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A. van der Leeden Social structure in New Guinea

In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 116 (1960), no: 1, Leiden, 119-149

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am glad to comply with Pouwer's request for a reply to his review of my doctor's thesis. I shall begin with a survey of the discus- Isions on the structural looseness of the Papua cultures; next, I shall consider Pouwer's criticism of the characterization I gave of the social structure in the western interior of Sarmi; and finally I shall compare various forms of social organization in New Guinea in a search for structural similarities which may perhaps serve as a starting-point for a general characterization of the social structure in this area of study.

It is mainly due to the work of the late Professor Held that discus- sions on "structural looseness" in New Guinea have come to play such a large part particularly in the Dutch literature. Held was the first writer to consider structural looseness an important characteristic of the Papua cultures.* He based this on the widely held opinion that New Guinea shows great cultural differentiation. Held was of the opinion that the Papua cultures are so little related to one another, that one cannot find general cultural similarities which could serve as an over-all characterization. According to him, the only general similarity was precisely this "differentiation" and "variability" of form. For that reason he characterized the Papua as an "improviser of culture", who "is continually improvising new combinations of the elements of his culture, thus forming ever varying culture-complexes, but never taking the trouble to work out these complexes to a complete and finished form".2 Another Dutch anthropologist who has occupied himself with the "structural looseness" of the Papua cultures is Dr. Van Baal. In principle, Van Baal shares Held's point of view, but he has developed it further along psychological lines. According to him, the improvising tendency of the Papuas is due to their "lack of organization". He

1 I use the word "Papua"cultures in this article for designating all cultures in New Guinea. 2 G. J. Held, De Papoea Cultuurimprovisator ('s-Gravenhage/Bandung 1951), pp. 51—55.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 120 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. concludes to this lack of organization on the ground that clear-cut systems of class and chieftainship are rare, and that one has observed "centrifugal tendencies" in many Papua cultures. "Wherever one comes in New Guinea", he says, "one again and again encounters the Papua's resistance against the restraints which society tries to impose on him". As a consequence, there is a "tendency towards fission and dispersal" in many parts of New Guinea. "There are also areas . .. where fear of sorcery is the dominant motive; this shows up everyone's distrust of everyone else, and leads to the clearest manifestation of individualism in its negative aspect". Van Baal sees all these phenomena as the result of "a deeply-rooted indiscipline", which, together with an "un- reflective attitude towards life" he holds to be the most typical characteristic of the Papua.3 Many objections may be raised against these views of Held and Van Baal. Before going into details, I would stress that a certain looseness of structure is undeniably common to many Papua cultures, and that clearly pronounced, rigid types of organization are rare in New Guinea. Many a worker in the field knows by own experience of that area how hard it often is to derive the elements which are structurally important from the variegated and changeable picture presented by the society one is studying. One can approach this structural looseness from several angles. Held's and Van Baal's starting-point was psychological. The terms "improviser of culture" (Held) and "individualism" (Van Baal) refer to the variability of behaviour in Papua cultures. Van Baal carries the psychological approach to the greatest lengths. Held was more aware than Van Baal of other implications of the structural looseness of New Guinea cultures. Instead of "improvising" cultures, Held, justifiably, also called them "implicit" cultures. "To put it differently: it is typical of Papua culture, that so many elements of culture remain implied. That is to say, these elements are present, and even demonstrable, but they are not elaborated to an explicit, clear-cut form".4 And indeed, this is a point one must always bear in mind in New Guinea. In addition, Held makes use of a term Margaret Mead applies to the Arapesh, viz. "importing culture". Although he links this concept to his idea of the "improviser", he clearly states in his book how

3 J. van Baal, Volken, in Nieuw Guinea. De oniwikkeling op economisch, sociaal en cultweet gebied in Netherlands en Australisch Nieuw Guinea (edited by W. C. Klein; 's-Gravenhage 1954), II, pp. 439—441. 4 G. J. Held, o.c, p. S3.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 121 receptive the Papua is towards foreign cultural elements, and with what ease they "adopt various elements of each other's culture without much ado".5 This can be observed all over New Guinea, and it is connected with the "open-ness" of Papua society, which has so frequently struck observers. It is to this open-ness that Read, for example, attributes the rapid diffusion of cargo-cults in New Guinea.6 Some anthropologists, in dealing with social structure, use the term "structural open-ness" instead of "structural looseness", with a slight difference in meaning. For example, Schoorl characterized the marriage system of the Muju in the interior of southern New Guinea as an "open asymmetrical system",7 adopting Salisbury's terminology used in a study of the Siane in the Central Highlands. Pouwer has spoken of "structural open-ness" as a characteristic of the kinship organizations in south-western New Guinea.8

Now one has to bear in mind that "looseness of structure" refers to the variability of individual behaviour and to cultural integration, not to culture contents. "Looseness of structure" is connected with the role of the individual in the society, with social tensions, with processes of change, etc. Actually, looseness of structure is not typical of New Guinea, but is a universal phenomenon. Absolute cultural integration is inconceivable, and one cannot imagine human life without variability of behaviour. All the same, cultures do differ from one another in the measure of integration they achieve, and thus it may well be that Papua cultures are more loosely structured than others. However, the term "looseness of structure" does not tell us anything about the contents, the basic features of Papua cultures. Looseness of structure must even remain a fiction, as long as one does not know these basic characteris- tics, i.e. as long as one cannot determine the measure to which the features one is studying are integrated. Held and Van Baal failed to take this into account in their general characterization of Papua cultures, and it is precisely for this reason that we cannot accept them. They have over-accentuated the structural

6 o.c, pp. 10—11. 6 K. E. Read, A "Cargo" Situation in the Markham Valley, New Guinea, SwJoA, 14, p. 294. 7 J. W. Schoorl, Kultuur en kultuurverandering in het Moejoe-gebied (Leiden 1957), p. 34. He also calls individualism a "striking" feature of the Muju (o.c, pp. 125, 126). 8 From a brief note by Pouwer on the ethnographical material collected by J. Boelaars in the Jaqai area (typescript report with restricted circulation).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 122 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. looseness of the Papua cultures, and thus made what is after all a universal phenomenon into a principal characteristic of these cultures. Van Baal's characterization in particular makes a negative impression in this respect. His views on the Papuas' individualism is the expression of a doubt as to the immanent value of Papua cultures which is scientifically unjustified. Held's and Van Baal's characterizations take a methodically incorrect starting-point, viz. the variability of Papua cultures. This phenomenon can hardly serve as basis for a comparison of cultures. If there really were no relationship between the various Papua cultures, there would simply be nothing to compare, and one could only ascribe the New Guinea situation to a most peculiar historical coincidence. The manifest contents of culture is the only basis for a comparative study that aims at giving a general characterization of a certain cultural area. The views of Held and Van Baal are also based on premature conclusions which exaggerate the differences between various Papua cultures. Van Baal goes furthest in this respect. For instance, he contrasts the "unemotional" and "dull" ceremonial of the Papuas of Waropen with the spectacular "glorious ritual" of the inhabitants of the Papua Gulf area, but neglects a consideration of the background and meaning of the ritual in these regions. He fails to see that they may show certain resemblances which could be important for comparative purposes. According to him, there is also a contrast between patrilineal and matrilineal organizations in New Guinea.9 Data from other areas, e.g. Indonesia, teach us however that this may be the result of variations within a structural type which comprises patrilineal as well as matrilineal features. In other words, one need not a priori expect to find a fundamental opposition here. Recent studies have shown that New Guinea is not so heterogeneous an area as one is prone to assume. Margaret Mead's picture of "Sex and temperament in three primitive societies" in the Sepik area is not characteristic of New Guinea in general.10 New Guinea promises to be a fruitful field for comparative studies in the broadest sense. Various cultural elements are distributed more widely and more regularly than one would expect in an area inhabited by "improvisers of culture". Thus, for instance, the art of New Guinea, so complex at first glance, has proved amenable to classification by distinct stylistic areas, which

9 J. van Baal, o.c, p. 439. 10 M. Mead, Sex and Temperament in three Primitive Societies, (Mentor Book, New York 19S0).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 123 are not distributed at random, but gradually merge into one another.11 Another example is the distribution of the sacred flutes in northern New Guinea. They occur from the Mamberamo in the west to far into Australian New Guinea in the east. The striking fact is that these flutes have practically the same socio-religious functions in all that area.12 The quantitative distribution of cultural elements in New Guinea does not show the irregularity upon which Held and Van Baal base their conclusions. In this article I hope to demonstrate that certain types of social structure are also widely distributed in New Guinea, although variations of form do occur. In itself this is a normal phenomenon, also known from other cultural areas. In fact, we also know that certain types of structure allow of a considerable measure of variation.

