THE TROBRIANDS Trobriand subsistence pattern horticulturalists small scale farming Affinal relationship of individuals related to one another by marriage Consanguineal relations by blood Virilocal residence of a married couple with the husband s kin Patrilocal of or relating to a pattern of marriage in which the couple settles in the husband s home or community Polygyny the marriage of a man to two or more women Monogamy the practice or state of being married to one person at a time Matrilineal descent a principle of descent in which individuals are related to each other from a common female ancestor through women Cross and Parallel Cousins A parallel cousin is a cousin from a parent s same sex sibling A cross cousin is from a parent s opposite sexed sibling So a parallel cousin is the child of the father s brother or the child of the mother s sister A cross cousin is the child of the mother s brother or of the father s sister In a matrilineal or patrilineal descent group one s parallel cousins on one or both sides with belong to one s own descent group Cross cousins will not Bwagau the practice of sorcery by poisoning the victim Endogamy marriage within one s descent group Exogamy marriage outside of one s descent group Waiwai the spirit child that comes from a baloma spirit and is thought to cause conception Kitomu armshells swali and shell necklaces bagi that are individually owned Sagali the collective term for all mortuary distributions Magic According to Malinowski it is only when confronted by situations they cannot control because their pragmatic skills are inoperable that Trobrianders out of psychological stress turn from technology to magic Weiner observed that they turn to magic not out of psychological distress over a physical environment out of control but when it is essential that they produce a large catch that must be used for an important exchange that has social and political consequences To control the actions of the wind and the fish is ultimately proof of one ability to control an exchange providing a measure of control over others Trobriand magic is addressed to issues concerned with dominance and autonomy To influence another person through successful giving is to establish proof of one own potency Most Trobrianders feel they are impervious to the desires of others control is effected through magic Even for chiefs dominance depends on the power of magic Love and beauty magic used to seduce and secure a partner for sexual purposes and marriage A person s intentions are carried out covertly through magic spells that define the intensity of rivalry and the power of seduction Love magic must be used to overcome strong opposition The performance of such beauty magic links each young person to his her father s sister in an important way Almost every death that occurs is believed to be the result of sorcery bwagau effected by a specialist who chants magic spells into the victim s betel nut or tobacco Only when a person is very old and dies while asleep is death considered natural For everyone connected to the afflicted person illness signals danger an enemy is showing his intent The hostility projected by an enemy that results in death is viewed as an attack against the vitality of a matrilineage Most powerful magic spells for sorcery are known by only a handful of men Others must seek out one of them and ask him to perform his craft The payment is heavy a large stone axe blade Magic spells used to conceive a child No one can make up a new magic spell but traditional ones circulate widely The most common way for young people to obtain magic spells is to learn them from their older kin by giving Magic is the strongest support and most deadly obstacle Malinowski before him most anthropological knowledge of Papua New Guinea societies was based on reports and diaries from missionaries govt officers and explorers Major research objectives survey as many unstudied Papuan peoples as possible and record their customs before colonization and missionary efforts created vast cultural changes in their traditions Intrigued by the Trobrianders society and their organization around high ranking chiefs he spend a total of 2 years in residence between 1915 and 1918 Argued against earlier conceptions of primitive societies Made ethnology come of age as a scientific discipline and radically changed the way ethnographers approach fieldwork Argued for the important of field studies that lasted for a year or more cautioning the ethnographer to work in the local language and establish rapport with informants Cardinal rule of field work see reality from the natives point of view Weiner author of ethnography 60 years separate Malinowski s and Weiner s field work Most significant point of departure women s productive work In original research plans women were not the central focus went to study the art and economics of wood carving Took women s economic roles more seriously than Malinowski did Fieldwork 1971 1982 on Kiriwina Papua New Guinea Faced issues of self govt and national independence Kiriwina kite shaped island flanked by smaller islands Kitava Vakuta and Kaileuna as well as over 100 small uninhabited islands and islets Socially and politically the most prominent 25 miles long and 2 8 miles wide Population of 12 000 who live in 60 villages 5 dialects spoken here corresponding to major geographical divisions Variations of dialect within one island population but everyone speaks some version of Kilivila 1 of approximately 500 Austronesian languages common to the region which has an elaborate system of noun classifications East and north shores have sandy beaches with rough coral cliffs rising 8 10 ft high There are mangrove swamps in the south and the majority of the population lives in the north half of the island The largest land area is made up of swampy terrain surrounded by rich garden lands There are no rivers or streams tidal creeks drain the swamps Caves along coral outcroppings and springs at the edge of swamps along the shoreline provide fresh water and there is excellent fishing in open seas and lagoons Only Trobriand Island on which chiefs are granted extensive authority and power This is where Malinowski and Weiner did their fieldwork Only island on which exchanges of women s wealth reach such large proportions and involve men in such critical ways Kitava smaller island flanks Kiriwina Population in low 100s with less than 8 villages Slightly elevated Kwaibwaga Weiner