Preface to the Second Edition

vii

Foreword

Methods of Presentation

(5)

Artistic and scientific techniques contrasted; functional analysis; the importance of ethos; synchronic study of culture; sketch of the Iatmul people

The Naven Ceremonies

(17)

Occasions on which Naven are performed

(4)

(1) Major achievements of laua; (2) first accomplishment of minor acts; (3) acts characteristic of laua; (4) boasting in presence of wau; (5) changes in laua's social status; naven for girls

Materials upon which the Description is based

(2)

Small naven; the five naven witnessed by the writer; native descriptions of naven

Description of the Ceremonies

(11)

Two waus in Palimbai naven; waus called ``mothers''; their transvestite costume; their buffoonery; they search for laua; grotesque obscenities; laua gives valuables to wau; wau rubs buttocks on laua's leg; classificatory spreading of naven; naven in Mindimbit for children who had made sagol transvestite women; relatives concerned; their costume contrasted with that of wau; costumes of mother and mother's brother's wife; special kinship terms for transvestite women; women beating men; women enter ceremonial house; women's dance; naven for girl who had caught fish; was carrying laua; laua on belly of wau; mother's brother's wife (mbora) dances; presentations of pigs; return presents of valuables; naven for homicide; mbora snatches feather ornament from iau; mbora copulates with wau; laua spears the fish-trap and steps across all the women; summary of the naven behaviour of the various relatives

The Concepts of Structure and Function

(12)

Structure

(3)

Formulations as summaries of many details of cultural behaviour; ``tradition'' equated with Structure; definition of Cultural Premises; definition of Cultural Structure; Social Structure

Function

(9)

Strict and popular uses of the term; ``useful'' functions; instituions; classification of ``functions'' is a necessary preliminary to definition of institutions; previous classificatins; Radcliffe-Brown's system; the position of economics; definitions of categories used by the writer; considerations leading to subdivision of ``pragmatic function''; impossibility of guessing at affective functions until the ethos of the culture is known; the analogy between ethos and eidos; relation between these concepts and ``Configuration''; standardisation of individuals by culture; the irrelevance of psychology to sociology

Cultural Premises Relevant to The Wau-Laua Relationship

(19)

Identification

(1)

Discrimination between Wau and Father

(2)

Story of children who are ashamed of father and mother who behave like wau and mbora; esoteric knowledge given to son but sold to laua; ``my laua will help my son''; wau may help laua in first killing, but father must not do this; wau and laua identified in achievements; father and son identified in economics

Identification between Father and Son

(4)

Evidence from terminology; double terms for groups of kin; the term, wau, sometimes applied to mother's brother's son; avoidances between father and son; promotion of son into father's initiatory grade; intimacy between father and son is shocking; mutual respect

The Child's Relationship to the Maternal Clan

(6)

Bones regarded as a product of semen, but flesh and blood derived from menstrual blood; names given to child by paternal and maternal clans;-awan names; aspects of child's personality represented by these names; fate of names after death; the laua identified with the ancestors of the maternal clan; laua addressed as ``father and father's father''; laua addressed as totem of maternal clan; laua dances in masks representing maternal ancestors; laua ornaments himself with totemic plants of maternal clan; laua eats the sacrifices to his maternal ancestors; laua eats fowl presented by trespasser; laua eats maternal ancestors; pwivu ritual; mintshanggu mortuary ceremony; part played by paternal and maternal clans

Summary of the First Three Premises

(1)

The child is identified with the father but competes with him in achievement; the child is the achievement of the mother and his achievements are her achievements; achievements of man and woman stressed in mortuary ceremonial; myth of naven celebrated for a man on occasion of the birth of his child; the tragic consequences; procedure at first kill explained; achievements equated with ancestors

Identification between Brother and Sister

(3)

Evidence from the naming system; ceremonial behaviour expressing this identification; the passing of the right to names from sister to brother; brother cutting sister's hair, presenting a shell valuable and claiming the names; position of woman who is solitary surviver of clan; her bride price greater because all the names are vested in her

Identification of Wife and Husband

(2)

Evidence from kinship terminology; household as a single economic unit; context and identification

