Melanesia

European Contact to 1880s

(Pic 33) - Initial Contact: AD 1500s - Portugal vs. Spain to gain riches of Spice Islands & Chinese trade - Portuguese in Spice Islds. -- go west.Spanish in PI -- north on east-west galleon trade.Melanesia not concern - no economic value. - Last burst of Spanish exploration = search for Terra Australis & its riches. - 1567 - Mendana (nephew of Viceroy of Peru). - Lands in Solomons. Establishes a camp. Clashes follow & leave.

Naming Issues

- 1526 - Meneses (Port) - lands Vogelkop peninsula. Ilhas dos Papuans (Malay for frizzy hair). - 1545 -- de Reyes (Span.) along north coast of New Guinea. Thought people were similar to Guinea coast of Africa. - (Pic 34) Rename islands: Santa Ysabel (patron saint) Guadalcanal (birthplace of officer Ortega) - 1595 (Mendana) & 1605 (Quiros) back. - Believe Solomons = location of riches for greater glory of Spain & for them. Can't find the islands again. - Land in New Hebrides. Clashes at camp & disease. - End of Spanish concern with the south Pacific. - Dutch take over Spice Islands in 1600s. Explore nearby for economic potential. - 1615-1616 - Schouten & Le Maire. Clashes in Bismarcks & northern New Guinea. - Dutch conclude no economic value. - 1760s - 1840s - other Europeans filling in map.1870s-1880s on -- explore fringes of New Guinea. (Pic 35)

Fiji at the End of the 1800s: Contact to Colonial Control

- 1850s Small American & European merchant community begins to stir up trouble - 1850s - Cakobau under pressure of US Consul Williams.US Consulate burned by Rewa & looted. Consul pins it on Cakobau - the Tui Viti. - USS John Adams arrives. Commander sends letter to Cakobau - pay $12,000 in 12 months. - Cakobau sends an explanation. Response - expected acknowledgement not explanation. Pay or else. - USS St Mary's arrives with higher ranking captain. Realizes not Bau's fault, but Consul supports Commander. Captain steps back & tells Commander to take witness info. Two officers arbitrate = add $15,000 more to Cakobau's bill. - This is gunboat diplomacy. Often to enforce merchants' complaints. Common in mid-1800s in Oceania. - British consul arrives in 1858. Cakobau offers to cede Fiji to avoid US pressure. Declined eventually. - 1858-59 - Ma'afu laying siege to Macuata on Vanua Levu -- to force re-opening of beche-de-mer grounds = his income. - Invites opponents to church and kills all (heathens vs. Tongan lotu). - Issue -- British consul calls 1st Council of Chiefs. Ma'afu has to reject his claims to Macuata. - Missionaries concerned about Ma'afu & ask British Consul to talk to Tongan king. Ma'afu beats him to Tonga. Almost convinces king to conquer Fiji.

Return of Bau to power in West

- 1853 - Bau under siege from Rewa. King of Tonga visits Bau. Cakobau gives him a large canoe. - 1854 - Tongan king writes from Sydney warning Cakobau of threats of US Consul. Offers aid -- if Cakobau converts & destroys his temples. Cakobau agrees. - 1855 King of Tonga comes with 2,000 warriors from Tonga & Lau. With Bau's 1,000 warriors, they crush Rewa. - Bau's 20,000 tributary Fijians convert. - 1856 -- virtually all Fiji is Christian in name & cannibalism ending. - Two great factions of Fiji established = Bau in west & Tongan Lau islands in east.

German New Guinea - NE

- 1884-1899 -New Guinea Co. - 1899 - 1914 - German Govt.  - Capitol = Rabaul. Local population = 2,000,000. - Establish plantations (copra, coffee, tobacco, cotton).1st around Madang.

The Austronesians: Their Entry and Spread into Melanesia

- 2,000 BC, a new people began spreading into Oceania - the Austronesian speakers. - Austronesian language family once called Malayo-Polynesian (1,200 languages) - 4 major sub-families: Native Formosan, Western (Philippines & W. Indonesia), Central & Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (Picture15) 1) Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. S. Halmaheras, W. New Guinea, Island Melanesia, much of Micronesia, all of Polynesia (Picture16) - Linguists have studied daughter languages to reconstruct history of Austronesians' spread. Supplement with archaeological work & dates

Dani of Baliem valley in western New Guinea.

- 37 mile long valley, 10 miles wide. - 50,000-60,000 in several hundred villages - Small countries. - Fenced hamlets w/sweet potato fields. - Big men leaders. - Warfare - formal and raids.

