Ethnographers in Oceania and elsewhere often hear talk about ghosts and mythical little people who have great strength and magical qualities. Two analytical temptations are to dismiss talk about such figures as delusional or to see them as tokens of an expansively defined “hauntology”. This article, however, attempts to bring together ghosts and little people in a more analytically productive way, asking how they serve as both figures in history and figures of history. The recent work of Joel Robbins on an “anthropology of the good” is drawn upon as a key resource. Robbins argues that anthropologists used to be committed to the principle that human diversity is extensive and profound, but that in the wake of critiques of the culture concept and ethnographic writing, many scholars have lost certainty that otherness matters. As a result, many anthropologists have sought out the “suffering subject”, seeing trauma as a universal human experience that perhaps exceeds cultural contouring. In response, Robbins suggests a new focus on topics such as value, morality, time and hope, topics which— while not denying the reality of trauma, nor discounting the ability of anthropologists to study trauma effectively—allow us to find new promise in difference. This article describes Fijian ghost stories and talk about veli, mythical little people, and offers an analysis of them as alternative perspectives on the morally marked relationship between past and present. Ghosts are a socially disconnected subclass of spirits that mark suffering and loss. Veli (and other autochthonous spiritual figures) are signs of indigenous strength that endures and can win out, even as their non-Christian associations make the promising power they offer also somewhat dangerous.

中文翻译：

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小矮人，鬼魂与人类学的善

大洋洲和其他地方的民族志学家经常听到关于鬼魂和神话般的矮人的演讲，这些鬼怪具有强大的力量和神奇的品质。两种分析性的诱惑是不去谈论诸如妄想之类的数字，或者将其视为广泛定义的“困扰论”的象征。但是，本文试图以更具分析性的方式将幽灵和小矮人聚在一起，询问它们如何同时充当历史人物和历史人物。乔尔·罗宾斯（Joel Robbins）在“善良人类学”上的最新著作被视为重要资源。罗宾斯认为，人类学家过去一直坚持人类多样性是广泛而深刻的原则，但是在对文化概念和人种志著作进行批评之后，许多学者已经丧失了确定其他重要性的确定性。结果是，许多人类学家寻求“痛苦的主题”，将创伤视为一种普遍的人类经历，也许超出了文化轮廓。作为回应，罗宾斯建议重新关注诸如价值，道德，时间和希望之类的话题，这些话题既不否认创伤的现实，也不降低人类学家有效研究创伤的能力，但使我们能够找到新的希望。本文介绍了斐济的幽灵故事，并谈论了维尔利，神话中的小矮人，并对其进行了分析，作为对过去和现在之间在道德上标记有关系的替代观点。鬼魂是一种在社会上与世隔绝的精神子类别，它们标志着痛苦和损失。Veli（以及其他土生土长的精神人物）是持久存在并可以取胜的土著力量的标志，