Pouwer has already given a full summary of my views on social organization and looseness of structure in the societies of the western interior of Sarmi, so I need only refer readers to his review. Now, four years after writing my thesis, my opinion has not undergone any fundamental change. I am convinced that the bilateral features in this area, and in other regions of New Guinea as well, are connected with the looseness of structure, and that this, in turn, is largely due to the influence of the most unfavourable natural environment, which demands great adaptibility of the inhabitants.13 Presently I shall describe the structural tensions in the Sarmi and other Papua cultures at greater length. It will become apparent that the comparison I drew in my book between the social system of the western interior of Sarmi and the

11 A. A. Gerbrands, Kunststijlen in West Nieuw-Guinea, Indonesia, IV, 1951, pp. 251—283; S. Kooijman, De kunst van Nieutsi Guinea ('s-Gravenhage 1955) and Art of Southwestern New Guinea. A preliminary survey, Antiquity and Survival, 5, 1956, pp. 343-^72. 13 There is, for example, a strong resemblance between the ritual of the sacred flutes in Sarmi and the Nama cult of the Gahuku (K. E. Read, Nama Cult of the Central Highlands, New Guinea, Oceania, 23, 1952, pp. 1—25). 13 Other authors take up a similar position. According to Meggitt, the bilaterality of the Ipili effects a lateral and effective expansion of kinship relationships, "much as among the Aborigines" (of Australia). He ascribes this to the low density of the population, but partly also to influence of the Huli, to the south of the Ipili. "This tends at any given time to conceal the patrilineal and -local character of Ipili clans." (M. J. Meggitt, The Ipili of the Porgera Valley, Western Highlands District, Territory of New Guinea, Oceania, 28, 1957, pp. 37, 38.

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Australian Aranda system is not entirely valid. But first we should consider what Pouwer has to say. Pouwer is no more an adherent of the ideas of Held and Van Baal on loose structure in New Guinea than I am. The difference between us lies in the fact that Pouwer's reaction to Held and Van Baal goes so far as to make him reject the concept of "loose structure" altogether, while I do accept it for the situation in New Guinea. In the Mimika area of southwestern New Guinea, Pouwer came across very vague features of kinship organization. In his doctor's thesis of 1955 he attributed this to the following factor: "One of the functions of kinship: the creation of a feeling of solidarity, has acquired high specialisation in Mimika". In Mimika, kinship is not a matter of descent alone. Relationships based on adoption, friendship, name-giving, "feast-fatherhood" and "feast-motherhood", mutual aid, common place of origin and domicile, are all expressed in kinship terms. "This whole situation militates against sharply outlined kingroups". "The strongly assimilative influence of the local group prevents a network of genealogical relationships extending over several villages". For this reason "It would be incorrect to consider this situation as indicating a loose social structure. There need be no disintegration whatever".14 In subsequent publications, Pouwer has further developed and gener- alized this point of view but he kept the idea to the foreground that "looseness of structure" implies disintegration, and is therefore useless for characterizing the structural situations in New Guinea. According to Pouwer, vagueness of kinship features are the result of an interplay of kinship and other social criteria; he devotes particular attention to the assimilatory effect of the local group. In his thesis he already pointed out that kinship is subservient to the interests of the local group.15 In this respect, Pouwer's work has been greatly influenced by Good- enough, who ascribes the wide-spread occurrence of "non-unilineal descent groups" in the Malayo-Polynesian area to "parental residence"

14 J. Pouwer, Enkele aspecten van de Mimika-cultmir (Nederlcmds Zuidwest Nieuw Guinea) ('s-Gravenhage 19SS), p. 273. Lawrence reached almost similar conclusions about the Garia kinship system. In his opinion, it is based on "security circles", consisting of people with whom one maintains regular relations on the grounds of kinship, affinity, living together, and other special ties. (P. Lawrence, Land Tenure among the Garia .The Traditional System of a New Guinea People, Australian National University Social Science Monographs, 4, Canberra 1955, pp. 10, 11). 15 J. Pouwer, o.c, p. 87.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 125 rules and their associated land tenure systems in regions with restricted land resources.16 Pouwer attaches much importance to the stress laid by Goodenough on the flexibility of this type of kin groups, which are territorially clearly delimited. For some time Pouwer used the term "open-ness of structure" instead of "looseness of structure"; but the most recent development of his theoretical standpoint is to be found in a report on anthropological research in Netherlands New Guinea by the Bureau for Native Affairs — a report in which Pouwer, as government anthropologist, had an active share. "A particular elaboration of a close tie between descent and residence is found in the institution of ambilateral or ambilineal descent. This is a system, of filiation in which an individual can possess membership of either his father's or his mother's birth group, but not of both at the same time". "Firth calles an ambilineal group 'ramage' ".17 Pouwer now considers it necessary to re-interpret his Mimika material on these lines. In his doctor's thesis he was still struggling with the almost indefinable character of the Mimika kin groups, although to my mind he did succeed in demonstrating their matrilocal foundation. He now considers them as ambilateral, or rather ambimatrilateral, ramages. However, ambilaterality is not limited to Mimika. In the report just mentioned, Pouwer considers it likely that the Jaqai (S-W. New Guinea), Manikion (N-W. New Guinea),18 and the Papuas of Waropen (Geelvink Bay) are also organized ambilaterally. Held had described the kinship organization of the Waropen Papuas as patrilineal, or even bilineal.19 In his review of my thesis, Pouwer conjectures that ambilateral types of organization also occur among the inhabitants of Argoeni Bay (W. New Guinea) and of the upper Tor (eastern interior of Sarmi). He criticizes my view of the social structure of the

16 W. H. Goodenough, A. Problem in Malayo-Polynesian Social Organization, A. A. 57, 1955, pp. 71—83. 17 Anthropological Research in Netherlands New Guinea since 1950, by the Bureau far Native Affairs (Hollandia, Netherlands New Guinea). The Oceania Mono- graphs No. 10, 1959, p. 24. 18 o.c, p. 24. Pouwer also gives a full discussion of the theoretical implications of ambilaterality in his fieldwork report on the Manikion (J. Pouwer, Socio- politische structuur in de Oostelijke Vogelkop, I: Bestaansmiddelen en sociale structuur; mimeographed report). 18 G. J. Held, Papoea's van Waropen (Leiden 1947), pp. 43—63. However, Held also drew attention to the "imperfect unilaterality" of the patrilineal kin groups (o.c, pp. 62—63).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 126 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. western interior of Sarmi: according to him it is clear that ambilaterality also underlies the kinship organization in that region. The descriptions on which Pouwer bases his conclusions force us, according to him, to "reconsider the question whether a bilateral kinship reckoning can give rise to a kinship system which guarantees continuity, clarity, and viability, and is suited to life in harsh circumstances, or even in a marginal situation. To my mind, the ambilineal system does meet these demands. It has an elasticity which is admirably suited to the unfavourable circumstances in which many Papua communities are living. There are indications that this system can develop under more favourable circumstances into one based on unilineality. Goodenough, for instance, has also tentatively reached this conclusion. It is clear that a further study of this problem, for which New Guinea offers splendid opportunities, could be an important contribution to the theory of cultural anthropology".20

