To Speak in Pairs Essays on the Ritual Languages of eastern Indonesia

These original essays study ritual language and parallelism (the strict ordering of words and phrases in alternative, duplicate form). The introduction puts the topic in historical perspective and what was once viewed as a composition form unique to ancient Hebrew is now seen as a feature common to literatures around the world. Here is the first book to compare in detail living traditions of parallel composition. Yet, despite the diversity of languages discussed by the contributors, their materials are drawn from a single cultural area still unknown to most specialists: Eastern Indonesia. All the essays contain original texts with translations and with detailed commentary on both content and context.

This collection of essays is a major contribution to the study of oral composition and ritual communication, and in particular to the use of 'parallelism' (the poetic ordering of words and phrases in alternative, duplicate form). The introduction by James J. Fox sets the topic in historical perspective, beginning with Robert Lowth's introduction of the term 'parallelism' in 1753 in his study of biblical language, demonstrating that what was once viewed as a form of composition unique to Ancient Hebrew is a feature common to many literatures around the world. The volume thus presents a remarkable picture of life in eastern Indonesia, which is both valuable in itself and useful for comparative analysis. All of the essays contain original texts with translations, together with detailed commentaries on their content and the context of their performance. The study of parallelism and its use in situations of formal communication has been receiving increasing attention from anthropologists, linguists, and all those interested in oral literature, as a topic of real theoretical and ethnographic interest. To Speak in Pairs represents an important advance in the study of oral literature in context.

Illustrations; The contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction James J. Fox; 1. Etiquette in Kodi spirit communication: the lips told to pronounce, the mouths told to speak Janet Alison Hoskins; 2. Method in the metaphor: the ritual language of Wanukaka David Mitchell; 3. Li'i marapu: speech and ritual among the Wewewa of west Sumba Brigitte Renard-Clamagirand; 4. The pattern of prayer in Weyéwa Joel C. Kuipers; 5. Fashioned speech, full communication: aspects of eastern Sumbanese ritual language Gregory Forth; 6. Manu Kama's road, Tepa Nilu's path: theme, narrative, and formula in Rotinese ritual language James J. Fox; 7. The case of the purloined statues: the power of words among the Lionese Eriko Aoki; 8. The journey of the bridegroom: idioms of marriage among the Endenese Satoshi Nakagawa; 9. A quest for the source: the ontogenesis of a creation myth of the Ata Tana Ai E. D. Lewis; 10. The tree of desire: a Toraja ritual poem Charles Zerner and Toby Alice Volkman; Notes; References; Index.

This collection of essays is a major contribution to the study of oral composition and ritual communication, and in particular to the use of 'parallelism' (the poetic ordering of words and phrases in alternative, duplicate form). To Speak in Pairs represents an important advance in the study of oral literature in context.