. and Here,it is an attack a pig rather by thanby a birdwhichmakesthenovicemorelikean ancestor, less likea and at worldly, polluting being(Tuzin1980:340-1).Tuzinclaims that, a later stage of initiation, Ilahita novicesare ritually transformed pigs,as a into Arapesh result gorging porkduring phaseofliminality on the of (1980:344). is the or in The point that analogic iconic principle operates New Guinea initiain tions sucha wayas to confound andto emphasize everyday understandings, themultivocal multivalent and character revelation. process resistant This of is in to expression language, certainly notemerge ofa simple and does out digital or ofeveryday operation a straightforward re-presentation understandings. I with his to Where part over approach analogic codesis atthe company Barth to to the of pointwherehe turns psychoanalysis incorporate affective quality in for of ritual and and symbolism account patterns variation time space.Drawof of ingon Noy's (1969; 1979) classification theoperations primary process, the whichmight mechanisms Barthtriesto identify unconscious generative in incremental and entailed produce changes thefeelings, insights performances in initiations. seemsodd that It Barth shouldwaxFreudian, the given grounds

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of his aversion LUvi-Straussian to structuralism. Some twenty yearsago, he wrote:

One may be justifiablyunhappyabout a method where structures patternsmust be conor structedmerelywith a view to make all the pieces fittogetherand without opportunity for falsification any stage. The naive question of how much of these thoughtshave actually at been thoughtby the actorsconcerned can be raised ... but not resolved in such a structuralist framework (1975: 213).

A morerecent quotation showthat will Barth's viewson thematter not have changed substantially. writes: He
I feel intuitively committedto an ideal of naturalismin the analyticaloperationsI perform: thattheyshould model or mirrorsignificant, identifiable processes thatcan be shown to take place among the phenomena theyseek to depict (1987: 8).

Barth's to to seemtoviolate Nevertheless, appeals Noy,andultimately Freud, his empiricist instincts. as I have pointedout elsewhere For, (Whitehouse 1992b: 789-91), Barth's insistence theunconscious on nature culture of change is nowhere supported evidence such transformations.fact, the by of In all examples culture of change adducedin Barth's publications theBaktaman on areexamples consciously of introduced changes. The psychological in effects initiation of ritual New Guineaare farwiderreaching than any analysis the cognitive of processes entailedin analogic communication could encompass. Psychoanalytic theory, however, presents of onlyone ofa range possible waysofunderstanding emotional the on impact novices. Another approach, that theadvantage seeking establish one has of to theconscious of experiences participants,suggested socialpsychological is by studies attitude-change of among victims terrorism. an approach the of Such is elaborated Tuzinin hisanalysis Ilahita by of Arapesh initiation, hisconcluand sionsareworth quoting length: at
Under certainconditions the victimof extremeterror, virtueof what may be called coby erced regression,experiences love and gratitudetoward, and deep identification with, his persecutors.During the ordeal, of course, the novice's attitudesare at best highlylabile; but immediatelyfollowingit, the initiators drop theirrazors,spears, cudgels, or what have you, and comfortthe boys with lavish displaysof tenderemotion.What resentment lattermay the for have been harbouringinstantly dissipates,replaced by a palpable warmth and affection the men who, moments before,had been seeminglybent on theirdestruction. theirconAs fidence recovers itself,the novices become giddy with the realization that they have surmounted the ordeal. If there is an element of identification disclosed in this remarkable transformation and I do not know what otherinterpretation place on it - then the terror to component may well be essential if the cult, and indeed the societyitself, to continue in is its presentform(1980: 77-8).

Tuzin'sanalysis quiteplausible is the of vioand,unlike theory 'rebounding for nature lence', goesa longwaytowards accounting theterrifying ofinitiatory ordeals. the But, as withBloch'sapproach, 'love-of-the-oppressor' paradigm doesnottakeproper account themultivocality multivalence religious of and of in The rites imagery. alternation between and cruelty kindness Ilahita Arapesh would presumably thesame effect thenovices have on without complex the of imagery themalecult. The imWilliams wouldprobably havesympathized Tuzin'sapproach. with was his he of agewhich heldin mind, throughout analysis theembahi ceremony, but one of publicschool'ragging' rather thanterrorist violence, he preceded Tuzinin stressing waythat the cometo identify their with novices oppressors