Pouwer has not convinced me that the kinship and marriage organizations in the western interior of Sarmi are based on ambiliterality. I would phrase my objections to Pouwer's views as follows: In the first place, Pouwer's objections against the term "looseness of structure" strike me as somewhat exaggerated. If one takes the variability of individual behaviour as a starting-point, one need not immediately associate "looseness of structure" with disintegration.21 Furthermore, Pouwer agrees that in New Guinea we often encounter cultural phenomena which are very vague. This vagueness manifests itself in all aspects of culture, and therefore the term "looseness of structure" definitely is meaningful. In using it, one does not loose sight of the total culture. For instance, one may observe that the territorial organization in Sarmi, as in other areas of New Guinea, is very unstable. The composition of the land-owning territorial units is continually changing as a result of fission and merging. It is obvious that this causes the kinship ties within these units also to make an impression of instability. This is by no means altered if one speaks of ambilateral ramages, although it is correct that the corporate kin groups in

20 See his review of my doctor's thesis. 21 I follow Embree's definition of "structural looseness": "loosely integrated here signifying a culture in which considerable variation of individual behavior is sanctioned". John F. Embree, Thailand — A Loosely Structured Social System, A. A., 52, 1950, p. 182).

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Sarmi are territorial units — I pointed this out in my thesis. Nor is this a novel point of view. In fact, it is not a typically New Guinea phenomenon, nor even a typically "ambilateral" phenomenon. The influence of the territorial factor on kinship organization is generally recognized; it also makes itself felt on predominantly unilineal kinship groupings. In the second place I notice that Pouwer ascribes the same functional importance to "ambilaterality" that I do to "looseness of structure" and "bilaterality". We both take as our starting-point that these phenomena result from the influence of the unfavourable natural environment. It is true that Pouwer makes a subtle distinction between "being suited to something" (the phrase he uses) and "adapting oneself to it" (the one I use), but I do not consider this very significant.22 In both cases we are concerned with an external causative factor. In addition, Pouwer assumes that an ambilineal system "can develop under more favourable circumstances into one based on unilineality". To my mind this means that Pouwer admits that ambilineality is a secondary phenomenon, and not a fundamental structural principle. My third objection is that the concept of ambilaterality is based on a quantitative analysis of the genealogical data. Our experience shows us, however, that the variability of behaviour in small Papua communities leads to considerable fluctuations in the "real culture pattern". A quantitative analysis fails to give a reliable impression of the truly important structural elements. A complementary qualitative study of the behavioral variability is a requisite for positive results. Each observed case, each variation, needs evaluation as to its functional significance and its emotional value for the bearers of the culture. In doing so, one must also devote attention to "the participants' view of their culture", i.e. the participants' ideals, and their interpretation of structural phenomena in their own culture.23 As De Josselin de Jong says, "For the observer himself the ideal is, of course, not normative. He can study it purely as a tendency, as a 'real culture pattern' ",24 Our task is to weigh the ideal and the reality in the balance, and to consider to what extent they influence one another. For the participants, the ideal often w normative, and it may be connected with their conscious awareness of a structure. De Josselin de Jong rightly main-

22 See the footnote of Pouwer's review. 23 P. E. de Josselin de Jong, De visie der participanten op hun cultuur, Bijdragen, 112, 19S6, pp. 149—168. 24 o.c, p. 163.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 128 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. tains that "by consistently drawing the participants' view into the field of one's research, one may, as it were, derive double profit for comparative purposes from the study of one single culture".25 This holds good for New Guinea in particular, where the study of social structure is so severely hampered by the vagueness of the social phenomena. In my opinion there can be no doubt that e.g. the Samarokena kin groups — I have in mind corporate, localized kin groups — have a patrilineal structure, in spite of pronounced bilateral features. In the first place, the largest of these groups are predominantly patrilineal, even when considered quantitatively. One notices that these are the most powerful and the best functioning groups. Kwake's group, numer- ically the strongest, demographically the best balanced, and the most obviously patrilineal group among the Samarokena (fig. 1) is the most influential in affairs concerning the society as a whole. One attends to whatever Kwake's men have to say. Kabetor's group is smaller, but also predominantly patrilineal (fig. 2). This group, however, has suf- fered ill fortune. In 1953 (my observations cover the period from 1952 to the end of 1954) several deaths made things uncomfortable for Marne, at that time the principal representative of the group. He withdrew and isolated himself among distant Saberi relatives. The men who are now prominent in Kabetor's group belong to a younger generation, and have less influence than Kwake's men. In addition, the majority are still unmarried. Moses's group, the most original Sama- rokena group, had become so small toward the end of my field-work period, that it could no longer maintain itself (fig. 3). Moses himself was killed in 1954 on the occasion of a marriage conflict. Thus the group lost the most important man it had had in recent times — at least, if one may call him so, for Moses was highly intelligent, but unbalanced. The bilateral character of Moses's group is due to special circumstances. According to Samarokena standards, the life history of its principal members has abnormal features. Jejeje, who was a very influential woman, concluded a second marriage with Sabeti, the first husband of her daughter Wepano, after the death of her own first husband Berof. The Samarokena consider such a marriage indecent. At the time of my stay, Jejeje was an old woman. She lived a retired life among the Mukrara, and no longer had daily contacts with her sons. Her daughter Wepano had concluded a second marriage with Sas, a difficult character. Sas has a second wife besides Wepano, viz. his 35 o.c, p. 167.

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SAWEROU Figure 1.

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Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 130 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. fa-br-da. This marriage is highly incestuous according to the Sama- rokena. Sas is a strong personality, but he does not exert his influence in favour of the unity of Moses's group. He is a Kamekakena by origin, and has now associated himself with Tukantare and Laraj, two brothers of Moses, who are his wards. He lives his own life with them, his two wives, and his own children, without concerning himself very much about any others. Only Ruben has remained in Samarokena territory. Ruben associates mainly with his brothers-in-law, men of Kwake's group. All this constitutes an exceptional situation which has promoted bilaterality. Therefore, I do not think it an exaggeration to claim a patrilineal structure for the Samarokena kin groups. This is confirmed by the attitude of the participants in the culture themselves. It is the impression one gets from their manner of life in general: from the myths, from other traditions, and from conversations with these people. It is self-evident, and they cannot understand why the observer takes such pains to get it confirmed. Patrilineality is explained as patrilocality: daughters-in-law usually live in the hamlet of their fathers-in-law. One is aware of exceptions, and one likes talking about them, for these cases are unusual, and therefore interesting. My fourth objection to Pouwer's views concern the material he uses as adstruction for his concept of the ambilateral type of structure. According to Pouwer, the kinship terminology in Sarmi is of the "Hawaiian type". I do not deny that "because of the extended meaning of the sibling terms an element of the so-called "Hawaiian type" is not foreign — (to the kinship terminology) ",26 but this does not alter the fact that there are distinct terms for mo-br-children and fa-si- children, and for mo-si-children. These terms cannot be attributed to a bilateral tendency. Furthermore, there is no general term for siblings, but the latter are distinguished according to their order of birth. It is a very common practice to call someone "cross-cousin-elder brother", for example. The sibling term employed here in this compound word only serves to indicate the order of birth of the linking relatives in the parents' generation and of their descendants. Pouwer is right in pointing out that the interpretation I gave in my thesis of the significance of the sibling group is not quite correct. It was wrongly phrased. I agree that the sibling group in Sarmi is not a secondary phenomenon of adaptation. On the other hand, Pouwer's

