Anthropology Gebusi study guide

The final rite of the initiation revealed that the Gebusi celebration of fertility and adulthood encompassed women as well as men. In this sense the initiation was a collective ______________ _____________. Though womans gift giving rites were not as elaborate as mens, the initation symbolized and socially enacted the unity and growth of Gebusi as a whole

fertility rate

What occurs during gebusi initiation?

Gebusi initiates must wear wigs given by their sponsors that were heavy and sometimes painful to wear

What led to one of the highest rates of homicide yet recorded?

Gebusi sorcery accusations

What are two important ways that human social interaction are established and reinforced?

Gift exchange and reciprocity

Among Gebusi, underlying resentment in unreciprocated marriages informed violent accusations of _______________

sorcery

Gebusi sorcery inquests rely on

spiritual guidance through shamanism (spirit mediumship) and various kinds of divination)

What are 2 types of sorcery that gebusi believe in?

1. bogay (parcel sorcery based on belief in imitative magic) 2. ogowili (assault sorcery, based on magical attack by warriors against the victim)

How do the Gebusi perceive and respond to death?

After dugawe committed suicide the women were balling and very upset and the men joked and laughed about it

The scapegoating of people through accusations of sorcery occurs in

Gebusi culture

How did Gebusi culture improve?

Australians pacified their tribal enemies while introducing them to modern goods such as steel knives and axes

How did Nomad school children imagine their future lives, and what were the differences between boys and girls in this regard? Why is this significant?

Boys thought that they would be heavy machine operators, pilots, doctos, a rock singer or a newsman and girls thought they would be nurses, teachers or housewives in highly modern futures. This is significant because most of their desires were unrealistic, because it was unlikely they could achieve their future lives they envisioned because the education in nomad was too limited

Who is the anthropologist that went to Papua New Guniea to study a culture that did not exist. Instead, he and his wife came across a group of people known as the Gebusi.

Bruce Knauft

_______________ _______________ is as old as humanity but it has intensified with __________________ during the past 500 years and especially since the latter part of the 20th century

Cultural change, globalization

_______________ through formal schooling was important but compromised at Nomad, with large classes and difficulty of educational advancement, especially for girls.

Education

What is the difference between external colonialism and internal colonialism

External colonialism occurs when people are influenced by external threat and pressure either from outside their country or nation and internal colonialism occurs when people are influenced by internal threat and pressure from within the country.

______________ _____________ among Gebusi as among many peoples increased in the sense that women have participated meaningfully in modern institutions and activities such as church, school, and the market. At the same time, _____________ _______________ has taken on new dimensions; womens education, church leadership, and economic control are significantly less than that of men.

Female status, gender dominance

How do Gebusi travel?

Flexibly and might even be considered semi nomads, they live in permanent villages and are sedentary

Gender domination of men by women is seen in

Gebusi culture

How hard do Gebusi work for their food?

Gobs are semi-nomadic meaning they are hunters and gatherers yet still have a permanent place where they camp out and live. They hunted and gathered so they had to work for their food

What did Knauft learn about the Gebusi key symbol of kogwayay?

He learned that Kogwayay has a meaning to each part of the word: Kog= togetherness, friendship, similarity wa=to talk, casual conversation yay=to cheer, yell, joke, and cry out loudly and happily it is a key symbol in gebusi culture that means good company

Who were their main customers?

Knauft, government workers, pastors

______________ ________________ and activities that are common globally, including among Gebusi include government school, public markets at which women are prominent, practicing a world religion, and organized sports for men

Modern institutions

What are the smallest units of meaning in language?

Morphemes

Is gardening intense labor for the gebusi?

No, gardening shifts flexibly and does not require the intense labor that would otherwise be associated with agriculture

Marshall Sahlins call the Gebusi

Original affluent societies

"Gebusi gender, sex, and spirituality differ greatly from Western customs; they push our envelope of understanding" (page 79). What does he mean by this?

Ritual feasts, dances, storytelling and spirit seances are different from western customs, as well as men joking at festivities and celebrations about sexuality

_______________ _______________ into adulthood can be severe or brutal in some societies, but among gebusi it is mild-to-moderate including the temporary wearing of heavy bark wigs by male initiates

Ritual initiation

What are the steps of the ritual process, and what do they feature in Gebusi society?