Enga of Papua New Guinea

- 80,000 - 100,000 - Near Mt. Hagen -- upper Waghi valley & Lai and Sau river valleys. - 4,000-7,500 feet = common valley floor - (Picture3) Waghi valley & Mt. Hagen area - Picture14) Wabag. - Clan territory = basic country (polity). - Country territory is small = 1-2 sq. miles. - Strip from valley floor, slopes, ridge. - 100-1,100 population (350 average) - Related lineages; Wives marry in from outside. - Valley floor swamp gardens - sweet potato.Men dig ditches; women plant, weed & harvest. - Sweet potato - pig tradition - 90-95% diet sweet potatoes. - Pigs raised by women and kids. Used by men as valuables. - Scattered fenced sets of houses of households on valley slopes: - Men's house - round. Not huge!!! - For meeting & sleeping. Not a ritual center. - Dance ground - Clan spirits in grove of trees or forest.

Dutch New Guinea

- Population 700,000 - Dutch focus always on Indonesia - Oil exploration 1930s. Indonesia sizable oil fields. Dutch NG oil fields -- 1,100 workers by 1938. Interior hardly explored. - Hollandia = capitol on north coast - Administration just coastal areas & limited. - Force coastal peoples into villages & create chiefs

Austronesian Navigation Systems

- After World War II, two remaining long-distance systems of Austronesians survived. - Remote islands in Caroline Islands of Micronesia - Reefs/Santa Cruz in Melanesia. - Historical cases of other long-distance systems which lasted into early 1900s. - Marshalls & Gilberts - Micronesia; Tonga (Fiji and Samoa) - Polynesia; Tuamotus - Polynesia; Trobriands - off southeast New Guinea - Long distance navigation areas at Contact: Carolines, Marshalls/Kiribati, Trobriands, Reefs/Santa Cruz, Tonga/Samoa/Fiji, Tuamotus. - Puluwat canoe, Carolines - Micronesia - All the long distance Austronesian navigational systems share certain basic traits. Likely the Oceanic navigation system. - Sail towards an island using: Star rising and setting patterns, Major wave patterns, Local topography (safety factor) - Sail towards an island by star rising/setting & keeping track of major currents. - (Pic 22) Local topography tells you where you are. Islands along course deflect major wave patterns. Local topography knowledge = safety net (). - (Pic 23) Local topography - Marshall Islands. Lots of islands. Visible or not. Impact wave patterns as go by. - Pic 24. Local Tuamotus topography

New Changes - Early 1800s

- Alliances of countries had been present. - Now 7-12 powerful countries (most on 2 big islands) establishing forced alliances (vanua) - with subject & tributary villages (8-20+ villages). - Essentially larger countries - although very unstable. - Viti Levu - Verata, Rewa & Bau. - Vanua Levu -- Cakaudrove, Macuata, Bua. - Lau - Lakeba. (Pic30) - Leader of country (capitol village) who expanded the vanua (alliance) = ruler of alliance. - Great chief (turangga levu). - Greater power than village chiefs. More elaborate respect behavior. Hold titles, often preceded with honorific Ratu or Roko. - Lesser chiefs - royal family & powerful lineages - Effectively, 4-strata countries. Ruler (turangga levu) High chiefs - family members of ruler. Local village chiefs Commoners. - Populations = 10,000+ (Bau up to 20,000). - These were unstable countries. - Constant maneuvering & war to maintain and control. - Ally via marriage & intimidation. Allies paid with whale teeth & other valuables - tribute source. - Leadership unstable. Younger relatives of ruler switch alliance. Assassinations common. - Raiding & larger battles force people to become tributary allies (part of vanua). - Loss - traditional suing for peace. Chief crawls on hands and knees Pay a whale tooth Pay a daughter Basket of earth

Enga Warfare

- Another way of gaining renown outside of feasts = warfare & lead in war. - Activate same alliance ties for support in war. - Gain payments of valuables from losers. - Considerable clan pride in their Big Men. Bring renown to clan/lineage. - Most renowned of Big Men come from large populous clans/lineages. - Being a Big Man requires perpetual work & diligence. Achieved power. - Temporary power. Might be able to keep up for only 10 years or so. - COMMON PATTERN THROUGHOUT NEW GUINEA & PAPUAN MELANESIA - Big Man: Kapauku - Papua/Irian Jaya Highlands / Siuai Big Man of Bougainville

Fiji Village Countries

- Archaeology - fortified villages back to AD 1200s-1300s. - Oral history - AD 1600-1800 constant warfare. Warrior attitude. Cannibalism important element. Rise of villages to power & decline, splitting up of villages and moving. - Warfare dominates late 1600s-1800s - Renown & title for number killed. - Great warriors' spirits on death can more easily pass through the hazards of the journey to the underworld. - Villages fortified, Viti Levu. Fence with exterior ditches/moats (30 ft wide, 6 ft deep). Clan areas fenced off sometimes - Houses vale or bure

