Transcript TROBRIANDERS III

THE TROBRIANDERS OF
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
CHAPTER ONE – THE TROBRIANDERS, PAST AND PRESENT
By sunil henil and peter
SUMMARY
A TRAGIC RETURN
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Turbulent to the Trobriand Islands
Coral Reef on the tip of Kirwana
Women are cooking
April 1982 (Vanoi, the highest ranking chief, is dead)
Landing is a social event
Bunemiga, Bulapapa, Bomapota are friends of Wiener from
Kwaibwaga
Haswa is island of administrative and commercial center
Bunemiga tells her about Vanoi’s death
Do not rise head above chief – this is a taboo with chiefs
To show disrespect to a chief is dangerous because some are
known for their sorcery
Vanoi knew sorcery and was killed by a rival chief by
sorcery
Paths to Omarakana are blocked with tree branches to show
EARLIER TIMES
• Vanoi’s death ends a stormy decade in the Trobriand, especially in Kiriwina
• In the 1970’s, looking forward for independence from the Aussies
• 1975, National Independence Day had large celebration, but power diminishing
• First Trip to Kiriwina in 1971, due to a tourist boom
• Port Moresby filled with Aussies
• Wood carving industry is mojor source of western money
• Europeans engaged in buy/sell of Trobriand items
• Carvers would wait for tourists to buy then wait on locals
• Charter plane on Saturday
• Money used to buy necessities
• If a man stays too long at hotel/store, they miss chance at fish claim
• Tourist boom
• Everyone is dressed up, with care for style of body
• Gratuitous use of baby powder
• Love magic also used
EXPECTATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT
• Economic boom due to industrialization
• 1972, hotel destroyed
• John’s Kabisawaki Economic association was hope
• Chief rival of this: Tonenai Kamokwita
Development Corporation
• Everything voer for John K in 1976, for begin
convitcted for embezzling government funds
• Major source of cash income is now by children
working elsewhere in Papa New Guinea
A HISTORY OF RESISTING CHANGE
• No change, all about tradition
• Malinowski came in 1915 and 1918, fighting for
tradition
• Monogamy is practiced by everyone, except chief
• Abolition of polygyny to weaken the chief’s
power
• Japanese came, World War 2
• 2 major species of yams cultivated
• Blowing conch shell announced to all villagers
that chief will fill yam house
• Kula expedition
AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY
• Trobriand cultural and traditional values are notable for their
resilience to foreign influences and changes
• Women appear to have little effect on their society and economics
• In truth, woman have complete control of their own wealth, as
they manufacture their own valuables
• The creation of red skirts from banana leaves, while seemingly
insignificant in the whole of Trobriand economics (compared to
decorative kula shells or yams, which are mainly owned by males)
have immense ceremonial value
• The banana leaves that the women gather are integral to mortuary
ceremonies
• During times of mourning, the red skirts and banana leaves are
distributed among the women
• These skirt/leaf bundles hold a value akin to money
• Those who leave the ceremony without profiting in bundles are
compensated by yams from the men
• The extraordinary discovery is that Trobriand women have their
own almost separate economy within the whole economy of Trobriand
KEY THEMES
Kinship as an Organizing
Principle
In much of the Trobriand islander society,
kinship plays a major role through marriage.
Specifically, much of the social structure in the
Trobrianders’ society is based upon marriage and
the exchange of gifts to act as an extension of
social interactions between the people. For
example, the Trobriand people often exchange yams
with the purpose of bettering their social
hierarchy with the logical approach stating that
the more yams a person has, the more influence they
have over the decisions made in the society. This
acts as an organizing principle, as it generates a
system of social classification based on the number
of yams a man is able to produce, a number which is
proportional to his monogamous or polygamous
Economic Organization and the
Environment
The economic organization of the Trobriander
society is highlighted through the division of labour
between genders, exchange systems, and the scale of the
market. In the Trobriand society, gender roles are
relatively balanced, where both the men and women rely
on each other. For example, both genders engage in
social activities and both are key to an important
aspect of the Trobriand lifestyle. The man in a
Trobriand unit is often responsible, or has a part, in
the political aspects of the society but can also
specialize in another skill such as carving, in order to
benefit the overall economy of the village through
selling their works. Women, on the other hand, are
responsible for much of the social interaction that they
have with other people in the village, for example, they
are essential to a man’s social status through their
importance to the production of yams, and they also
engage in gift giving to indicate the status of another
woman in the village. Exchange systems in the Trobriand
Belief Systems and Practices
Among other things, the Trobrianders follow
and believe in practices and beliefs of sorcery
(negative) and magic. For example, the chief of
a Trobriand society is thought to know powerful
spells to ward off, or harm the chief of another
village, if they pose a threat. However, they
can also be affected similarly by other chiefs.
For example, in the perspective of the original
Trobriand community, Vanoi (Chief) is thought to
have died because of a spell that affected him
negatively. However, in the Trobrianders
perspective, magic can also be used to benefit
individuals. For example, for unmarried
KEY ANTHROPOLOGICAL PHRASES
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Lineage : Lineal descent from an ancestor; ancestry
Missionaries : Pertaining, but not limited to religious missions
Premarital: Before marriage (usually associated with sexual activities)
Matrilineal : Pertaining to the mothers lineage
Methodist : A person that grew out of the revival of religion; stresses
both social and personal morality
Monogamy : Marriage to only one person at a time
Polygyny : Marriage to multiple persons at one time
Colonial : Concerning or pertaining to a colony or colonies
Cultural Resiliency : To be able to revert to the original culture
followed
Census : An official enumeration of the population , with details
regarding age, gender, occupation
Urbanities : The quality of being urbane; politeness, kindness
Cognatic : Related by birth; having the same parentage, descent, etc…
Affinal : Related by marriage
QUIZ TIME
• What is the story of Chief Vanoi’s death?
• Why were the paths from Omarakana leading to
the village blocked?
• What year was National Independence Day
declared?
• What does “Buwa” mean and how is this
significant?
• What is Trobriand known as?
finito
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