This is an ethnographic study of the Samo people of Papua New Guinea. Centered on the structural role of ritual in tribal life, the book meticulously traces how complex ceremonial systems dictate social structures, kinship bonds, and village interactions. Shaw explores the critical pathway of male initiation rites, illustrating how communal ceremonies serve as a dynamic mechanism to transform personal identities and establish essential networks of social solidarity. By examining the intricate ways in which ritual acts, symbolic objects, and collective moods mediate daily life, Kandila provides anthropologists with invaluable insights into how a distinct cultural identity is preserved and reproduced through structured interpersonal relationships.

R. Daniel Shaw is a prominent anthropologist, missiologist, and Professor Emeritus at the Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, where he served on the faculty for decades. After earning his M.A. from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. from the University of Papua New Guinea, he spent 12 years with SIL International in Papua New Guinea translating Scripture and conducting extensive ethnographic research among the Samo people.