See my thesis, p. 61.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 131 expose suggests that the unity of the sibling group in Sarmi is closely connected with the ambilateral type of structure. It is obvious, however, that the sibling group can play a part in unilateral as well as in bilateral organizations; the sibling group has not much value as a proof of ambilaterality. Perhaps it would be better to say that the sibling group in Sarmi, and in other regions of New Guinea, is very important for the realization of the type of social structure. One may deduce this from the participants' own view of the structural phenomena in their society. In that view the sibling group plays an important role. Pouwer attributes the patrilineal and matrilineal tendencies to the elasticity of the ambilineal framework. Patrilocal marriages and exchange of women "produce a patrilineal tendency within the framework of an ambilineal kinship system..."; and "an ambilineal framework leaves room for recognition of matrilineal descent, although the latter cannot predominate in the western interior of Sarmi because of the strong tendency toward patrilocal marriages".27 This does not sound at all convincing to me. In the first place the "ambilineal framework" does not explain the functional significance of the unilineal tendencies in Sarmi. In the second place, this argument goes against Pouwer's own concept, for he acknowledges a "strong tendency toward patrilocal marriages". One may well wonder whether the term "ambilaterality" can be meaningful in this case, for by using it one just means to deny "strong" unilineal tendencies. My next objection to Pouwer's approach is that he does not consider the social structure from the angle of the total system of social relationships, but only from that of the local kin grouping. As seen from the local organization, patrilineality and matrilineality are alternative phenomena which can hardly enter into a functional combination. Local kin groups are either unilineal or ambilineal. Besides the ties of kinship determined by locality there are, however, other kinship ties which are no less important for the structure. Such are, for example, the relationships between the local groups. Patrilin- eality functions within the local groups; matrilineal relations exist between members of different groups who are connected with one another by marriages. Therefore, we are not dealing with alternatives, but we have a structural situation which is double-unilineal or bilineal, in which the matrilineal ties do not counteract, but cross the patrilocal organization.

27 See Pouwer's review.

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Patrilineality, in Sarmi, has its greatest importance in creating kin groups. Matrilineality is active as a latent factor in interpersonal relationships, and only becomes overt when certain situations necessitate matrilineal descent reckoning. A case in point is when one is cogitating on the rules of exogamy. To give concrete examples of the functional importance of the matrilineal descent reckoning in Sarmi, we should start with the brother-sister relationship. A brother regrets that, because of her exogamous marriage, his sister's offspring will not accrue to his own local kin group. He expects compensations to offset this loss: e.g. a marriage gift on the occasion of her wedding (east coast of Sarmi) or exchange of sisters (interior of Sarmi). The mother's — brother keeps a watch- ful eye on the life of his sister's — children from birth onwards. He receives gifts on the occasion of their birth, initiation, and death. He is their guardian, and goes into a rage if they die, reproaching their patrilineal kin of having been neglectful. He also destroys part of the plantations of his late wards, in order that he no longer be reminded of them. Their life is past, their memory must be erased. The relationship between mother's — brother and sister's — child is based on an elementary matrilineal descent reckoning. The structural significance and the continuity of the matrilineal descent lines is furthermore proved by the ideal that female matrilineal descendants of a woman who has married out, should marry back again into the original group after having circulated over various local groups for at least three generations. This matrilineal descent reckoning implies a tendency to asymmetrical or circulating connubium, for the inhabitants themselves formulate the ideal as follows, taking the local groups as basic units: a woman of group A marries a man of group B; her daughter marries into group C, etc., until finally the descendant is no longer a close relative and can marry back into group A.28 It is obvious that the notion of kinship is thus linked to the number of generations, and to the number of local groups which have been "passed through". The greater the number of intervening generations, and the further the descendants thereby diverge from "home", the more traditional the tie of kinship becomes. I have dealt with this question at some length because I believe this to be a very common phenomenon in New Guinea. This view of the participants on their marriage rule reveals a strong awareness of

38 Therefore, the ideal has bilineal implications.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 133 structure. It is true that this ideal is seldom realized: the circumstances do not allow it to be. However, the matrilineal descent reckoning does function as an active structural principle whenever one deliberately shortens the cycle through the generations because of conflicts in arranging a marriage. When studying the genealogies one often comes across cases of this kind. For the participants they have considerable emotional significance. Along the east coast of Sarmi I observed cases of women marrying into the patrilineal clan of their mother's — mother — i.e. a matrilineal cycle of two generations. I even know of some cases when, after a sharp conflict, the cycle was reduced to one generation, that is to say that the women married into their mother's clan. In the western interior it may occur that a mother's — brother takes back his sister's — daughter, when his sister's marriage had not been accom- panied by an exchange of sisters, and uses her as an object of exchange for his own marriage or for that of a member of his group. This can be considered as a variation of the same pattern. Pouwer observed cases among the Manikion of the eastern Vogelkop of "women who had married out and their matrilineal or ambilineal descendants 'marrying back' ". But he writes: "My informants did not explain this by the demand of asymmetrical exchange of wives, but they characterized the situation as follows: 'The women who married out belonged, and continued to belong to our group. She did wrong by going away. In the person of one of her descendants she has now returned'". According to Pouwer "this motivation shows the influence of the bilateral principle".29 In my opinion, though, there is no connection at all between this matrilineal complex and the bilateral type of structure. The active role played by the matrilineal descent reckoning when one shortens the asymmetrical cycle through the generations indicates that this matrilineal complex has structural significance. The bilateral type of structure, on the other hand, implies complete freedom in the choice of a marriage partner. It is not concomitant with traditions which limit this choice to certain relatives; and this is just what happens in the case of "marrying back". The participants' own view is very clearly founded on an awareness of the structure. This view definitely does comprise the notion of a cycle and of exchange relationships, viz. exchange relationships between the various kin groups to which the matrilineal descendants come to belong through the generations. The matrilineal

29 See Pouwer's review.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 134 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. basis of the complex is not nullified by the fact that this cycle is some- times shortened, and thus causes the exchange relationships no longer to be asymmetrical but symmetrical — namely, when the female matrilineal descendant is taken back after only one generation. Perhaps Pouwer's data refer to such cases. Furthermore, the way the participants talk about these cases clearly shows that they consider the women as a debit post, as they will be given away in marriage to other groups. These exogamous marriage relationships would only play a minor part in a bilateral kinship organization with ambilateral ramages. These arguments of mine may seem to clash with the Sarmi population's idea that "true" relatives may not marry each other, but "traditional" relatives may. I hold, however, that this idea can also be seen as connected with the structural type of the kinship and marriage organization in this area. This question can, however, better be discussed in the comparative survey of New Guinea types of social structure, with which I shall conclude this article.

We shall now put forward two premisses for the study of social structure. In the first place, that it has to base itself on the connection which exists in every culture between social phenomena and other features of culture. In the second place, that it has necessarily to be comparative. Recently, De Josselin de Jong summarized these views as follows: The structural type of a particular society "will often stand out more clearly when the student of that society also uses comparative data. Elements which are hard to explain in one particular culture, because they seem to have little connection with other elements, turn out to be much more comprehensible in another culture, as they are part of an entire complex there. By comparing various cultures within the 'ethnological field of study' of his choice, the anthropologist may be able to set up a cultural model which he considers applicable to the whole 'field of study' ".30 In New Guinea, comparative structural research of this kind has not yet been done; however, it is not only feasible — certain types of structure are widely diffused — but even necessary. It is necessary for getting us out of the impasse we are now in, with our polemics on "looseness of structure" and the character of local kin groups. It will reveal the structural tendencies common to all Papua cultures, in "loose" as well as in "rigid" structures, and in cultures with "non-

