The film Ongka’s Big Moka is about a Big Man named Ongka of the Kawelka tribe in Papua New Guinea. Being the Big Man of the tribe Ongka reasures his status by arranging a Moka ceremony. In this film we see the process of a Moka that takes up to 5 years of preparation. We follow Ongka’s struggles and successes of accumulating the number of pigs in preparation for the ceremony. The film allows us to understand the motives and functions of a Moka, provides topics that have been discussed in class, and relate this culture to a similar institution within the United States. In Papua New Guinea a moka is used as a ritualized system of exchange. Not only did Ongka want to give a big moka he had to. Mokas are given and years later they must be repaid …show more content…
with interest. The amount that is managed to be given back must be above the gift originally received. In this case a tribe had given the Kawelka tribe 400 pigs ten years ago, so their goal is to give 600 back. A moka is not only about pigs, but also is a way used to keep peace, build a status, and hold the tribe together through a big social event. Preparing for this moka in particular has taken 5 years and the arrangement required for it became a lot of work for Ongka and his tribe. In the film Ongka’s Big Moka we can see that Ongka, a Big Man of the Kawelka tribe works very hard to arrange a moka to pay back a neighboring tribe.
The idea of what you gain from the outcome is what motivates Ongka. A Big Man like himself can only pursue his tribe to help, as he doesn’t hold authority over them. But by having responsibility over the moka and keeping everyone in line can build up his reputation and respect. Giving a bigger moka means that Ongka can gain fame for his tribe and himself. Given certain circumstances he is motivated to achieve this goal. Not having control over his tribe he talks and motivates them to stop wasting time and get the work done. Ongka knows that if he does not succeed he will be ashamed and people will look at him as the man who did not keep his promise. The film Onka's Big Moka provided some insight into a few topics we have discussed during the course like Horticulture and Polygyny. The Kawelka are horticulturalists as they raise pigs, grow a variety of food including yams. Rather than foraging their crops allow them for permanent settlements. It is mentioned that Ongka has 4 wives. A man married to 2+ women at the same time are considered to be polygyny. The film mentions Onka got an extra wife for the capacity of work. Having more than one wife allows increase access to resources and work, which one of his wives, Rumbeka, had complained
about. What struck me the most from this film was how important pigs are to them. Pigs keep them going in life. They pay for troubles, get wives, and are used in mokas. If you have no pigs then you’re considered a nobody. In the film we see that a pig is used to smooth down an accusation of Ongkas tribe being the one that killed their enemy’s Big Man through the acts of sorcery. Ongka brought a pig to the funeral to tell that he did not do it and to show respect. It helped calm the conflict, but suspioustion was still there.
In the book “Sacred Rice” author and anthropologist Joanna Davidson delves into the life of Jola farmers in west Africa and explores how rice plays an important role in their lives. She uses storytelling, often personal in nature to demonstrate how rice plays a vital part not only in the gastronomical aspect in the lives of people in north-western Guinea-Bissau but also in their social, cultural, economic, religious and political aspects.
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In the chronological, descriptive ethnography Nest in the Wind, Martha Ward described her experience on the rainy, Micronesian island of Pohnpei using both the concepts of anthropological research and personal, underlying realities of participant observation to convey a genuine depiction of the people of Pohnpei. Ward’s objective in writing Nest in the Wind was to document the concrete, specific events of Pohnpeian everyday life and traditions through decades of change. While informing the reader of the rich beliefs, practices, and legends circulated among the people of Pohnpei, the ethnography also documents the effects of the change itself: the island’s adaptation to the age of globalization and the survival of pre-colonial culture.
Quapaw, Osage, and Caddo have many similarities as well as differences. For example: their religion, food acquisition, food production, and social structure. In this essay, there will be comparisons between the tribes as well as distinctive differences in each tribe. In this paper, information about these tribes will be further explored.
