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Argonauts of the Western Pacific / An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea cover

Argonauts of the Western Pacific / An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea

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About This Book

This work presents an in-depth ethnographic study of the Kula exchange system among the Trobriand Islanders of Melanesia. It explores the ceremonial aspects of the Kula, where participants engage in the exchange of shell valuables across islands, highlighting the social and cultural significance of these exchanges. The author examines the intricate relationships and networks formed through this practice, emphasizing its role in establishing social status and community ties. Additionally, the text discusses the broader implications of such exchanges on understanding human behavior and social organization, supported by detailed observations and illustrations.

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We found that taboos are associated with magic, in so far as it is the magician who has to observe them. There are, however, certain forms of restrictions or prohibitions, set up for special purposes, and associated with magic in a somewhat different form. Thus, in an institution called kaytubutabu we find a ban made on the consumption of coco-nuts and betel-nuts, associated with a specific magic to make them grow. There is also a protective taboo, used to prevent the theft of ripening fruits or nuts, too far away from the village to be watched. In these cases a small parcel of medicated substance is placed on the tree or near it, on a small stick. The magic spoken over such a substance is a ‘conditional curse,’ to use the excellent term introduced by Professor Westermarck. The conditional curse would fall upon anyone who would touch the fruits of that tree, and would bring upon him one form of disease or another. This is the only form of magic, in which the personal agency is invoked, for in some of these spells, the tokway (wood-sprite) is invited to take up his abode on the kaytapaku, that is the stick, with the substance on it, and to guard the fruit. Some such small divergencies from the general trend of native belief are always to be found. Sometimes they contain important clues, and a deeper insight into the facts, sometimes they mean nothing, and only emphasise the fact, that it is not possible to find absolute consistency in human belief. Only a deeper analysis, and a comparative study of similar phenomena can decide which is the case.