Separation: withdraw from group either symbolically or physically. Gebusi: Adorning initiates to set them apart visually. Liminality: neither one status nor the other, ambiguous social positions. Gebusi: bearing heavy wigs and long walks, receiving lectures on Gebusi values and male secrets. Incorporation: Re-enter society with new status. Gebusi: new costumes, ritual feasting, participation in ritual exchange with sponsors, dancing with women

What changes had taken place among them?

The gebusi were not practicing christianity by attending the catholic church, they were selling items at the nomad market for money, children attended school

How do the Gebusi display sexual diversity and alternative expressions of sexuality, but also gender discrimination?

The male-male sexuality is prevalent in gebusi society and women-women sexuality is unheard of in gebusi culture. Gebusi practice by levirate marriage (patrilineage) Men also have higher authority over women especially seen through initiation where the men can go anywhere in the longhouse except in the womans area whereas the woman cannot go anywhere but the womans area and the kitchen. Also the women come in towards the tail end of initiation

What challenges did Knauft face in doing fieldwork with female Gebusi?

They did not like to be interviewed

How did the introduction of Christianity impact Gebusi beliefs in sorcery?

They do not believe in it anymore and believe that God has the final say on judgement day on what happens to those who sin

How do the Gebusi get food/ resources?

They hunt and gather wild food, and are horticulturalists who raise food in gardens

What roles do women play in the initiation festivities?

They were allowed to come into the initiation towards the end of the ceremony and a special dance involved several young women wearing their own red body paint, black eye banding and red bird of paradise headdresses.

How did Bruce and his wife participate in the initiation?

Through gift giving to visitors, and they also became a kind of sponsor to the initiates

What is the symbolism behind Gebusi initiation?

Young men begin as yellow initiates, end as birds of paradise. Yellow: in between; Red: menstrual blood, symbol of fertility; Bird of paradise: symbol of communication with women and spirits

What is a key symbol in Gebusi culture?

a cultural concept or emphasis that is widely shared, prominent, emotionally powerful, frequently demonstrated

What emerges as a core symbol or key symbol in Gebusi ceremonial life?

a red bird of paradise

How do Gebusi define culture?

a shared and public system of meanings, beliefs, and values

Modern development can induce selected positive changes. Among Gebusi, at Gasumi corners this has included

a striking reduction of the rate of killing since 1989

Gebusi illustrate that some societies are more accepting of _______________ ________________ than others, even within their own country. In Papua New Guinea sexual relations between persons of the same sex are presently illegal even when these relations are based on mutual consent.

alternative sexuality

What do the gobs eat?

anything, but particularly pigs as well as cooked bananas

Unlike many ethnic groups in New Guinea, the Gebusi place little emphasis on material transactions such as ___________________ that compensate a kin group for the out-marriage of their women

bride-wealth

As revealed by Gebusi in 1998 and especially since that time, hopes of modern success are often complemented by

challenges, downturns, and periods of decline

Among Gebusi, more recent changes have reduced the impact of

christianity and of external authorities, though their earlier development continues to have some lasting influence.

what new religions had made inroads into the area?

christianity, evangelical

Gebusi _________, groups of persons "putatively related by blood descent, average 18 persons and are traced through male descent (patriclans)

clans

In Gebusi and many other societies kinship terms are often extended to a larger group of people as _____________________ _____________

classificatory kinship

Understanding sexuality and gender in other cultures, including Gebusi can help us better understand patterns of individual and ____________ _____________ in our own society

collective diversity

Gebusi's cultural change has included armed __________ ______________ against local peoples ( such as the bedamini) and the introduction of western commodities including clothing and goods such as metal tools

colonial intrusion

What aspects of social inequality are derived from external constraint or coercion (practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats)

colonialism, nationalism and imperialism

Gebusi clans are named, endure through time, have collective rights and obligations, and are thus ______________ _________ ____________

corporate descent groups

________________ __________ is common among many peoples. For Gebusi this included a decline of longhouse living and the loss of shamanism or spirit mediumship, of major sorcery inquests or accusations, and of intense emphasis on kog-wa-yay or "good company"

cultural loss

Gebusi initiation brings together sexual, social, economic, and political dimensions of their society and asserts and affirms their _______________ _______________ of good company

cultural value

What did Gebusi language include?

culturally recognized sounds or phonemes that are not distinguished or heard as different sounds in english