One man having many wives may seem like something that would happen in a male-dominated society, but while the men are spending time and doing things for one wife, the other wives are left to fend for themselves and their children. When Sogolon Wulen Condé cannot conceive because she has been vexed by the other wives of her husband, Maghan Konfara, she convinces her husband to take on another wife to have a child with. He ends up giving into her demands and marries another woman. While Sunjata is not actually born from this tie, the reader can see that Maghan Konfara is willing to respect his wife and listen to her input on such an impactful topic. Women are seen in the story has having a profound effect on the world around them, instead of just being used as a wife and mother. In this culture, they have more of a say. While not downplaying this system, it is critical to note that the polygamous marriages put in practice in the story of Sunjata would possibly complicate a patrilineal system, which is why the Mande peoples follow a matrilineal way
During his research Barker utilizes a series of methods in his quest to understand these indigenous people, from this he was able to capture his readers and make them understand issues that surround not only people form third worlds; but how these people and their struggles are related to us. By using ethnographic methods, such as: interviews,participant observation, key consultants/informants,detailed note-taking/ census, and controlled historical comparisons. In these practices Barker came to understand the people and their culture, of which two things became a big subject in his book. The first being Tapa, “a type of fiber made from bark that the Maisin people use as a stable for cloths and other cloth related uses. Defining both gender roles and history; proving income and also a symbol of identity to the people” (Barker 5-6). And the other being their forest, of which logging firms the Maisin and Non Government Organizations (NGO’s), had various views, wants and uses for the land. Logging firms wished to clear the area to plant cash crops such as oil palms, while the NGO’s wanted the land to remain safe; all the while the Maisin people were caught in the middle by the want to preserve their ancestors lands and the desperate need to acquire cash. With these two topics highlighted throughout Barkers ethnography the reader begins is journey into understanding and obtaining questions surrounding globalization and undeveloped
Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist who had written this book had studies the !Kung tribe for two years. Shostak had spent the two years interviewing the women in the society. The !Kung tribe resided n the Dobe area of Northwest Botswana, that’s infused with a series of clicks, represented on paper by exclamation points and slashes. Shostak had studied that the people of the tribe relied mostly on nuts of the mongongo, which is from an indigenous tree that’s part of their diet.
During times of questioning and guidance, the makaʻāinana would see a kahuna for insight of direction within their daily practices or lives. In my opinion, they would see a kahuna when they needed help or wanted to create something for their family or community. Things of creation and need of assistance would include building a house, a canoe, or perhaps needing to be healed from an illness. For example, when a person wanted to build a canoe, they would see a kahuna kālai waʻa. This kahuna would instruct the person on how to carve the waʻa and things that would be offered to the tree for its sacrifice. The kāhuna were people with all the knowledge in their field of expertise. As these kāhuna would grow in age, they would take in a young child, around the age of 5, to study under them so that the knowledge could be passed down from generation to generation. Moʻolelo are a collection of events that reflect indigenous ways of knowing. They have the ability to cover all categories of life and are passed down from one generation to the next. Leslie Marmon Silko expresses moʻolelo to be “all we have to fight off illness and death. You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories…” A kahuna will spend their entire lives memorizing and studying moʻolelo because they are a source of instructions to our lives. Without these moʻolelo, there would be a limited of, or even perhaps none, ways to
One custom of Umuofia that would be very different from Western culture is Polygamy, the practice of having many wives. This custom is practiced in the connected nine villages of Umuofia. In fact, a man's wealth is partially measured by the number of wives he has. A wealthy man described in Things Fall Apart, had nine wives and thirty children. Okonkwo had three wives and eight children.
Okonkwo is one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe. In his tribe, he is both feared and honored. This is evident by this quote, "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond... [He] brought honor to his tribe by throwing Amalinze the Cat..."(3) This suggests that in Okonkwo's society, power is attained by making a name for yourself in any way possible, even if that means fighting and wrestling to get your fame. Although honor is a good thing, when people have to fight to gain it, it becomes an object of less adoration. Okonkwo's "prosperity was visible in his household... his own hut stood behind the only gate in the red walls. Each of his three wives had her own hut... long stacks of yams stood out prosperously in [the barn]... [Okonkwo] offers prayers on the behalf of himself, his three wives, and eight children." (14) Okonkwo has also worked and tended to his crops in a very zealous fashion, and drives everyone around him to work as hard as he does. Because of this, he earns his place as one of Umuofia's most powerful men. In many cultures, a big family is a source of pride. Although Okonkwo is not always pleased by his children and wives, it also brings him a source of pride to have three wives and eight children. Large families mean that the head of the family is able to support all of them. Okonkwo's devotion to his crops and family gives to him the respect that any father and husband deserves, and in his culture, being able to fight and kill as well gives him even more influence and power.
Wade Davis’ article, Among the Waorani, provides much of the content brought to light in Nomads of the Rainforest. His article delves deeper into their culture and motivations allowing one to more fully understand their beliefs, relationships, and savagery. Both the documentary and article attempt to create a picture of their close-knit relationships and their desire f...
“The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea” is a book written by Gilbert Herdt. It is based on a case study Herdt did during the 1970’s of the culture of the Sambia people. His study took place in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He didn’t know much about their language, however through out his time there he was able to learn their language and customs. As he settled into their village, he mostly slept in the clubhouse with the other Nilangu villagers; however, eventually they built a house for him to stay at. Herdt had a great interest in gaining new knowledge about the Sambia culture.
Goodman, Ellen. “The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji”. Everything’s an Argument. 6th ed. Boston Bedford St. Martin’s, 2013. Print.
the story in the Phillip Whitten and David E. K. Hunter anthropology book of No
Whether the money is used for a car, house, or farm they must pay it back over time just like a Moka. I liked the film Ongka’s Big Moka because I got to see through the acts of a Big Man in the tribe of Kawelka with the goal to arrange a Moka ceremony while getting a better understanding of topics that I learned in