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Williams to (Williams 1930: 197). In so doing, sought redress whathe saw as an imbalance Chinnery Beaver's in & approach, whichemphasized educathe tionalvalue of terror. According Chinnery Beaver,embahi to & violence in produced thenovices 'receptive frame mind'(1915:77). This constia ... of tutes one of theearliest attempts explain use of terror New Guinea to the in initiation, the line of reasoning suggests been amongthe most but it has neglected. and Fears flashbulbs In seeking bring cognitive ofOrokaiva to the side initiation exemplified rites, in Barth's of theory analogic codification, harmony theaffective into with aspects and the nature I am ofthese rituals, especially terrifying oftheembahi ceremony, inclined return Chinnery Beaver's to to & hypothesis. Contemporary anthroof of pologyhas the advantage beingable to drawon the fruits a greatly I of and advanced psychological understanding learning memory.am goingto in on of focus particular attention theoperations so-called 'flashbulb memory' whichextreme and shocks emotions cognitive becomeintertwined. Flashbulb memories vividrecollections inspirational, are of calamitous, or otherwise and emotionally arousing events. Brown Kulik (1982)argue such that memories generated a peculiar are in by neuralmechanism whicha specific range details of abouttheevent (location, source, affect aftermath)simuland is encoded. Numerous in taneously alternative explanations thephenomenon, for In bothbiological psychological and terms, havesincebeenadvanced.1 spite of Neisser's(1982) attempts explain canonical to the structure suchmemories of in terms the conventions story-telling, of of Winograd Killinger and (1983) showthat vividness detail flashbulb the and of memories notsubstantially are affected reminiscence. that Baktaman Orokaiva and initiates by Thus,thefact do notconverse abouttheir andinterpretations ofsecret ritual cult experiences shouldnotaffect canonical the structure these of memories. in has Herdt, hisworkon theSambiaof theNew Guineahighland fringe, and usedBrown's Kulik's of to the theory flashbulb memory understand extraof whichmark onsetof shamanic the ordinary experiences revelation powers, andwhich(as Herdtmentions passing) in of maybe triggered thetraumas by Sambiainitiation the (1989: 115). I havealso invoked conceptof 'flashbulb in withthetraumatic ordeals millenarian of ritual memory' connexion among the Baining(1995: 195,206). An advantage thistheory thatit fits of is with of exand people'sintuitive impressions how dramatic, frightening surprising seem to be 'printed' the mind.There is no need to postulate on periences processes inaccessible consciousness. we aredealing to What with hereis a stock of very whichare conand memories vivid, disturbing perhaps enlightening for turned overin theminds initiates years come,andindeed of to sciously may novice first realizes he is that them thegrave. to Whena Baktaman accompany and (in somesense)beingmadeintoa virile, aggressive - a warrior a father pig - he is notonlystruck theabsurdity hisprevious of aboutpigs, by assumptions of this with and buthe associates revelation theterrifying agonizing experience almost the to withnettles dehydrated and withstones, beingbeaten whipped crisesthat of and pointof death.It is thiscombination cognitive emotional the mnemonic effect. Herdt As produces distinctive points suchmemories out,

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provide focal imagery subsequent for reflection (1989:115),andthis howthe is 'fans connotations sacred of of symbols' (Barth 1987:31) areelaborated. Initiation ritesproducea patterned screenof representations feelings and against which later insights revelations projected. and are The vividness detail people'smemories initiation arerelated and of of rites in partto the surprising unexpected and nature revelation in partto the of and highlevelofemotional arousal. instance, is relevant Baktaman For it that esotericknowledge surprising the novices, is to but the reversal everyday of assumptions aboutwild malepigsis not in itself sufficiently impressive and memorable produce to flashbulb clarity. Psychologists shownthat have surprisingevents remembered greater are in if detail they alsoemotionally are arousing (see,for instance, Christiansen Loftus & 1991).Moreover, leastthree at studies thatthe detailof flashbulb suggest recallincreases directly withintensity of emotionat encoding(see Christiansen 1992: 287). The longevity such of memories also very is striking, has been demonstrated victims' as by detailed and closely in recollections atrocities concentration of matching camps, forty yearsafter thesecampswerecloseddown.There is also some evidence that recallof disturbing traumatic or experiences actually improves with time & with (Scrivner Safer sorts memories of 1988),incontrast other which be may to subject decay(Cohen 1989:156-9). These findings, although theyseem intuitively plausible, at odds with are mostearly abouttherelationship hypotheses between emotion and memory. Studies basedon the'Yerkes-Dodson whichrepresented relationship the law', between mental and or efficiency levelofarousal stress an inverted as U-shaped assumed curve, that states extreme impaired of fear rather thanimproved cognitiveprocessing. Nevertheless, following extensive an reviewof recent literature thesubject, on Christiansen concludes:
the results fromflashbulb studies and otherstudies real-life of eventssuggest thathighly emotional traumatic or events verywell retained are overtime,especially withrespect to detailed information associated withthetraumatic event(1992:288). directly

