Are Trobriand Islanders matrilineal?
The people of the Trobriand Islands are mostly subsistence horticulturalists who live in traditional settlements. The social structure is based on matrilineal clans that control land and resources.
What do Trobriand Islanders eat?
Trobriand Island crops include yams, bananas, taro, sugarcane, beans, squash, leafy greens, and coconuts. Meals are eaten in private. In Trobriand Islander culture, eating in front of somebody is taboo. If people are in the same area together while eating, they do so quickly and with their backs turned to each other.
Did Trobrianders practice polygamy?
– Also, chiefs are the only members of Trobriand society who may have multiple spouses. Trobrianders are not permitted to marry their blood relatives. – This means they cannot marry anyone who is considered to be a cousin.
What is used to pay taxes in the Trobriand Islands?
Members of the new elite conspicuously pay bridewealth in shell valuables. The islands off the extreme southeastern tip of New Guinea were linked by the kula trading cycle, which distributed not only shell valuables–the ostensible motive of the transactions–but also quantities of other goods.
Who studied Trobriand Island?
C. G. Seligman
The first anthropologist to study the Trobrianders was C. G. Seligman, who focused on the Massim people of mainland New Guinea. Seligman was followed a number of years later by his student, the Polish Bronisław Malinowski, who visited the islands during the First World War.
Who can participate in kula?
A limited number of men could take part in the kula, each man keeping an article for a relatively short period before passing it on to one of his partners from whom he received the opposite item in exchange. The partnerships between men, involving mutual duties and obligations, were permanent and lifelong.
What is the purpose of Kula ring?
It provides internal status for men, and strengthens political stability among kula trading islands by reinforcing peace, since Trobrianders are highly reticent to attack islanders who are partners in kula.