The Trobrianders Culture

The Trobrianders of Papua Guinea have a free love community and an easy-going approach to many cultural views. The Trobrianders have a matrilineal culture rather than a matriarchal, tracking their lineage through their mother’s side. Subsistence includes yams and banana leaves as well as pigs and fish. Conflicts are settled by playing cricket and women are allowed to partake. The culture also shows females having dominance over men. The Trobriander islands are located on the eastern coast of New Guinea consisting of four islands, which is part of the Kula Ring. Most of the population resides in Kiriwina, it is home to 12,000 indigenous people. Kiriwina is home to the indigenous people called the Trobrianders. Living in a western society there are any differences between cultures to which I have noticed. We have a society that is male dominant and it has consistently been that way. Western society also has a value of money, power, and status. This leaves western society strict on how one my portray them self. The Trobrianders have had influences from other cultures that they have begun to take hold of such as instruments but have continued to hold true to their beliefs. I want to study how gender affects the different aspects of The Trobrianders’ culture; to include marriage, infidelity, virginity, and gender roles. The Trobrianders

show a unique view on marriage where you can be married but also have other sexual partners; however adultery such as an affair is a crime. Women are given dominance and can have as many sexual partners as they want. Western society has put behavioral constraints or unspoken rules on sex. Trobriander teens are allowed to have sex since virginity doesn’t have a value there. They have huts called the bukumatula where extramarital encounters may take place. This is so interesting to think of how western society is so different on our views of sex and marriage. We don’t believe in having other sexual partners other than our spouse. I want to study why they have such a lenient view on sex. Could this temperate view on sex be a result of female dominance? This is why we must study how gender effects the rest of a cultures values. Western society has come from a line of male dominance and rules about when you can be married, when to have sex, why virginity s a virtue. I want to learn how they truly view sex and marriage. This is important to answer and learn these cultural aspects of The Trobrianders because they have turned out to be a very even-tempered group. The only war consisting of a game of cricket. Western civilization could learn from them to not put so much pressure on virginity, sex, and marriage. The children are taught at a young age about safe sex in the Trobriander clans and have more knowledge at an earlier age about sex and have less sexual partners. It is important to learn the views of other cultures because it may allow other cultures to reevaluate their cultural views. Cultures change and adapt so some of the trobriander views on sex may be beneficial for people to learn. It is enlightening to see that one culture could be so strung up on hiding sex and keeping ones virginity until marriage, and the other doesn’t even define virginity as anything. The Trobrianders are an incredibly interesting culture to study, which is why I want to live among them to study their world. I want to learn about their expressive culture, including death and religion. Death is more important than birth. Babies are not believed to be born because of intercourse, it is magic. Western society uses science to know exactly what happens to our bodies biologically. This is interesting because how would western society make sense of birth or death if there wasn’t science telling us so. In every culture people have values and beliefs based on their own knowledge. I want to study and understand where the Trobrianders rooted their beliefs and values. I want to learn how they became to be The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea.
By living amongst their customs, ceremonies, and interacting with locals I will be able to receive answers on these questions. I would like to interview females of different age groups, mothers, new mothers, young wives and old wives. Since it is a culture more dominated by females I want to know their beliefs based on each stage of life. Also men will be interviewed in different developments of life to consider the other gender. I will take part in ceremonies as well as observes how their society interacts with one another on a daily. I will ask The Trobrianders questions pertaining to their culture. To be able to communicate I will need a native speaker to translate, which will of course require funding. As well as Interacting and communicating with the natives I will also prepare myself before travel to Papua New Guinea by reading books such as, “The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia”, anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski wrote this book covering the courtship and marriage rituals of Trobriand Islanders. Living as they live is the most important way of learning a culture so having a home or hut to myself or with a family would be essential to my understanding of the culture. This will help me learn customs from early dusk. Also photos of events to look over and analyze will be beneficial to y learning of their culture. Photographs of ritual or ceremonial outfits, daily outfits, playing cricket, or photos of interactions between others are examples of what can be used to learn.
How I intend to get there and where I will get my funding will take time and searching as well as being accepted for funding. I would like to stay in The Trobriander islands for a year, which will end up being a total cost of 20,000 – 30,000 United States Dollars. Traveling to this area is a bit of a struggle as well since less airlines now travel to this location so multiple trips will have to be booked in order to get there, thus making it a costly trip. Hotel stays and Taxi stays may be around three to four hundred dollars a night including food. Flights alone will end up being around 3000 dollars for a round trip. Also I will need payment for a translator once I get there. The requirements to travel to and live in this country for a year are a research visa, which I will obtain from The New Guinea embassy. Requirements also includes a valid passport, also forms including health records and possible shot records need to be sent to the embassy. Letters of recommendation are necessary for funding and for the embassy to allow you a research visa to stay for the extended period of time. I will need funding for my supplies to bring such as food that can travel; rice, and canned goods. I also will be bringing at least four pairs of athletic shoes considering the wear and tear, a few t-shirts and pant, this includes shorts, I also will be bringing long sleeved shirts in case of cold days. One great thing to pack that I read about will be a shower bag that I can fill and re-use to keep good hygiene. A toothbrush would be essential and hair brush. Six pairs of rubber and wood sandals as well as brimmed hats and sun glasses to protect my scalp and eyes from the hot sun. Basically for clothing I will bring the necessities for a year. Supplies for research include, pens, notebooks, clip boards, typing and carbon paper, envelopes batteries, stamps, flash lights, microcomputers, etc. Medical needs will consist of a packed aid bag. Being that I studied medicine in the military I have knowledge on what to use and how to use it already so I will not have to take the time to learn before I go. I will pack Ace bandages, gauze, medical tape, Advil, Benadryl, Ice packs (cool once cracked), an Epi-pen, mole skin for blisters, alcohol pads and ointment. To keep me from pain and illness I can take medications such as penicillin, tetracycline, codeine, malaria suppressants. A basic necessity to any international travel is to carry currency for taxis or food. It will be a costly venture to hike all of my supplies into the village. To obtain funding for this trip after being accepted by The Institute of Papua New Guinea, for research study, will be from the National Science Association for Cultural Anthropology. Contact information: (202)-357-7804. The amount needed will be closer to 30,000 dollars so I expect the funding to take time. Once I receive actually funding I can then set up my documents for travel, purchase my supplies, receive medical care necessary for the Papua New Guinea Embassy for entrance into the country, vaccinations, medical kits, currency, and do research beforehand for this trip. I anticipate a waiting time six months to a year before arriving to my destination. A years’ time is necessary to study The Trobrianders because we will have to hike into the village and I will need to set up my living quarters and get acquainted with the locals before I can really dive into their culture, values, and beliefs.
To embark on this journey will be a journey to enlightenment.

The work to get to this country will be worth all the effort. I will learn and live how I’ve never lived before. I will experience what many have not. I will be able to share my knowledge of The Trobriander culture with my own culture and others around the world. The experience will teach me how I may research another culture. Maybe I will learn by trial and error the best ways to study a new culture. The experience to research a culture completely new will change my thoughts on culture. My anthropological research will present me with a whole new view and meaning of

culture.