transmission political and association Memory, of in Now,the political implications initiatory traumas reside of partly thenature of is of episodicmemory whichflashbulb memory (in thecontext initiation in rites)an especially salient and circummanifestation, partly the contrived I stances transmission. thelatter of On written length at subject, haveelsewhere hereto a (Whitehouse 1992b;1994; 1995; 1996b)and I shallconfine myself of mainpoints. summary four in the First, religious understandings cultivated initiation ritual derive from collective and performances, can onlybe disseminated amongneighbouring the of As groups,or through displacement whole populations. Barthhas out the localized character of pointed (1990),thishelpsto explain fragmentary, traditions founded aroundinitiation rites. the manyreligious Secondly, trauof matic nature these and intense rites, thesecrecy surrounding them, generate as have observed solidarity amongparticipants, manywriters (forinstance, Barth1975: 223, 245, 251; Feil 1987:231; Godelier1991: 294; Lindenbaum this of to of 1984). Thirdly, experience solidarity be related thepractice may in and linked courage war,as theforegoing to 'sister-exchange'2 it is certainly

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discussion Orokaiva Baktaman clearly of and rites demonstrates. Sister-exchange and warfare, meanwhile, conducive theautonomy smalllocalgroups are to of (Modjeska1982). All these a factors encourage highly fragmented political landscape composed of small, boundary-conscious communities, ritual in standing relations hosof the is tility rivalry. or Internally, emphasis on cohesiveness solidarity.there and If is alsoan egalitarian ethosamong adultmales, may linked thecondithis be to to that tionsof religious and revelations are transmission, in particular thefact In of crucial notmediated leaders. thecontext initiation, by insights inferred are in as by participants a processsubjectively experienced personal inspiration. to the of for wisdom Nobodycomesforward impart wisdom theancestors, this is elusiveto language. is Religious instruction thereforematter collective a of rather a transaction than between teacher pupils Barth and revelation, (cf 1990). of imAdmittedly, authoritarian the behaviour initiators instantiates a striking balanceof power (Tuzin 1980: 73-4), but once the metamorphosis the of in novices complete, camaraderie is the engendered their common experience ofliminalityextended their In is to initiators. a realsenseinitiators novices and the and undergo experience together, shareitsdramatic consequences (Tuzin 1980: 78). When it is over,theyare closerthanbefore, both in status and identity. Peopleundergo particular initiation oncein a lifetime. rites Theymay particiIn suchrites but as of patein or witness again, never objects theperformance. these conditions infrequent of transmission, vital theoriginal itis that impact of in An theexperience endures memory. important of memories quality flashbulb is that they unforgettable, andhaunting. are vivid Theirpotency a concomiis tantof the uniqueness and emotionality the situation of whichgave riseto is them. The solidarity but generated amonginitiates lasting, it is also difficult to generalize extend. or This is another to factor contributing the politically of in bounded character initiation systems itis bestunderstood terms the and of mechanics episodic of is is What encoded nota script in a liturgical memory. (as for but sequence)or a habitual bodypractice in kneeling prayer), a setof (as and In memvery particular events, experiences responses. thecaseofflashbulb and are structured tied to the actual ory,these recollections canonically in historical context which events the Whatthismeans, occurred. other among is This actual inhabit these memories. isvery different from things, that persons thememories peoplehaveof highly that repetitive schemas rituals, involving of for that be and general sequences actions might performed anybody nota by set 1995: 85-6). Thus, the political and specific of people (see Whitehouse whichinitiation is in religious community creates fixed forever themindsof The bondsof solidarity forged or novices. once cannot easily revoked exbe tended.They encompass thosepeople who actually enduredthe terrifying and them forever from rest humanity. the of experience together, separate Conclusion to of do Certain influential approaches theinterpretationMelanesian religion of The not do justice to the consciousexperience participants. significance in to whichBloch attributes porcineand avianimagery Orokaivainitiation or heretical. in theeyesofpractitioners,unrecognizable (more be would, likely)