Sorcery and Vengeance

(20)

The native concept of ngglambi; infectious guilt; native phrasings of the cause of death; ngglambi equated with lex talionis; homonymous uses of the word nggambwa, ``vengeance''; native phrasings of the cause of death illustrate the identifications described in Chapter IV; eleven stories of sorcery and killing documenting these identifications

Structural Analysis of the Waulaua Relationship

(12)

The wau's behaviour analysed in terms of the identifications described in Chapter IV and documented in Chapter V; these identifications indicate that wau is a ``mother'' and a ``brother-in-law'' of laua

The Wau as a ``Mother''

(3)

Sketch of the relationship between a mother and her child; her gifts of food to the child; her vicarious pride; the mother as a comforter; analogous behaviour of wau; exaggeration in wau of the natural behaviour of mother; behaviour of laua analogous to behaviour of son towards mother; his loyalty

The Wau as a ``Wife's Brother''

(4)

Sketch of the relationship between brothers-in-law; bride-price; indebtedness; co-operation; joking about mutual opposition; insistence upon loyalty between brothers-in-law; duty of peace-making between maternal clan and wife's clan; analogies between wau-laua relationship and that of brothers-in-law; laua presents valuables to wau

Other Details of Wau's Behaviour

(4)

The ceremonial in which wau rubs his buttocks on laua's leg is not describable in terms of either aspect of the wau's position; combination of identifications would label wau as ``wife'' of laua; suggestion that the ceremonial is an expression of this relationship; supporting evidence for this; problem of elaboration of culture; details of behaviour which might be described in terms of weak identification between wau and laua's father; exaggeration of wau's behaviour; the relationship between wau and laua summarised in a diagram

The Sociology of Naven

(22)

The Integration of Iatmul Communities

(11)

Assumption that by naven the kinship link between wau and laua is strengthened; the importance of statistics in Sociology; the type of statistical information required; an outline of the marriage system of the Iatmul, showing that in this society there is no mechanism for the repetition of marriages in succeeding generations; iai marriage; marriage with father's sister's daughter; exchange of women; logical relationships between these discordant types of marriage; irregular marriages; the importance of affinal links in the integration of Iatmul society; the behaviour which accompanies these links; two types of extended affinal relationship; lanoa nampa and laua nyanggu; laua nyanggu defined by past marriages; ``women hither, women thither''; stressing laua relationship equivalent to a stressing of old affinal links; size of community limited by internal cohesion; fission follows patrilineal linkages and breaks the affinal links; the weakness of the latter therefore sets limit to the size of community

Peripheral and Centripetal Systems

(9)

Analogous methods of integrating societies; the social function of codified law and established authority; absence of such mechanisms among the Iatmul; system of sanctions among the Iatmul; the vengeance sanction; quarrels are always between peripheral groups, never between higher and lower authority; four cases illustrating this; a thief killed; a woman caught spying on secret flutes; a junior ceremonial house defiled; a quarrel about suspected adultery

Contrasting types of Fission

106

(2)

Fission of Iatmul communities with peripheral orientation leads to formation of new communities with the same cultural norms as the parent; fission of European systems with centripetal organisation leads to formation of daughter groups with divergent norms

Problems and Methods of Approach

108

(15)

Problems

108

(3)

Structural and Sociological analysis has answered a number of questions about naven; other questions remain; exaggeration of wau's behaviour; problem of the size of villages; problems of motivation; wau's hypothetical desire for allegiance; answers based upon hypothetical ``human nature''; difficulties in attributing affective motive

Zeitgeist and Configuration

111

(3)

The historian's approach to culture; Zeitgeist and cultural change; Configuration and the adoption of foreign traits of culture; cultural emphases, due to standardisation of individuals; standardisation either by selection or training

Psychological Theories and Ethology

114

(5)

Criticism of answers which invoke universal human nature; existence of opposite tendencies in human nature; need for a criterion which shall justify us in invoking one tendency rather than another; concept of standardisation provides this criterion; we must verify that the sentiments invoked are actually fostered in the culture; circular argument; its justification; definition of ethos (p.118); ethos and typology; possibility that future comparative work will provide verification of ethological hypotheses