30 P. E. de Josselin de Jong, o.c, p. ISO.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 135 unilineal" as well as with obviously unilineal descent groups. In New Guinea the social processes are usually elementary. This makes New Guinea an excellent testing ground for theories on kinship and marriage systems. In this article I shall deal particularly with the theories of Levi-Strauss and J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong.3* In the first place, I have been greatly impressed by the validity for New Guinea of Levi-Strauss's views on the principle of reciprocity as a general integrative principle. In his monograph on Mimika, Pouwer writes: "The principle of reciprocity is of such fundamental importance that it makes itself felt in all the aspects of Mimika culture. One must^ continually keep this principle in mind if one wishes to understand the background of the social structure, the Mimikans' ideas of education and child-care, their individual behaviour, their economic activities, their religious ideas and practices, and their attitude towards stran- gers".32 There can be no stronger proof of the value of the reciprocity principle as a starting-point for a structural study. Other writers have remarked on the importance of exchange in Papua cultures. In a description of the "cargo" movement among the Garia in Madang District, northeastern New Guinea, Lawrence says: "as in all Papuan and Melanesian societies, relationships are expressed and understood most easily in terms of the giving or exchange of material goods and advantages".33 This materialistic attitude plays a great part in the desire for western goods, which is so prominent in this kind of movement. In an article on the "cargo" situation among the Ngawara- pum in the Markham valley, Read also stresses this materialism. This attitude is intimately linked with the ritual: " material wealth and success depend, in large measure, on command over supernatural powers, on knowledge of both the ultimate source and the most efficac- ious ways of securing access to it".34 This situation favours the rise of "cargo" movements, which, as we know, are spreading rapidly in New Guinea.

31 Cl. Levi-Strauss, Les structures elementmres de la parente (Paris 1949); J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, Levi-Strauss's theory on kinship and -marriage (Mededelingen Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde te Leiden, 1952). For Levi- Strauss's theory, I refer in this article to the highly competent discussion by J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong. 32 J. Pouwer, Enkele aspecten van de Mimika-cultuur, p. 161. 33 P. Lawrence, Cargo Cult and Religious Beliefs among the Garia, IAfE, 47, 19S4, p. 10. 34 K. E. Read, A "Cargo" Situation in the Markham Valley, New Guinea, o.c, p. 288.

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The "potlatch" character of ceremonial exchange in New Guinea is well known. The liberality displayed for reasons of prestige, which forces the exchange-partner to make a countergift; the manifest rivalry; the special character of the valuables exchanged; all these typical "potlatch" features have been observed everywhere in New Guinea. Spectacular examples are the yam ritual among the Abelam in the Torricelli Range, the ndambu ritual of Frederik Hendrik Island, and the pig festivals of the mountainous regions in Dutch and in Australian New Guinea.35 The great Moka and Te exchange festivals, to the east and to the west of the Hagen Range in the Central Highlands, are important. The title of a popular article by Maahs on the Moka shows how obvious is the "potlatch" character of these feasts: "New Guinea chiefs give to get rich". Most interesting, too, is the exchange mechanism of the Te ritual, which according to Bus is "best described as a big pig and pearl-shell display and exchange".36 During the Te festival, pigs and shells are ceremonially exchanged. Bus remarked that "all the gifts are going in one direction, and that the pigs are coming down along the same route (as the shells, v. d. L.), but in the opposite direction".37 The route followed by these feasts describes a great circle through the whole Enga area. There are indications that the gifts do not always circulate in the same direction, but turn back after having completed the cycle.38 For the social organization, too, exchange is of great structural importance. In all respects, exchange is the great stabilizing factor in the relationships between individuals and between groups. Marriage relationships are a form of exchange relationships. The marriage rules in New Guinea show all the aspects which, according to Levi-Strauss, are elementary for the exchange of women. The marriage relationships derive their "exchange" character from the asymmetrical status of men and women. The women play the passive part. They are the object of the exchange relationships between the exogamous groups, which are managed by the males. The woman's status is determined by her

36 Phyllis M. Kaberry, The Abelam Tribe, Sepik District, New Guinea, Oceania, XI, 1940-'41, pp. 233—258, 345—367; A. Verhagen msc, Nota over het Fre- derik-Hendrik eihmd, (typescript report, 1957?); L. Pospisil, Kapauku Papuans and Their Law, Yale University Publication in Anthropology, 54, 1959. 36 A. Maahs, New Guinea Chiefs Give to Get Rich, Natural History, april 1956, pp. 176—223; G. A. M. Bus S. V. D. The Te Festival or Gift Exchange in Enga (Central Highlands of New Guinea), Anthropos, XLVI, 1951, pp 813— 824. 37 G. A. M. Bus S. V. D., o.c, p. 815. 38 o.c, p. 824.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 137 offspring. The Sarmi Papuas' point of view, that a woman is a loss because her offspring will belong to her husband's group, is very wide- spread in New Guinea. This loss is to be compensated by exchange of women or by a marriage gift. The marriage rules nowhere allow great variability of individual behaviour on this point. In all Papua societies, failure to produce the compensation for a marriage is considered to be a most serious offence. Another aspect of this matter is that everywhere in New Guinea the relationship between affines is latently antagonistic. They are held to be dangerous, as is manifested by various restrictive regulations. The asymmetrical status of men and women also influences the kinship terminology. Even in areas where the terminology of address is of the generation type, there are as a rule special terms for cross- cousins, i.e. of descendants of a brother and a sister. In itself this is not typical of New Guinea, although it is of considerable structural significance. Another phenomenon is, perhaps, typical; it has been observed i.a. in Mimika and in Sarmi, and is connected with the asymmetrical status of men and women. In these regions one usually simplifies the classifications of distant relatives by reducing them to classifications of relatives in the third degree. One does so by taking the similarity or dissimilarity in sex of the linking relatives in the parents' generation as a starting-point. The resulting terminology does not fit in functionally with either a unilineal or a bilineal organization, nor with a bilateral organization with generation-type terminology (Murdock's "Hawaiian" type). It can only be attributed to the influence of the nuclear family and the sibling group.39 The Mimika Papuas, for example, "oppose own children, brother's children, and those of male bilateral cousins to sister's children and those of female bilateral cousins, by using the paired terms kamarima and watako". For instance, one can say: "I am kamarima, he (or she) is watako", i.e. 'My relationship to X is that of Y's brother's child to Y's sister's child' ".*o The asymmetrical status of men and women, and the sibling group, also play a large part in the participants' own view of the structure of their society. A good example is furnished by the Waropen Papuas' views on the mo-br-da marriage, prescribed in their society: "It is

38 J. Pouwer, o.c, 62—76; compare also my thesis, p. 36—66. This tendency probably also makes itself felt with the Me j brat. J. E. Elmberg, Notes on the Mejbrat People of the Ajamaroe District (typescript report, Stockholm 1954), p. 16. *° J. Pouwer, o.c, pp. 75, 76.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 138 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. remarkable, that the Waropen can only conceive of the relation of marriage and family nucleus in terms of 'brother' and 'sister'. The common marriage type is always described as follows: 'The son of a sister must marry the daughter of a brother', and if one proposes the formula: 'a man marries the daughter of his mother's brother', one's interlocutor always has to think for a moment before he has equated this formula with the usual one. Less bright individuals even denied that the two formulas mean the same thing. Nobody recognized that this system implied a bride-giving and a bride-taking group, in addition to ego's group — and indeed this is not apparent, given the present-day composition of the ruma. On the other hand, everyone immediately denied the possibility of brother and sister exchange". In other words, the participants views were closely linked with the actual structural situation. Furthermore it is remarkable that the Waropen Papuas terminologically distinguish the sister's children from children and brother's children, but have no special term for mo-br-da or for fa-si-so. They do have a term for "cross-cousin".41 These facts permit us to draw two conclusions of importance for a characterization of the social structure in New Guinea. In the first place it is clear that "elementary kinship structures" occur in New Guinea, which should be approached from the reciprocity principle, from the point of view of exchange. In the second place, there are indications that the social structure is mainly realized along the lines of interpersonal genealogical relationships. When one compares this with the situation in Australia, where the emphasis lies on the collective kinship categories, the importance of the genealogical relationships in New Guinea is very striking. This is shown up by the central place occupied by the relationships between siblings' children in the participants' view of their social structure. This view appears to be closely related to reality. Probably this again is linked with the fact that the social structure in New Guinea is so seldom incorporated in clearly- defined institutional complexes.

