“Naven” is the name of a peculiar ritual practiced by the Iatmul, a head-hunting tribe of New Guinea. The ceremony is performed to congratulate members of the tribe upon the completion of notable accomplishments, among which homicide ranks highest. Ordinarily this tribe insists upon an extreme contrast between the sexes, but in the “naven” ceremony, transvestitism and ritual homosexuality are represented. The “naven” serves in this book as a motive around which the author has constructed one of the most influential works of field anthropology ever written.” BOOK JACKET