Examples of Ethos in English Culture

119

(4)

The Ethos of Iatmul Culture: The Men

123

(19)

The Ceremonial House

123

(6)

The ceremonial house compared with a church; behaviour in the ceremonial house; self-consciousness; debates; pride in totemic ancestors; stealing of names and ancestors; ritual staged for women

Initiation

129

(8)

Irresponsible bullying; scarification; hazing of novices; competition between the moieties; novices as ``wives'' of the initiators; ethological processes in initiation; ``cutting off their own noses to spite the other fellow's face''; a woman sees a whistle in Mindimbit, and the secrets are therefore shown to the small boys; small boy killed in Palimbai for insulting wagan, and the wagan are therefore shown to women

Headhunting

137

(5)

A captive speared; feuds; personal pride and village prosperity; inability to revenge causes ngglambi; enemy corpse ritually killed; heads and phallic standing stones; the vanquished give the names of the dead

The Ethos of Iatmul Culture: The Women

142

(10)

The dwelling house; fishing; markets; assertive women; taking the initiative in love; women in headhunting; seeking vengeance; women's courage commemorated; woman's authority in the house; double emphasis in women's ethos; the same double emphasis in ceremonial; jolly dances for women only; innocent obscenities; women proud in public procession; mild transvesticism

Attitudes Towards Death

152

(8)

A death at night; the women weep; a man is embarrassed; the burial; the death of a great fighter; the men debate; they set up a figure of the dead with symbols of his achievements; death provides a contest for competitive boasting; later mortuary ceremonies; mintshanggu; ``quiet singing''; women's dirges stimulate the men to caricature; pride in the presence of certain death

The Preferred Types

160

(11)

Ethological contrast and Kretschmer's typology; the violent man and the man of discretion; a ``cranky'' informant; types contrasted in mythology; long noses; typology and phallic symbolism; Mali-kindjin, a character sketch; ambivalent feelings about him; skinny sorceres; native personality and culture contact; Tshimbat, a maladjusted individual; his pig killed

Ethological Contrast, Competition and Schismogenesis

171

(27)

Heredity and Environment

171

(2)

Biological differences between the sexes; difficulty of accounting for ethological contrast in these terms; the possibility that genetic variation has provided clues for cultural emphasis

Conditioning factors which maintain Sex Contrast

173

(2)

Possibility that male ethos is inculcated in training of youths; imitation of seniors; headhunting; first kill; such factors maintain the status quo

Schismogenesis

175

(2)

The status quo as a dynamic equilibrium; schismogenesis defined; tendencies towards progressive change in behaviour patterns in relationships; complementary and symmetrical schismogenesis

Schismogenesis in Iatmul Culture

177

(1)

Women as an audience; reaction of the men to women's dirging; complementary schismogenesis in initiation; the boasting of the laua; symmetrical schismogenesis in initiation

Schismogenesis in Other Contexts

178

(9)

(1) In marriage; (2) in progressive psychological maladjustment; schismogenesis within the personality; the importance of cultural emphases; (3) in culture contacts; (4) in politics

The Progress of Schismogenesis

187

(3)

Schismogenic behaviour at first satisfactory; subsequent distortion of personalities; mutual hostility; mutual envy; distaste for complementary ethos; schismogenesis expected to follow exponential curve; two factors which may hasten schismogenesis

The Control of Schismogenesis

190

(8)

The nature of dynamic equilibrium; factors which preserve the status quo; upper limits of tolerance; over-emphasis of ethos; processes of change opposed to schismogenesis; (1) complementary patterns in a symmetrical relationship and symmetrical patterns in a complementary relationship; (2) schismogenesis based upon one pair of complementary patterns may be restrained by patterns of a different complementary pair; (3) sudden change in the patterns of a symmetrical schismogenesis; (4) Schismogenesis between two groups may be checked by schismogenic relationship with an outside group; (5) balanced hierarchies, etc.; (6) conscious control of schismogeneis; complicated Iatmul mechanisms; (7) mutual dependance between conflicting groups; (8) progressive changes in behaviour resulting in convergence

The Expression of Ethos in Naven

198

(20)

