Argonauts of the Western Pacific - Bronisław Malinowski (darmowa biblioteka online .TXT) 📖
Argonauts of the Western Pacific to rozprawa naukowa autorstwa Bronisława Malinowskiego. Jest ona efektem wyprawy badacza na wyspy Toulon i wyspy Trobriandzkie.
Malinowski opisuje w niej przede wszystkim rytuał Kula, ukazujący zdolności handlowe ludów tam żyjących. Rytuał polega na wymianie biżuterii, opierającej się na pewnych szytwno ustalonych regułach związanych m.in. z równą wartością wymienianych przedmiotów. Malinowski upatruje w przedstawicielach społeczeństw pierwotnych wcielenia Argonautów z mitologii greckiej, którzy udali się po Złote Runo. Rozprawa Malinowskiego została oparta na wynikach jego metody badań antropologicznych — metody uczestniczącej, a nie wyłącznie obserwacyjnej. Jego działalność była przełomowa dla antropologii, która do tej pory bazowała na prowadzeniu obserwacji, a także rozszerzaniu założeń na kolejne wyniki badań.
Bronisław Malinowski był polskim antropologiem i socjologiem publikującym w pierwszej połowie XIX wieku. Prowadził badania społeczeństw pierwotnych w różnych zakątkach świata.
- Autor: Bronisław Malinowski
- Epoka: Współczesność
- Rodzaj: Epika
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After the distribution of the food, and of course before this is taken away by the parties, the master of the so’i goes into his house and takes out a specially good piece of valuable. With a blast of the conch shell, he gives it to the most distinguished of his partners present. Others follow his example, and soon the village is filled with conch shell blasts, and all the members of the community are busy presenting gifts to their partners. First, the initial gifts (vaga) are given, and only after this is over, such valuables as have been due of old to their partners, and which have to be given as clinching gifts (yotile) are handed over.
After the whole public distribution is finished and the guests have gone, the members of the sub-clan who organised it, at sunset make a small distribution of their own, called kaymelu. With that the so’i and the whole period of mourning and of consecutive distributions, is over. I have said before that this account of the so’i has been obtained only through the statements of several informants, one especially very clear and reliable. But it has not been checked by personal observation, and as is always the case with such material, there is no guarantee of its being complete.
From the point of view in which it interests us, however, that is, in connection with the Kula, the outstanding fact is well established; a mortuary taboo temporarily holds up the flow of Kula goods, and a big quantity of valuables thus dammed up, is suddenly let loose by the so’i and spreads in a big wave along the circuit. The big wave of armshells, for instance, which travelled along and was taken up by the uvalaku expedition of the Dobuans, was the ripple of a so’i feast, held one or two months previously at full moon in Yanabwa, a village of Woodlark Island. When I was leaving Boyowa, in September, 1918, a mortuary taboo was in force in the Island of Yeguma, or Egum, as it is pronounced in the Eastern district (the Alcester Islands of the map). Kwaywaya, the chief of Kitava whom I met on his visit in Sinaketa, told me that the people of Yeguma had sent him a sprouting coco-nut, with the message: „When its leaves develop, we shall sagali (make the distribution)”. They had kept a coco-nut at the same stage of development in their village, and sent others to to all the neighbouring communities. This would give a first approach in fixing the date, which would be appointed more precisely when the feast was close at hand.
The custom of associating the so’i with Kula is practised as far as Tubetube. In Dobu, there is no distribution of valuables at the mortuary feast. They have there another custom, however; at the final mortuary distribution, they like to adorn themselves with armshells and necklaces of the Kula — a custom entirely foreign to the Trobrianders. In Dobu therefore, an approaching mortuary feast also tends to dam up the valuables which after its performance, will ebb away in two waves of mwali and so’ulava along both branches of the Kula. But they have no custom of distributing these valuables during the final mortuary feast, and therefore the release of the vaygu’a would not be as sudden as in a so’i.
The same word — so’i — is used to denote the mortuary festivities over a wide area in the country of the Massim. Thus, the natives of Bonabona and Su’a’u, on the South Coast of New Guinea celebrate annually in November to January festivities, associated with dancing, gifts of pigs, the building of new houses, the erection of a platform and several other features. These feasts, which are held in an inter-connected series each year in several different localities, I had opportunities, as mentioned before, to see in three places, but not to study. Whether they are associated with some form of exchange of valuables I do not know. Mortuary feasts in other districts of the Massim are also called so’i104. What is the relation between these feasts and those of the Northern Massim I am unable to say105.
These considerations bring us more and more to the point, where the two branches of the Kula which we have been following up from the Trobriands Southwards and Eastwards bend back again and meet. On this remaining part of the Kula, on which my information, however, is scanty, a few words, will be said in the next Chapter.
I — Rapid survey of the routes between Woodlark Island (Murua or Muyuwa) and the Engineer group and between this latter and Dobu. II — The ordinary trade carried on between these communities. III — An offshoot of the Kula; trading expeditions between the Western Trobriand (Kavataria and Kayleula) and the Western d’Entrecasteaux. IV — Production of mwali (armshells). V — Some other offshoots and leakages of the Kula ring. Entry of the Kula vaygu’a into the Ring.