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This is not to say thatthe theory 'rebounding of violence'does not apply, merely it excludes great that a deal.It couldnot,evenin principle, handlethe moststriking of the aspects thisexperience from viewpoints participants, of including surprising the reversal everyday of understandings the terror and induced theembahi.3 interpretations by The suggested socialpsychology by are better to makesenseoftheaffective able aspects initiation, muchof the of but complexity cognitive of processes excluded. is Tuzin's recourse the'love-ofto the-oppressor' syndrome does not interlock with the symbolic richness of Arapesh rites. Noviceswould identify their with oppressors as readily just if they weresimply abused, without being exposed thecomplex to imagery the of male cult.Barth's of Freudian use insights encompasses moreof the ethnographic detail;like Bloch'sand Tuzin'sapproaches, it however, produces an interpretation fails engage that to substantially theconscious with experience of What participants. is clearly is required a wayofrelating livedexperience the of ritual performance,conceptual emotional in and terms, widerpolitical to conditions a manner is bothgeneralizable empirically in that and across productive a range cultural of traditions. I have suggested that'ritesof terror' maybe seen as partof a nexusof in psychological sociological and dimensions conceptof processes, which specific and remembering, linkedto the scale,structure are and formation, feeling This nexusis found a widevariety religin ethosof socialgroups. political of in ious traditions not merely Melanesian and initiation systems. a fuller In I of exploration itsdynamics, havedubbedthisconcatenation features of the 'imagistic mode of religiosity (Whitehouse 1995),a mode of 'beingreligious' that beenwritten has aboutfrom and withmany labels.4 many angles endowed It has longbeenappreciated intense that emotional states a crucial are element of thenexus, (as in thesampleof interpretations in but surveyed thisarticle) these states havenotbeenrelated thecomplex to that conceptual processes are in of and An engendered 'rites terror' other 'ecstatic' religious practices. advanon of via tageof focusing theintegrity emotion conceptual and complexity, a of of closeanalysis theworkings memory, that impelsus deeperintothe is it at as us ethnographythesametime itforces to generalize.
NOTES seminars the Uniat in This is a revised version a paperpresented 1993at departmental of I and of versities Oxfordand Manchester the Queen's University Belfast. shouldlike to of of for instructive departments all threeuniversities their at thank members the anthropology debt at on drafts, particular ofthanks my criticisms. reading commenting length earlier For and SimonHarrison HowardMorphy. and goesto MarcusBanks, MauriceBloch,Bob Barnes, I See, forinstance, & (1992) andWhitehouse (1996a). Wright Gaskell 2 The covariance male initiatory and sister-exchangeobserved Godelier(e.g. of by cults is I of is thathis explication their relationship not entirely 1991: 277), though argueelsewhere satisfactory 1992a: (WVhitehouse 110-11). 3 In talking levelof perI am to about'everyday understandings', not referring a universal but to inverted), specifically thoseideas and attiception (whichBloch sees as beingritually in in are but as tudesthat culturally discourse, thenexposed falsehoods emphasized non-ritual is to A mouse(eiraram) which, according everyesoteric cosmology. goodexample themarsupial vermin' of is categorized 'disgusting as but,in the context the day Baktaman understandings, food by category of itsown: privileged monopolized all malecult,'is elevated a sacramental to theancestor' 1975:82). (Barth

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4 For instance, 'dionysian', 'effervescent', charismatic', 'ecstatic', - fora discussion the etc. of to history theseattempts characterize 'imagistic of the mode of religiosity', W7hitehouse see 1995:194-217.

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Rites de terreur:"motion, metaphoreet memoiredans les cultes d'initiation melanesiens

Resume comprennent rites des instillant chez I1n'estpas rareque les cultesd'initiation m6lanesiens et Cet passe les novicesqui les subissent terreur une profonde aux effets prolonges. article ces traumatisantes montrer pour en revuequelques th6ories actuelles concernant 6preuves aux satisfaisant que leursconclusions g6neralisantes s'6tablissent d6pensd'un engagement rituelle. avecle proces emotionnel dansla performance L'auteur propose cognitifet implique de une theorie alternative 'flashbulb', sontplusa meme qui baseesurles theories la memoire les par et de penetrer experiences religieuses engendr6es les ritestraumatisants,de rendre au de formes d'association politique seindessystemes compte caractere du recurrent certaines les de font d'un nexusde processus psychod'initiation. Pour l'auteur, 'rites terreur' partie en de travesti 'mode imagistique religiosite'. logiqueset sociologiques

Queens Belfast DevartmentSocial of Anthropolo9y, University, B7T71NN