Archaeology

- Archaeology -- this movement into the tropical lands around New Guinea began 60,000-40,000 years BP. - Huon Peninsula finds of waisted axes. Dated the reef terrace (uranium-thorium). - Vanimo rockshelter on North coast of New Guinea - dates back to 35,000 BP - Probably many early sites underwater - like on Sahul shelf. - (Picture9) Huon Peninsula. SE New Guinea. settlement 60,000-40,000 BP [waisted axe] - By 40,000-30,000 BP, people had spread out to New Britain & New Ireland - rockshelters and cave campsites. - By 30,000 BP Papuans out to Solomons. Marks the spread through the close-together larger islands of Near Oceania. - By 26,000 BP into Highland valleys of New Guinea. - Archaeological sites up to 10,000 BP - indicate still hunter-gatherers & gradually smaller, more localized territories as population increasing. - Near sea - fish, shellfish, seabirds. - Land animals - on New Guinea. 400 lb. Rhino-like marsupial. 200 lb. Panda-like marsupial. 10-25 lb. Wallabies 4-5 lb. Cuscus - Plants - Sago palms - use inner pith. Wild trees with nuts & fruits (Canarium almonds, breadfruit, pandanus). Wild taro & yams. - Tools - bone, wood, and stone. Axes, choppers, flakes

Colonial control in New Guinea

- As World War II approaches, New Guinea population largely traditional & still in villages. - No national identity - many villages. - Awareness of others rising through police, plantations & mines - Melanesian pidgin. - Traditional leadership & warfare ending. Where colonial control in force.

World War I - 1914

- Australian troops occupied Germ. NG. - 1921 -- League of Nations mandate. - Continue same system as Germans. - Two administrative areas.

Austronesian Language

- Austronesian forms as a language in Formosa (Taiwan) 6,000-3,500 BC. (Picture 15) - Proto-language reconstructions Farmers Sailing canoes Pigs, dogs Ground stone adzes Pottery Fishhooks/fishing Bark cloth beaters (archaeology stone) - Austronesians speakers spread south through the Philippines & Indonesia. 2,000 BC on edge of Oceania. - Today: 50+% of the Austronesian languages are in the Philippines & Indonesia area 300 million people (Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, Tagalog, etc.) - Of the Austronesians that moved out into Oceania, by European Contact: Little less than 50% of the Austronesian languages. Maybe 2 million at contact. - Group(s) from Western Malayo-Polynesian area (Philippines, Indonesia) To Belau (Palau) & Marianas. 2,500-2,000 BC1st Austronesians into Oceania !!! (Pic17)

Villages & Countries & Linguistics

- Based on size of sites - estimate 200 -1,000 population size (most 200 range). - Proto-words for: Dwelling house (*Rumwa) Meeting/men's house (*kamaliR) Village open area (*malaqi) [q/R are silent] - Countries: Village and surrounding territory. Population - up to 1,000. More commonly in the 200 range. Small countries. - Word for land-owning kin group (lineage [*kainanga]. Lineage = 20-50 related people. - Expect multiple lineages in each society.

Male - Female Antagonism & Tension

- Basic belief that women are dangerous to men - leads to male unease & anxiety. - Contact with menstruating women can cause illness & death. - Use counter magic left by the ancestors. - Female seclusion, with cleansing spell by husband at end. - Sex with wives. Viewed semen loss as loss of body's power (fluids). - Sex rarely mentioned by men. Sex might contaminate men. Yet have to have children to continue the clan, so use magic spells for protection. Little prelims. - Birth of children. (concern with blood) Man sends cleansing spell to wife. She can't prepare food for men for 1 month. Father does not view child for 2-3 months. - Avoidance. [to avoid injury & pollution] Man only briefly visits wife in her house, to discuss domestic economics. - Boys trained in avoidance. At age 5 told by fathers & brothers (and mother) to spend more time in men's house. Initiation reinforces avoidance.

Big Men - dominated trade up into 1880s.