Tit for Tat exchange, which can be termed ____________ ___________________ is evident in Gebusi sister- exchange marriage and also in the execution of alleged sorcery suspects in reciprocity for the death by sickness of the sorcerer's supposed victim

direct reciprocity

What role does reciprocity play in patterns of both marriage and violence?

direct reciprocity is evident in Gebusi sister exchange marriage because once a women leaves a clan she must be replaced by another women and also in the execution of alleged suspects in reciprocity for the death by sickness of the sorcerer's supposed victim

Gebusi selectively draw upon or resuscitate longer-standing traditions over time, including

during periods of increased stress or challenge

Among Gebusi the spirits are believed to have their own dances, and their own initiation, at the same time that the gebusi do. The symbolism of the spirit world and of the red bird of paradise spirit woman is

embodied by the initiates in their costuming

Gebusi generally marry within their longhouse and associated hamlet community, which means the community is largely _____________________

endogamous

What is important to cultural anthropologists?

ethics, and the protection of human subjects, to be self aware and reflexive, especially under conditions of danger or threat

Modern changes among Gebusi included increasing interaction with outsiders as well as those from different _______________ ____________

ethnic groups

Gebusi usually marry outside their clan, which means the clan is generally __________________

exogamous

Comprehensive understanding of a culture combines ___________________ __________ with more ________________ _______________ perspectives. These have also been described as _______ versus _________ view of culture, or insider versus outsider perspectives

experience near, experience far, emic, etic

Many peoples exhibit resilient or resistant forms of local _________________ ________________. Among Gebusi, this has included local forms of singing developed by boys and young men.

expressive culture

The theft of the school radios at Nomad reflected frustrated economic aspiration, marginality, and stigma of underdevelopment in the context of

external authority, control and power

Modern developments are often associated with increasing intrusion by external authority figures. Among Gebusi these included

external church leaders, government officials, police, and in some ways the ultimate power of papa god.

Gebusi patterns of death and dying have changed since the 1980's

fewer babies die, corpses are buried without divination (the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means), sorcery accusations have declined, violence is less, and the population has grown

Children at the Nomad community school desired to

have successful modern futures, however, most of these desires were unlikely to be fulfilled

How did Bruce record what he saw of the Gebusi?

he took field notes as events were happening, which supported ethnography (scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures)

Practices of alternative sexuality may coexist with _____________ _____________

heterosexual marriage

What happens when a cultural anthropologist returns to the field, as happened to Bruce?

his or her connections to local people often expand and become enriched

What do Gebusi sexual practices illustrate about the nature of human gender and sexuality generally?

homosexuality is present in gebusi culture, the men become stronger and grow when they swallow male semen

What is social inequality

how differences of sex, gender, age, ethnic identity, religion, and other factors lead some people to dominate and subordinate others

Other aspects of social inequality may derive from?

internal social discrimination or stigma, which may be informed by long-standing beliefs or practices

Gebusi illustrate cultural adaptation because

it allows human groups to survive and thrive in diverse and challenging environments

Knauft describes what it was like to return to the Gebusi after 16 years. How did he feel? How did the Gebusi react toward him?

it felt like he never left, some of his close friends passed away but he was able to pick up on the language as if he never stopped speaking Gebusi. The Gebusi snapped fingers with him and were happy to see him.

What special role did women play at the final conclusion of the initiation, and how did that change your view of the entire event—or not?

it showed gender dominance males had over females because the females were brough into the initiation towards the end of the ceremony

Continuity of basic features of _________ ________ _____________ _____________ has been perhaps the most enduring aspect of Gebusi and many other societies over time.

kinship and social organization

Gebusi social relations are hard to understand without making ________ ___________ in standard notation.

kinship diagrams

In Gebusi culture, deep cultural values are reflected

kog-wa-yay (a key symbol in Gebusi culture) meaning good company of togetherness, friendly talking, and exuberant or playful cheering or yelling

What resources are Gebusi fortunate to have?

land, supporting oneself at a minimum level, and customs that provide for a thriving and sustainable livelihood

What was Bruce's biggest cultural challenge in fieldwork with the Gebusi?

learning the Gebusi language because it was not a written language

What do Gebusi's make their houses out of

leaves

Gebusi initiation is a rite of adulthood, a rite of status elevation, and a so-called ___________ ______________ ___________ by which young men, and to some extent young women became full adult members of society

life-crisis ritual

Gebusi ____________ of those with demonstrated male descent (patrilineages) contain only a few persons each.