Armed with these conclusions we can consider the marriage systems of New Guinea once more. We then observe that the distribution of symmetrical and asymmetrical elements — the result of direct exchange and of general exchange respectively — is wide, but also apparently

«• G. J. Held, o.c, pp. 112-114.

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random.42 Most widely distributed, particularly in the lowlands, are sister-exchange and tendencies towards dualistic groupings, i.e. typical indications for a symmetrical exchange structure. Here and there one also encounters unilateral cross-cousin marriage, as an indication for the asymmetrical type of exchange. In addition there are variants of these classical marriage types, which render an analysis of the exchange systems extremely attractive.43 In doing so, we must from the very beginning take into account the importance of the interpersonal relationships in New Guinea, and the difficult living circumstances of the population of vast areas of the island. On the one hand these are, of course, due to the unfavourable natural environment, but a cultural factor is at work as well. Tense situations exert a harmful influence on interpersonal and inter-group relations in many Papua societies. In little groups, conflicts have serious consequences. The influence of sorcery accentuates the instability of the community, the tendency to group fission, and the preference for living in small, scattered units. This may perhaps explain the wide distribution of the symmetrical elements in the marriage regulations. Levi-Strauss has pointed out that symmetrical exchange, by its directness, entails less risk than general exchange, which complicates the exchange relationships.44 Direct exchange functionally fits better into communities living under difficult conditions, in which the exchange relations must be as simple as possible. I hold that the wide distribution of sister-exchange as an institution confirms Levi-Strauss's views. In some areas, e.g. along the east coast of Sarmi and with the Abelam, the marriage gift plays an important part, but sister-exchange is an alternative. In other regions, such as the interior of Sarmi, sister-exchange is practically the only condition with which one has to comply when marrying. "A man without a sister cannot marry", it is said, and in practice this rational- ization proves to be true. There is even a pronounced preference for exchanging "real" sisters. Sister-exchange is the most elementary form of direct exchange,

42 In this article I use the terms "symmetrical" and "direct", and "asymmetrical" and "general" as synonyms. 43 I leave out of consideration here the way the various systems influenced one another. The data indicate that such influence has been, and still is, considerable in many parts of New Guinea. At present, however, material on this point is insufficient for a profitable discussion. In this article I limit myself to giving a functional analysis. 44 J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong-, o.c, p. 21.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 140 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. particularly because it often is a real simultaneous exchange. This institution also reaffirms the importance of the sibling group and of interpersonal relations in New Guinea. However, there is more to be said on it, for we see that the symmetrical exchange systems of New Guinea also contain asymmetrical elements, and that they wish to profit, as it were, by an advantage which general exchange has over direct exchange. General exchange may entail greater risk, but in contrast to direct exchange it is "all-embracing" because, if consistently applied, it is "cycling".4^ The functioning exchange units must number at least three, but in theory their number is unlimited. In the case of symmetrical exchange only two units participate. An example is the marriage organization in the western interior of Sarmi. As I demonstrated earlier, the institution of sister-exchange there is linked with an ideal of an asymmetrical cycle of matrilineal descendants traversing at least three generations and several local groups. This ideal confirms the views of J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, that in characterizing an exchange system one has to take into account the "brother-in-law series" as well as the "father-inlaw / son-in-law series".46 It is true that in Sarmi the local groups, and not the affinal relationships, come to the fore, but the result is the same. According to the participants' views, the bond of kinship weakens in proportion as the kinship is traced over more local groups. This justifies the eventual "return" of the descendants concerned. Although it is seldom realized, the ideal expresses the wish of making the system "all- embracing", by making the number of local exchange units larger than two, in a time-span of several generations. Like other marriage phenomena, this again affirms the importance of interpersonal and genealogical relationships. I have the impression that this asymmetrical tendency occurs in many symmetrical systems of New Guinea. One indication for this is the fact that preferential marriage of bilateral cross-cousins, elementary for systems which are laterally symmetrical and remain so through the generations, is so uncommon in New Guinea. They are mainly to be found in southern and southeastern New Guinea. Williams mentions marriages of "first cousins" among the Orokaiva. In view of the symmetrical character of the marriage organization and of the kinship

o.c, p. 21. o.c., p. 46.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 141 terminology, this might refer to bilateral cross-cousin marriage.47 According to Williams, this form of marriage also occurs among the Koiari in the Port Moresby hinterland, and in the Trans-Fly area. I shall have more to say about the Koiari system presently, because it also shows a preference for patrilateral cross-cousin marriage.4^ The situation in the Trans-Fly area is also complicated, in this case by the occurrence of a tri-partite system.49 Further research is necessary to establish its structural significance. Together with the dualistic and double-dualistic systems of the Marind-Anim and their neighbours, this system belongs to the institutionally most highly developed types known in New Guinea. One may also expect bilateral cross-cousin marriage to occur in the latter systems, but there is no clear evidence for it in the literature.50 More widely distributed in New Guinea are the complex forms of marriage resembling the Aranda system in Australia. Read mentions marriages with fa-mo-br-so-da and with fa-fa-si-so-da among the Ngawarapum.51 Hogbin describes a marriage among the Busama, which amounts to marriage with fa-fa-si-so-da.52 I came across similar marriages in Sarmi. In all these regions, sister-exchange occurs as well. In my opinion, these marriages cannot be structurally reduced to marriages between classificatory bilateral cross-cousins, although the kinship terminology fails to distinguish between relatives in the third degree and more remote kin. The reason for my opinion is that in the participants' view of the marriage rules, the distinction between "real" and "traditional" relatives is very prominent. "Real" relatives may not marry; marriages between "traditional" relatives are prescribed. I do not believe that this distinction is of secondary importance in these cultures, because genealogical relationships play such a great part in many Papua cultures, as we have seen. Probably the distinction owes its functional importance partly to the instability of the social situation and to the irregularity of the connubial relationships. However, this

4T F. E. Williams, Orokawa Society (Oxford 1930), p. 132. 48 F. E. Williams, Sex Affiliation and its Implications, JRAI, 62, 1932, pp. 51—81. 49 F. E. Williams, Papuans of the Trans-Fly (Oxford 1936), pp. 128, 57—84. 50 J. van Baal, Godsdienst en samenleving in Nederlandsch-Zuid-Nieuw-Gumea (Amsterdam 1934), p. 41; Rapport van het bevolkingsonderzoek onder de Marmd-Anim van Nederkmds Zuid Nieuw Guinea (SPC Population Studies — S 18 Project), pp. 65—70, 112, 61 K. E. Read, Social Organization in the Markham Valley, New Guinea, Oceania, XVII, 1946, pp. 104—108. 88 H. I. Hogbin, Sex and Marriage in Busama, North-Eastern New Guinea, Oceania, XVII, 1946, pp. 134—137.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 142 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. does not solve the problem, for in an area like Waropen the genealogical relationships are also important, but it is there that one literally says: "The son of a sister must marry the daughter of a brother". A Mejbrat informant of Pouwer's described this type of marriage as follows: "I married my real mother".53 One may therefore assume that the exchange mechanism also influences the views on the exogamy rules. The distinction between "real" and "traditional" relatives may not be absent, but it is structurally unimportant in Waropen, because the matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is a constant feature in a general exchange system. On the other hand, it is important in e.g. the Sarmi system, which is symmetrical in each generation and, in its ideal form, asymmetrical through the generations. Instead of collective bilineal kinship categories, which are not found in Sarmi, it is the prohibition of marriage with "real" relatives and the prescription of marriage with "traditional" relatives which gives a broad impression of the bilineal exogamy rules in the system. One must bear in mind that marriages between distant but traceable relatives are not exceptional — neither in Sarmi, nor among the Ngawarapum, nor among the Busama. The border-line between "real" and "traditional" relationships is vague, but in Sarmi, for example, it begins when one traces the relationship over more than two generations. According to the ideal, the system is all-embracing through the generations. In reality it hardly ever works out like that, and one often restricts the cycle to such a degree that symmetry results, and the sister's daughter returns to her mother's group. This is indicative of a certain lack of balance. An interesting, more or less institutionalized variant of the asymmetrical cycle through the generations is the system of descent "ropes" of the Mundugumor. These ropes consist of a man, his daughters, his daughters' sons, etc., or of a woman, her sons, her sons' daughters, etc. One tries to turn the ropes of a brother and a sister into a co-operative unit "by the establishment of mutual obliga- tions between the descendants of an intermarrying pair of brothers and sisters. The son of the sister scarified the grandson of the brother, who in turn scarified the grandson of his scarifier, and in the fourth generation the children of the two lines were supposed to marry". In my opinion, the Mundugumor thus follow the middle way between general