Sex Ethos and Naven

198

(5)

Many of the details of naven now appear as ethologically normal; exaggerated behaviour of wau; mother lying naked; women showing pride in public ceremonial; problems of transvesticism; the fashionable horsewoman; a theory of Iatmul transvesticism

Kinship Motivation and Naven

203

(15)

Wau (p. 203); his behaviour interpretable in structural terms; the incompleteness of such interpretation; factitious emotion; two degrees of falsity in the emotions attributed to the classificatory wau; myths which indicate some hostility between wau and laua; analysis of this hostility in terms of wau's structural position as defined by identifications; hostility connected with wau's position as ``brother-in-law''; effects of this on his relationship with laua; the wau symbolically claiming the achievements of his laua

tawontu (p. 210); differences and analogies between his position and that of wau; his overt expression of hostility

nyai', nyamun and tshuambo (p. 210); sociological, economic, structural and emotional factors which prevent the father from taking an active part in naven; analogous factors in the position of brothers

Contrast between the motivation of the men and that of the women (p. 213)

nyame (p. 215); a straightforward expression of negative self-feeling; nakedness in various contexts---mourning, supplication and rejoicing

iau (p. 215); her identification with the father would provide structural basis for two opposed behaviour patterns; she adopts swaggering role

tshaishi (p. 216); analogies with iau; levirate

nyanggai (p. 216); her quarrel with tshaishi

mbora (p. 217); her identification with transvestite wau results in ambiguity; snatching the feather ornament from iau, symbolically claiming the achievement

The Eidos of Iatmul Culture

218

(39)

The Problem of Iatmul Complexity

218

(3)

The nature of cultural structure; the role of the scientist; eidos defined (p. 220); standardisation of intellectual activity; selection or training; spells to improve memory

Intellectual Activation in Iatmul Culture

221

(5)

Memory; erudition in debate; rote memory probably unimportant; secret mythology handled as a series of details rather than as narrative; visual and kinaesthetic imagery; naven as an expression of eidos

The Pervasiv Nature of Eidos

226

(3)

Activation of memory not confined to special individuals; masters of ceremony moulding the culture; the naming system not an isolated context; the whole culture reflected in the system; initiation the only exception

Iatmul Paradoxes

229

(6)

Day and Night; the new Sun and the old Sun; ripples and waves; photographic development as a clan secret; the Antipodes; lunar eclipse; confusion of sociological and affective truth with cognitive reality; discrimination and identification of aspects of personality; wagan; borassus palm is a fish; the same paradoxes in kinship; patriliny versus matriliny; the same paradoxes in naven

Other Patterns of Iatmul Thought

235

(15)

Pluralism; monism; direct and diagonal dualism; types of dualism and schismogenesis (fn. 2, p. 237); ``artificial'' brothers and brothers-in-law; kaishi; other types of dualism; confusion between direct and diagonal; dualisms and age differences; difference in sex equivalent to difference in age; staggered series; generations; initiatory grades; brothers; flutes; Castor and Pollux and comparative methods; Iatmul and Australian kinship compared

Scientific and Native Ways of Thought

250

(5)

Sociological thinking among the Iatmul; structural thinking; ethological thinking; economic thinking; thinking in terms of character formation; diachronic and synchronic thinking

Other Types of Psychological Standardisation

255

(2)

Apollonian and Dionysian; tempo; perseveration

Epilogue 1936

257

(23)

Narrative of the writer's analysis of methods; lack of orientation in field work; ``Patterns of Culture''; adding ethos to naven; transvesticism; the fallacy of misplaced concreteness; structure not a part but an aspect of culture; tendency to confuse aspectes; the isolation of sociology; the separation of ethos from eidos; configuration; schismogenesis; practical order of methods of approach; various views of schismogenesis; the equivalence between the two types of dualism and the two types of schismogenesis; the inculcation of eidos; ``affective'' and ``cognitive'' aspects of personality defined in terms of stimulus-response events; various methods of approach introduce various distortions into the picture of schismogenesis; evaluation of methods and the importance of separating them

Epilogue 1958

280

(27)

Index Glossary of Technical and Native Words

307