lineages

Gebusi gender relations include

male dominance and sometimes gender violence (example: dugawe and other members of the community against sialim)

Gebusi practices of ___________ ___________ __________________ and of male transmission of life force as semen from one generation to the next illustrate the _______________ ______________ of life cycle reproduction

male-male sexuality, cultural construction

In contrast to indigenous gift exchange, modern ________ _____________ ( as reflected at the nomad market) is relatively impersonal and often involves the transaction of goods between strangers by means of money.

market exchange

The Gebusi desire to balance the marriage of women between lineages or clans reflects a cultural emphasis in ______________ on ______________ _______________ __________________

marriage, sister-exchange marriage

Like woman in many world areas, Gebusi women were highly motivated to invest time and effort in market activity. Indeed their investment was more than what they received back in money. This reflects how modern cultural values and prestige can

motivate people to give up traditional practices in hopes of success in a modern cash economy

Gobs activities at school, market, the government, and even church reflected a growing sense of ____________ ______________ and _______________ _______________

national identity, nation-building

What are the two main types of sorcery?

ogowili= assault sorcery ( the sorcerer gets the person alone/ in a rainforest for example and manipulates them and they eventually die) men are the only ones able to do this type of sorcery bogay= parcel sorcery ( you get a piece of the person and cause an illness) women and men can practice this type of sorcery

What did Bruce's fieldwork methods among Gebusi include

participant observation, structured interviews, informal conversations, unstructured interviews, oral histories (including life histories, residence histories, and dispute histories), genealogies, census and residential surveys, and verbatim text transcriptions and translations from recordings, including of gebusi speeches, music, and spirit seances

What did the Gebusi give Knauft and his wife when they first met them?

plantains (cooked bananas)

What does ethnography do?

proceeds in the field by piecing together and analyzing disparate information

Gebusi have lived in a pristine or primary _____________ area in the country of ___________ ________ _____________

rainforest, Papua New Guinea

Consistent with the transition stages of __________ _____ ______________ Gebusi initiation involves 1.) preparatory rites and ceremonies that result in separation of initates as a group 2.) a liminal or in between period of category transition for initiates and 3.) climactic rites of social celebration and reintegration

rites of passage

Sexuality among Gebusi is linked to other features of culture including

ritual and religious symbolism, sorcery accusation, and both camaraderie and violence within the community

As is true of Gebusi and of people generally, ____________ _______________ ones perceived and embraced sexual disposition may not always be consistent with one's actual ______________ ________________

sexual identity, sexual behavior

_______________ and ______________ are highly variable across cultures

sexuality and gender

What were Nelep's achievements and challenges in life?

she had kept her earnings from the market for herself and for her children and hid it from her husband Gono, she therefore marketed peanuts. Knauft gave her 2 krisp 20 dollar bills in exchange for 40 kina

Combining insider and outsider views of culture helps balance our appreciation of cultural values with an understanding of _____________________ ___________________ between subgroups or classes of people.

structural inequality

Who killed many Gebusi in raids, and burned down their longhouse?

the Bedamini people

what is colonialism

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

What is a polysemic symbol (a symbol with many meanings)

the red bird of paradise is embodied on the men and ultimately on the women

Cultural relativity

the value of each culture on its own terms

Gebusi had low life expectancy with death striking at any age until?

their nutrition improved through introduced crops which has improved their health and increased their longevity

How did morphemes play a role in Gebusi language?

they included the many prefixes, suffixes, and "infixes" of Gebusi verbs including the three components of kog-wa-yay

How did Gebusi notions and experiences of time change between 1980 and 1998, and why is such change significant?

they no longer make sexual jokes or practice sorcery

Gebusi marry by levirate. What occurs during levirate marriage?

when a woman marries a clan brother of her deceased husband. This maintains the association of the woman with the deceased husband's clan (as it did when Sialim first married Dugawe)

Who were more likely to sell goods at the Nomad Market in 1998, men or women?

women and they were not very successful because many people were selling the same items

After Gebusi at Yibihilu moved near the nomad sub district station, they experienced modern changes shared by people in mant world areas including adoption of ___________ ______________, school and a local market where items were bought with money

world religion (christianity)

Do Gebusi suffer from severe health challenges?

yes, including malaria, childhood malnutrition, elephantiasis (filariasis), tuberculosis, worm (helminthic) diseases, and influenza