63 J. Pouwer, Het vraagstuk van de kain timoer in het Mejbrat-gebied (Ajamaroe- meren), Nieww-Gvmea studien, 1, 1957, p. 302.

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and direct exchange in the descent lines. Margaret Mead observes, by the way, that this ideal is seldom realized in practice.54 It appears that the asymmetrical matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is less widely distributed in New Guinea than the symmetrical sister- exchange. It has been observed i.a. in Waropen (Geelvink Bay), among the Mejbrat (Vogelkop area), among the Muju (southern New Guinea), and among the Tchambuli (Sepik area).55 None of these systems are evident, closed circulating systems, although circulating features are nowhere entirely absent. The asymmetrical status of bridegivers and bride-takers is mainly realized in interpersonal relationships. The structural implications of the system perhaps are most clearly to be perceived in ceremonial, and in the participants' view of the social structure. Held has attempted also to trace a connection between the linked couples of village "wards" in Waropen, and this system.56 It is also striking that the Mejbrat and the Tchambuli equate "wife" and "mother".57 The Tchambuli system is perhaps the most consistent, but even here one does not encounter well-developed circulating exchange relationships. To the contrary, it is remarkable that among the Tcham- buli marriage with a daughter of mother's half-brother or of mother's cousin is associated with a system of exogamous patrilineal moieties. The kinship terminology, on the other hand, is asymmetrical.58 Several phenomena confirm Levi-Strauss's opinion, that the general exchange systems contain a "gambling element", and that by various means one seeks for security against that risk.59 One notes the great importance of ceremonial exchange in the Papua systems. Held associated the "battle of gifts" in Waropen with what was, to his mind, a class system in statu nascendi.60 The focus of Mejbrat culture is the exchange of kain timur (ikat cloths imported from eastern Indonesia).61 For the Muju, the acquisition of cowry shells is the end and aim of

54 M. Mead, o.c, p. 131. 68 G. J. Held, o.c, pp. 44—112; J. Pouwer, o.c., passim; J. W. Schoorl, o.c, pp. 27—42; M. Mead, o.c, p. 174; R. F. Fortune, A Note on Some Forms of Kinship Structure, Oceania, IV, 1933, p. 3. 58 G. J. Held, o.c, pp. 52, 53. BT J. Pouwer, o.c, p. 302; M. Mead, o.c, p. 174. This identification coincides with that of mo and mo-br-da. The latter identification also occurs among the Muju (J. W. Schoorl, o.c, p. 29). 58 M. Mead, o.c, pp. 171, 173, 174. 59 J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, o.c, p. 21. 60 G. J. Held, Het tijdsperspectief in de Geelvinkbaai-culturen, Indonesia, 1, 1947, pp. 162—177. 81 J. Pouwer, o.c, p. 300.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 144 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. life.62 Among Mejbrat and Muju, marriage is totally subservient to the acquisition of these valuables. The same applies to the Papuas of the Highlands; they do not appear to have unilateral cross-cousin marriage as an institution, but there is a clear pointer to general exchange in the importance they attach to the exchange of, and trade in, cowry shells and pigs. The circulation of goods is institutionally realized in the Te ritual of the Enga. I remarked above that the Te exchange festivals move in a grand circle through the whole Enga territory. A principle that was not realized in the organization of marriage, is symbolically expressed in ceremonial. Finally, it should be noted that polygyny is the Highland Papua's ideal. By polygynous marriages he strengthens his position in the exchange relationships. This, too, could be considered according to Levi- Strauss as a means of attaining security against the "gambling- element" of general exchange. When characterizing the exchange mechanism in the Muju system, one must also take into account the implications of the "father-in-law / son-in-law series". The Muju express the prohibition of marriages with the monggop (i.e. fa-si-da, and other relatives in father's-sister's patrilineage equated with her) as follows: " 'It wants to (or: should) go through (in one direction), but it turns back, that is not correct', and 'marrying in the reverse direction is wrong' ",63 This is an excellent example of the participants' awareness of structure. They perceive the theoretical implications of the two varieties of unilateral cross-cousin marriage. They also realize that their own system is a circulating one through the generations, for the patrilateral type of marriage is symmetrical when considered multigenerationally, and this is precisely what is incorrect, according to the Muju. The bilineal kinship reckoning also influences the kinship terminology and other kinship phenomena. One of Schoorl's informants was able to trace matrilineal descent even to the patrilineage or village of mo- mo-mo-mo.64 He intended marrying his daughter to a man in the village of this relative, in order to "obtain someone to replace him in this existing relationship, so that it could be perpetuated".6^ This case would fit into a theoretical model of a circulating system with 5 patrilineal and 5 matrilineal units. I do not mean to say that the Muju system

62 J. W. Schoorl. o.c, p. 127. 63 o.c, p. 36. 84 o.c, p. 32. 85 o.c., p. 41.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 145 is actually based on this model. Schoorl has described it as an "open asymmetrical system". Perhaps this particular case is unique, or there may be other cases in which one shortens or modifies the cycle. One thing is clear, however, viz. that the Muju system has the tendency to become all-embracing, also when one considers it through the generations. I would add two remarks. In the first place, the Muju system confirms the idea of J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, that in asymmetrical as well as in symmetrical systems, bilineality can offer an important contribution towards the integration of the structural type. In this respect he differs from Levi-Strauss, who does not attribute any structural importance to bilineality in asymmetrical systems, as these systems are cyclical, and therefore all-embracing, in each generation anyhow. However, De Josselin de Jong correctly points out that every exchange system with a certain number of patrilineal units comprises an equal number of latent matrilineal units.66 All data indicate that everywhere in New Guinea not only the local kinship lines, but also the lines which cross the former through the generations, play a part in the marriage system. In many areas, the participants in the culture are even aware of this. My second remark concerns Schoorl's description of the Muju system as an open, as opposed to a closed, asymmetrical system. The distinction which Schoorl makes here between these two "systems" is, however, fictitious. The real culture pattern of the Muju system is, indeed, open. The structural implications of the system, on the other hand, are the same, whether it is open or closed. Structurally speaking, asymmetrical systems are circulating systems; therefore, the Muju system is a circulating system. Schoorl is wrong when he says that the Muju system "is outside the framework of Levi-Strauss's study".67 The lack of balance in the exchange relationships through the generations manifests itself, in New Guinea, in symmetrical as well as in asymmetrical systems. Among the Muju, Schoorl observed a case of a man marrying his fa-fa-si-so-so-da. This marriage was connected with that of his fa-fa-si. "They compared this with giving garden produce, e.g. tubers, to someone who is short of it, and who will give it back later. This system is called dine konmdndn, dine konwondn, meaning: 'A wife from there to here, a wife from here to there'. It was said also

