In Central Enga burial of the dead used to be a means of protecting the living from ghostly malice, however, now burial is becoming an expensive business, and grave styles a new form of status symbol. This paper traces significant aspects of the change from pre-contact burial practices to those of today. Introduced beliefs and new ways of establishing social standing are contributing to the development of elaborate graves. Grave construction has developed as competitive prestige-enhancing events through which followers demonstrate their loyalty and obligation to the deceased. In doing so they are establishing in their midst a permanent reminder to the deceased's fame in a way that is more enduring than the instability of the competitive bigman system.

中文翻译：

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在Enga上进行重大业务

在恩加中部，埋葬死者曾经是保护人们免受恶毒恶意侵害的一种手段，但如今，埋葬正成为一项昂贵的生意，而坟墓式的身份则成为一种新的身份象征。本文追溯了从接触前埋葬做法到当今的转变的重要方面。引入的信仰和建立社会地位的新方法正在为精心打造的坟墓做出贡献。坟墓建设已发展成一种竞争性的声望提升活动，通过它，追随者表现出对死者的忠诚和义务。这样，他们就在永久性地提醒死者的名声，其方式要比竞争性大佬制度的不稳定更加持久。