In 1931-32, Alfred Buhler (1900-81), who for many years was director of the Museum of Ethnology and the Swiss Museum of European Folklife, in Basel, assembled a unique collection documenting the culture of the Admiralty Islanders. The Admiralty Islands are located on the northern edge of the region of Melanesia, and today constitute the Manus province of the independent State of Papua New Guinea.

In this book, commissioned by the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Sylvia Ohnemus for the first time presents the results of Alfred Buhler's collecting and study expedition, which she complements with her own contributions based on information gathered in the field.