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Trobriand people
The people of the Trobriand Islands are mostly subsistence horticulturalists who live in traditional settlements. Their social structure is based on matrilineal clans that control land and resources. People participate in the regional circuit of exchange of shells called kula, sailing to visit trade partners on seagoing canoes. In the late 20th century, anti-colonial and cultural autonomy movements gained followers from the Trobriand societies. When colonial rulers forbade inter-group warfare, the islanders developed a unique, aggressive form of cricket.
Although reproduction and modern medicine is widely understood in Trobriand society, their traditional beliefs have been remarkably resilient. For example, the real cause of pregnancy is believed to be a baloma, or ancestral spirit, that enters the body of a woman, and without which a woman cannot become pregnant; all babies are made or come into existence (ibubulisi) in Tuma. These tenets form the main stratum of what can be termed popular or universal belief. In the past, many held this traditional belief because the yam,[specify] a major food of the island, included chemicals (phytoestrogens and plant sterols) whose effects are contraceptive, so the practical link between sex and pregnancy was not very evident.[dubious – discuss][better source needed]
The Trobriand peoples speak Kilivila, though different dialects are spoken in different tribes. It is an Austronesian language with a complex system of classifying nouns. Foreign languages are less commonly spoken, although by the 1980s, Trobrianders occasionally spoke Tok Pisin and English. The term "Trobriand" itself is not Kilivilan: the islands take this name from the French explorer Jean François Sylvestre Denis de Trobriand who visited in 1793.
Drawing upon earlier work by Bronisław Malinowski, Dorothy D. Lee's scholarly writings refer to "non-lineal codifications of reality". In such a linguistic system, the concept of linear progress of time, geometric shapes, and even conventional methods of description are lost or altered. Lee gives the example of a specific indigenous yam. As the yam moves from sprouting through ripeness to overripeness, the name for it in each state changes entirely: the description of the object at different states of development relates to wholly different perceptions of the object. Ripeness is considered a "defining ingredient", and so when it becomes overripe, a yam is perceived as a new object altogether. The same is true of time and geometric shapes.
In Trobriand society, it is taboo to eat in front of others. Jennifer Shute writes, "Trobrianders eat alone, retiring to their own hearths with their portions, turning their backs on one another and eating rapidly for fear of being observed." But it is perfectly acceptable to chew betel nuts, particularly when mixed with some pepper plant and slaked lime to make the nut less bitter. The betel nut acts as a stimulant and is commonly used by Trobrianders, causing their teeth to often appear red. Because in the past food was often scarce, to boast of having food is one of the Trobriand Islanders' chief glories and ambitions. Though food is most important, and the subject of food is most discussed, at Miamala, the annual time of harvest and feasting, the islanders can face hunger and scarcity due to poor growing conditions at any time of year. In 2009, the problem of population pressure, leading to food insecurity, received much national and international media attention.
Trobriand children as young as six are encouraged to have intercourse. They begin to play erotic games with each other and imitate adult seductive attitudes. Around age 13, they begin to pursue sexual partners. They change partners often. Women are just as assertive and dominant as men in pursuing or refusing a lover. This is not only allowed, but encouraged.
In the Trobriand Islands, there is no traditional marriage ceremony. A woman stays in her lover's house instead of leaving it before sunrise. The man and woman sit together in the morning and wait for the bride's mother to bring them cooked yams. The couple eat together for about a year, and then go back to eating separately. Once the man and woman eat together, the marriage is officially recognized.
When a Trobriand couple want to marry, they show their interest by sleeping together, spending time together, and staying with each other for several weeks. The girl's parents approve of the couple when a girl accepts a gift from a boy. After that, the girl moves to the boy's house, eats her meals there, and accompanies her husband all day. Then word goes out that the two are married.
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Trobriand people
The people of the Trobriand Islands are mostly subsistence horticulturalists who live in traditional settlements. Their social structure is based on matrilineal clans that control land and resources. People participate in the regional circuit of exchange of shells called kula, sailing to visit trade partners on seagoing canoes. In the late 20th century, anti-colonial and cultural autonomy movements gained followers from the Trobriand societies. When colonial rulers forbade inter-group warfare, the islanders developed a unique, aggressive form of cricket.
Although reproduction and modern medicine is widely understood in Trobriand society, their traditional beliefs have been remarkably resilient. For example, the real cause of pregnancy is believed to be a baloma, or ancestral spirit, that enters the body of a woman, and without which a woman cannot become pregnant; all babies are made or come into existence (ibubulisi) in Tuma. These tenets form the main stratum of what can be termed popular or universal belief. In the past, many held this traditional belief because the yam,[specify] a major food of the island, included chemicals (phytoestrogens and plant sterols) whose effects are contraceptive, so the practical link between sex and pregnancy was not very evident.[dubious – discuss][better source needed]
The Trobriand peoples speak Kilivila, though different dialects are spoken in different tribes. It is an Austronesian language with a complex system of classifying nouns. Foreign languages are less commonly spoken, although by the 1980s, Trobrianders occasionally spoke Tok Pisin and English. The term "Trobriand" itself is not Kilivilan: the islands take this name from the French explorer Jean François Sylvestre Denis de Trobriand who visited in 1793.
Drawing upon earlier work by Bronisław Malinowski, Dorothy D. Lee's scholarly writings refer to "non-lineal codifications of reality". In such a linguistic system, the concept of linear progress of time, geometric shapes, and even conventional methods of description are lost or altered. Lee gives the example of a specific indigenous yam. As the yam moves from sprouting through ripeness to overripeness, the name for it in each state changes entirely: the description of the object at different states of development relates to wholly different perceptions of the object. Ripeness is considered a "defining ingredient", and so when it becomes overripe, a yam is perceived as a new object altogether. The same is true of time and geometric shapes.
In Trobriand society, it is taboo to eat in front of others. Jennifer Shute writes, "Trobrianders eat alone, retiring to their own hearths with their portions, turning their backs on one another and eating rapidly for fear of being observed." But it is perfectly acceptable to chew betel nuts, particularly when mixed with some pepper plant and slaked lime to make the nut less bitter. The betel nut acts as a stimulant and is commonly used by Trobrianders, causing their teeth to often appear red. Because in the past food was often scarce, to boast of having food is one of the Trobriand Islanders' chief glories and ambitions. Though food is most important, and the subject of food is most discussed, at Miamala, the annual time of harvest and feasting, the islanders can face hunger and scarcity due to poor growing conditions at any time of year. In 2009, the problem of population pressure, leading to food insecurity, received much national and international media attention.
Trobriand children as young as six are encouraged to have intercourse. They begin to play erotic games with each other and imitate adult seductive attitudes. Around age 13, they begin to pursue sexual partners. They change partners often. Women are just as assertive and dominant as men in pursuing or refusing a lover. This is not only allowed, but encouraged.
In the Trobriand Islands, there is no traditional marriage ceremony. A woman stays in her lover's house instead of leaving it before sunrise. The man and woman sit together in the morning and wait for the bride's mother to bring them cooked yams. The couple eat together for about a year, and then go back to eating separately. Once the man and woman eat together, the marriage is officially recognized.
When a Trobriand couple want to marry, they show their interest by sleeping together, spending time together, and staying with each other for several weeks. The girl's parents approve of the couple when a girl accepts a gift from a boy. After that, the girl moves to the boy's house, eats her meals there, and accompanies her husband all day. Then word goes out that the two are married.