Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea a Lasting Society

The people of the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea have been a source of interest to anthropologists since the early 1900s, when Bronislaw Malinowski first studied them. In a time when anthropology was barely established as a formal discipline (Weiner, 1988), Malinowski had an intense interest in ethnographical field work as well as the fascinating culture of the natives of what was then called Papua, the southeastern part of mainland New Guinea. The Trobriand way of life is extremely different from that of typical western or eastern cultures. In addition to being a matrilineal society, the Trobrianders engage in markedly different courtship and marriage activities, and have been able to preserve much of their culture despite†¦show more content†¦This respect is not limited to chiefs; A woman of chiefs rank, married to commoner, retains her status, even with regard to her husband, and has to be treated accordingly (Malinowski, 1922: 55). Courtship and marriage in Tr obriand society is also interesting and unique. According to Malinowski, Chastity is an unknown virtue (1922: 53) among Trobriands. Though this description is dated, there is a marked difference in the courting rituals of Trobrianders and early twentieth-century Europe. Trobriand children begin playing erotic games around age seven or eight, and typically begin to pursue sexual partners in earnest around ages eleven to thirteen. As they mature, the Trobrianders have longer and less casual affairs, until a couple is ready for marriage. When a couple decides to wed, they appear together in public outside of the males house as a way to announce their engagement. The wedding ceremony occurs later that day, when the brides mother brings cooked yams for the couple to eat together in order to formalize their marriage. After the wedding, the grooms sister gives the bride longer skirts to replace her short ones (and to signal the end of her sexual freedom), and the brides father and m aternal uncle give uncooked yams to the groom. (Malinowski, 1922 Wiener, 1988) The Trobrianders are matrilineal, so the maternal line is followed for inheritance and