88 J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, ox., p. 55. 07 J. W. Schoorl, o.c, p. 34. Dl. 116 10

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access 146 A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN. to have been frequently practiced in former days".68 In this case the exchange relationship was symmetrical through the generations as is the patrilateral cross-cousin marriage in asymmetrical systems. Apparently this symmetrical tendency is not quite foreign to the Muju system. This symmetrical tendency also appears in ceremonial exchange. Everywhere there is a slight tendency to distinguish between valuables typical of the marriage gift to wife's relatives, and valuables typical of the counter-gift to husband's relatives. However, there is nowhere found a strictly asymmetrical exchange of gifts, with valuables always moving in one direction. Mostly one particular category of valuables is the most important for exchange purposes. Among the Muju, bridegivers and bride-takers simultaneously exchange cowri shells. The marriage gift consists of more shells than the counter-gift, but the bridegivers also present a pig.69 Among the Mejbrat there is a definite reciprocity in the numerous kain timur gifts exchanged by bridegivers and bride-takers.70 In Waropen, the asymmetrical direction in which one exchanges gifts and counter-gifts at marriage is reversed during the initiation ritual: at weddings, the bride's relatives receive old earthen- ware goods, and give sago; during the initiation, they give old pottery and receive sago.71 As we saw, this reversal of the direction of the gifts is also practised by the Enga, in the Te-ritual. So far I have discussed several phenomena which remind one strongly of the concomitants of asymmetrical systems with patrilateral cross- cousin marriage. There is no evidence that this form of marriage is widely distributed as an institution in New Guinea. Van Baal had the impression that it occurs in the Kokas area (Mac Cluer Gulf), where one sees to it that "after one generation the bride-price returns to its source". However, there is no certainty on this point.72 What is beyond doubt is that this "structural type" is not frequent in New Guinea. Mostly one comes across variants of it, combinations of it with or tendencies towards it in other systems. The situation in asymmetrical systems has already been discussed. The tendency to symmetry through the generations, which is connected with the patrilateral formula, is indicative of imbalance in the system. I should now like to deal with

68 o.c, p. 41. 69 o.c, p. 39. 70 J. Pouwer, o.c, p. 307, ff. 71 G. J. Held, Papoetfs van Waropen, pp. 94, 95. 72 J. van Baal, Volken, o.c, p. 460. And private information.

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two variants which occur in combination with symmetrical systems, i.e. systems with direct exchange in each generation. The first is the system of sex affiliation with the Koiari in the hinterland of Port Moresby. They have a double-symmetrical system. Probably sister-exchange occurs in combination with bilateral cross- cousin marriage. The Koiari say, however, that the sons belong to father's group and the daughters to mother's group. This proves to be connected with the marriage regulations, for "the girl, when she marries, must go back to the place her mother came from". "The girl belongs to her mother's group in a practical sense because she is to be the wife of one of its members".73 In other words, there is a preference for the patrilateral formula within the bilateral cross-cousin marriage. This is not a matter of alternatives, but of selection. And once again we notice how much importance the participants themselves attach to the exchange relationships through the generations. With the Koiari, sex affiliation is not a form of kinship organization, but the expression of the participants' view of their social system. In bilineal terms it expresses the system's implications as to exchange through the generations. The second variant is to be found with the Iatmiil of the Sepik area. The Iatmiil have a system of patrilineal moieties, subdivided into smaller exogamous patrilineal groups. The villages are classified according to this pattern. Other characteristic features are the system of alternating generation lines, the distinction between mother's-brother's people, sister's-child's people, and father's-mother's people, and a preference for marriages with women of this latter group. When one marries a woman of another group, though, sister-exchange is prescribed. This is also practised in the case of marriages between children of tambinien, partners belonging to the opposite moieties.74 This proves that with the Iatmul also the patrilateral form of cross- cousin marriage, or features which are functionally connected with it, have not developed into an independent structural type. Symmetrical sister-exchange, too, has structural significance. This reminds one of Levi-Strauss's opinion, that the asymmetrical system with patrilateral marriage type is not really a system, but a procede. It lacks balance, "the exchange cycle being prematurely broken off, so that instead of one all-embracing structure there are a number of closed systems by the side of each other".75 73 F. E. Williams, Sex Affiliation and its Implications, o.c, pp. 51—75. 74 G. Bateson, Social Structure of the Iatmul People of the Sepik River, Oceania, 2, 1931-'32, pp. 256—269. 78 J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, o.c., pp. 28—29.

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Such phenomena of imbalance occur in most Papua systems. The imbalance is particularly clear in the exchange relationships through the generations. There is good reason for speaking of a procede. Many Papua societies hesitate, as it were, in making a choice between direct and indirect exchange. It is often hard to make out which type of exchange is most fully institutionalized. On the one hand there is the ideal of making the system circulating or all-embracing.76 On the other hand this ideal is seldom realized, and one continually resorts to direct exchange, under the pressure of unfavourable circumstances, such as conflicts, etc. In this respect, too, the social processes in New Guinea are of an elementary nature. We clearly observe how closely general and direct exchange are connected with one another in these processes. The random distribution of symmetrical and asymmetrical elements need no longer surprise us now. General and direct exchange occur everywhere as structural tendencies. A difference in emphasis brings now one, and now the other to the foreground.

So far these preliminary comparisons. I have failed to deal with one aspect of structural research in New Guinea, namely the connection between social structure and myth. At present I have not yet sufficient data at hand on this subject. Important studies on myths have been carried out by Held and Van Baal.77 A difficulty is always the lack of clarity of Papua myths: "The slightness of dramatization, the obscurity of language, and the vagueness of the personalities make the Waropen myth a difficult subject for ethnological interpretation", said Held.78 It is obvious, though, that exchange as a general integrative factor is also to be observed in the myths; there is clear evidence of this from all parts of New Guinea. Study of myths can be a considerable aid to the study of social structure. There is an "unbreakable unity of myth, ritual, and social structure".79 I have now defined my attitude towards the study of social structure

76 In my opinion this confirms De Josselin de Jong's supposition that "structural consciousness should be regarded as a dynamic factor in cultural pattern- ing by the side of unconscious collective drives and motives" (J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, o.c, p. 59). See also P. E. de Josselin de Jong, o.c. p. 167. 77 G. J. Held, o.c, pp. 2S9—311; J. van Baal, Godsdienst en samenleving in Nederlandsch-Zuid-Nieuw-Guinea (Amsterdam 1934) 78 G. J. Held, o.c, p. 269. 79 J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong, "Introduction" to Dr. W. H. Rassers, PSnji, the Culture Hero. A Structural Study of Religion in Java (KIvTLV, Trans- lation Series 3, The Hague 19S9), p. IX.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 05:43:17PM via free access SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN NEW GUINEA. 149 in New Guinea. I do not believe there is an unbridgeable gap between Pouwer's views and mine. Pouwer too has stressed the importance of exchange in Papua cultures. It is but going a small step further to apply this principle in the study of social structure. I hope to have demonstrated in this article that it can be done. The social processes studied by Pouwer are in themselves of importance. They refer to the dynamic interplay between various tendencies in group organization, but they do not exclude the influence of the structural tendencies to which I have been drawing attention. These affect the over-all picture of the culture as a whole. There is nevertheless an interaction of these general tendencies and the processes which interest Pouwer. The study of this interaction is of great importance. There is no fundamental opposition between Pouwer's approach and mine; to the contrary, they can well be combined.* A. C. VAN DER LEEDEN.

* In one of the next issues of this Journal Dr. Pouwer once more will go into the subjects under discussion (Editorial note).

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