IIn this chapter the ring of the Kula has to be closed by a description of its remaining portions. It will also be found indispensable to speak about its offshoots, that is, the trade and the expeditions, regularly carried on from certain points of the ring to outlying places. We have come across such offshoots already, when we realised that the Western Trobriands, especially the village of Kavataria, and the settlements on the island of Kayleula make non-Kula trading expeditions to the islands of Fergusson and Goodenough. Such expeditions would naturally belong to a full picture of the Kula, with its various associations. This is even more the case, as this lateral trade is associated with the import and export of some of the Kula valuables in and out of the ring.
We have brought the description of our Southern expedition as far as Dawson Straits, and on the Eastern route, we reached Woodlark Island in the last chapter. We have to link up these two points. The saying, that a chain is not stronger than its weakest link does not, let us hope, apply to Ethnology. For indeed my knowledge of the remaining links of the Kula chain is far less complete than that contained in the previous chapters. Fortunately, what has been said there, remains true and valid, whatever might happen in the South-Eastern portion of the Kula. And again, there is no doubt that the fundamentals of the transaction are identical all over the ring, though some variations in detail probably occur. I had the opportunity of questioning informants from almost every place in the Kula, and the similarity of the main outlines is established beyond a doubt. Moreover, the information about some aspect of trade in the Southern Massim district contained in Professor Seligman’s book, entirely, though indirectly, corroborates my results. But it is necessary to state emphatically and explicitly that the data given in this chapter are not in the same category as the rest of the information contained in this book. The latter was obtained from natives among whom I lived, and the bulk of it has been controlled and verified by personal experiences and observations (compare Table I in the Introduction). The material referring to the South Eastern branch was obtained by cursory examination of natives from that district, whom I met abroad, not in their own country, whilst I have not been in any of the places between Woodlark Island and Dobu.
Starting at Woodlark Island, and keeping Map V before our eyes — we come at once on to an interesting ramification of the Kula. To the East of Woodlark, lies the coral group of the Loughlans, inhabited by natives speaking the same language as in Woodlark. They are in the ring, but it seems to be a cul-de-sac Kula, for as I was told, the valuables, which go there, return again to Woodlark. This is quite an unusual complication, a kind of eddy in the otherwise progressive current. I could not ascertain whether the difficulty is solved by the districts being sub-divided, a small ring being formed within it, and each class of articles moving on it in an opposite direction; or whether some other arrangement has been adopted. Again, one of my informants told me that some of the vaygu’a went directly from the Loughlans South to Misima, but I was unable to verify this statement and this whole part of the Kula must remain with a sketchy outline.
Whatever might be the routes on which the Kula articles travel South from Woodlark Island, there is no doubt whatever that they all, or almost all, converge in the important commercial centre of Tubetube. This small island, according to Professor Seligman, is not even self-supporting as far as food goes; nor are they a greatly industrial community. They are to a great extent engaged in trade, and probably gain part of their support from this activity. „Tubetube has become a trading community, whose inhabitants are recognised as traders and middlemen over a very considerable area, extending westwards ... to Rogea and eastward to Murua”106. Tubetube is known even in the Trobriands as one of the crucial points of the Kula, and it is well known that, whatever happens in the small island in the way of mortuary taboos and big feasts will affect the flow of valuables in Boyowa.
There is no doubt whatever that Tubetube had direct relations with Murua (to use the Tubetube pronunciation of the native name for Woodlark Island) to the North-East, and with Dobu to the North-West. I saw a canoe from the small island beached at Dobu, and in Woodlark I was told that men from Tubetube used to come there from time to time. Professor Seligman also describes in detail the manner and the stages of their sailings to Woodlark Island:
„Their trade route to Murua ... was, as they made it, about 120-135 miles. They would usually go during the monsoon, and come back on the trade, as those winds served their itinerary best. Presuming that wind and weather served them throughout the passage, they slept the first night on an island called Ore, a couple of miles or so from Dawson Island. The next night they made Panamoti, the third night they slept at Tokunu (the Alcesters), and by the fourth night, they might reach Murua107”. This description reminds us very much of the route on which we previously had followed the Sinaketans to Dobu the same short stages with intermediate camping on sandbanks or islands, the same taking advantage of favourable following winds.
From Kitava Eastward as far as Tubetube, a different type of canoe was used, the nagega, mentioned already in Chapter V, Division IV. As we saw there, it was very much the same in principles of construction as the Trobriand canoe, but it was bigger, of a greater carrying capacity, and more seaworthy. It was at the same time slower, but had one great advantage over the swifter counterpart; having more waterboard, it made less leeway in its sailing, and could be sailed against the wind. It would thus allow the natives to cross distances and to face changes in the weather, either of which would compel the frailer and swifter canoe of Dobu and Kiriwina to turn back.
To the Northern shores of Normanby Island (Du’a’u) and to Dobu, the men of Tubetube would sail with the S.E. trade wind and return with the blow of the monsoon. According to Professor Seligman, such a trip to Dobu would take them also about four days, under the most favourable conditions108.
Thus, one fundamental fact can be regarded as definitely established; the main centre of the Kula in its South-Eastern branch, was the small island of Tubetube. And this island was in direct communication with two
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