ABSTRACT
The inhabitants of Melanesia traditionally gain their livelihood mainly by horticulture, with gardens of yams and taro, and in the coastal areas by fishing. Pig-raising is also practised in a number of isles and in the interior region of New Guinea. As in practically all sedentary societies who take their livelihood from cultivated plants, a fundamental feature of the native Melanesian religion is the cult of ancestors. Belief in the deceased persons’ spirits gives rise to a number of ceremonies, which are carried out by the members of each clan in honour of their ancestors. The ancestors’ cult is a means to control individual behaviour and to preserve the moral code. It also helps to strengthen social cohesion and to maintain the cosmic order. Finally, it re-establishes symbolically, on each occasion, continuity between past generations and the living, that is to say between tradition and the present life.
