Gesture in New Guinea

[from introduction] Whenever people to talk—whether they are telling stories, giving directions, sharing gossip, teaching children, cooking food, or counting objects—they accompany their speech with meaningful body movements, or gestures. These gestures may be produced with the hands, arms, head, and face; they may be subtle or salient, idiosyncratic or culturally shared; they include points and shrugs, nods and winks, depictions of shapes and imitations of actions. While much is made of cultural differences in the amount of gesture, the fact is that human communication everywhere involves a steady hum of kinetic activity. New Guinea is no exception.