Indignant Suicide in the Pacific: an Example From the Toraja Highlands of Indonesia

This paper describes a type of Toraja suicide in which a person kills him or herself after being offended, usually by a close family member. The author argues these suicides are not anomic, as suggested by many analysts, but “indignant” suicides. He concludes by suggesting that Durkheim, as well as contemporary analysts, underestimate the importance of indignant suicide in traditional societies as a factor in the high rates of suicide in many parts of the Pacific. (VM)