- Beche-der-mer, coconuts & pigs for: goods & guns from traders. - 1870 Pigs for Guns - Tanna, New Hebrides - Big Men used trade goods & guns to expand their influence. - Aim: Obtain more valuables (shells & pigs) to be generous, create obligations to them & establish influence. - Muskets & rifles - war & valuables. - Exchange trade goods for valuables (shells & pigs). - Middlemen - recruit hill tribes for labor & tax returnees. - Ended old trade networks. - Disrupted life through intensified war in some areas. - Kwaisulia of Malaita - Read about him (Pic 38)

Head-hunting areas in Solomons (New Georgia) 1870s

- Big men - control trade & acquire rifles. - Huge raids - Iqava of New Georgia had 500 men, 400 rifles & 9,000 bullets. Hundreds of heads now taken. - Not successful labor recruiting area - given danger & need of people to stay home & protect interests. - By end 1890s, 100,000 islanders had worked on plantations. - 60,000 in Queensland (40,000 from New Hebrides, 18,000 Solomons, 2,800 NG) - 20,000 in Fiji - Melanesian pidgin becomes a language of communication. - 1884 Queensland & Fiji prohibited return with rifles. End of local violence. - 1890 - Australia moved to stop labor trade. - By 1901 halted. By 1904 all islanders to be sent home. White Australia. - 1911 - last of Indian laborers brought into Fiji.

Initial Contact brief. Occasional clashes.

- Clashes initiated by both sides. - Europeans often not dominant, reload time. - European Picture of Melanesians -- violent & cannibalistic. Islands with malaria & without chiefs or kings - anarchic area. - No economic value.

Picture8 Hunter-Gatherer. Tropical

- Coastal New Guinea, Sahul Shelf & northern Australia were tropical. - Hunter-gatherers of Malay or Indonesian islands had a tropical adaptation. - Expect tropical hunter-gatherers to move along the north & south coasts of New Guinea, over the Sahul shelf, & across northern Australia - Small bands camping in caves and open- air huts. - New land, again without mammals, but marsupials and lots of birds.

Farmers

- Complete agricultural complex. - Root crops: taro (*talo), yams (*qupi). - Tree crops: breadfruit (*kuluR), bananas, coconuts (*niuR) [R/q are silent.] - Interestingly, some plant varieties borrowed from Papuans of New Guinea. - Archaeology sites. Soil erosion off adjacent slopes with charcoal - evidence of farming (slash/burn). Mixed with pottery show in Lapita times. Probably taro (Colocasia/Cyrtosperma) in swampy areas. - Food peelers from house areas - evidence of farming.Used for root crops & breadfruit. Proto-Oceanic terms to grate tubers (*asa), to scrape tubers (*karis), for peeling (*kulit, *sisi, *pili). (Pic21) - Proto-Oceanic words exist for earth ovens to cook these kinds of crops (*qumum) and for food pounding. - Words for breadfruit season or season of plenty (*rak8) & for preserved breadfruit (*mara) -- indicating the importance of breadfruit. - Raised livestock - proto-words & archaeological bones: Pig (*boRok) Dog Chicken - In most of Melanesia (not New Guinea), this is the first appearance of these animals.

European contact - 1800

- Countries larger = main village & smaller outlying villages. - Main villages - up to 4,000 +. 1860 - 40 countries. Total pop. divided by 40 = 3,250-5,000 mean. 3 strata: ruler, local chiefs, commoners. - Village chiefs (turangga) = senior man of senior/dominant lineage. - Chief wore certain clothes (tapa turban), ornaments (turtle shell breast ornament). - Ruler = senior man of leading lineage of main (capitol) village. - Held title (Tui Bua). Addressed with honorific speech.

Big Man Tradition of Leadership

- Country is led in political & economic activities by big men (numi). - 3-4 men who have acquired "big names". - Enga Big Man: Man with a "big name" is listened to & asked for advice. - Gain renown through wealth (in pigs & shell/feather valuables) & generosity in giving these away at feasts. - Dominate the feasts through oratory & generosity. Generosity binds people to them. - Wealth acquired through surplus production (hard work). Plant more & raise more pigs (several wives). - Wealth acquired through obligations owed to him by kinsmen, in-laws, and others. - At feasts, he gives these people valuables & pigs. - He loans them plots of land to farm & helps pay marriage bride price. - They in turn add to his pigs at feast exchanges. - Also, create alliances with powerful men in adjacent territories as exchange partners. - They help each other in gifts of pigs.

Allied successes - late 1942 on.

- Dec. 1942 - Jan. 1943 - reestablish presence on NE New Guinea coast. - Feb-Nov. 1943 - retake rest of New Guinea - [Retaking Buna,NE New Guinea Coast] - Aug. 1942-Feb. 1943 - 7 month battle on Guadalcanal. 20,000 Japanese troops. 13,000 remaining evacuated. - Aug. 1943 up rest of Solomons, neutralizing or by-passing sizable garrisons. 37,000 -- Bougainville - Nov. 1943 - neutralize Rabaul by air, push up New Britain and by-pass. - Garrison of 100,000 Japanese trapped there for rest of war.

New Guinea Lowlands Traditions Sepik

- Distinct groups of people live in Lowlands - Mimika, Asmat & Marind Anim -- SW. Others along Fly River tributaries & Gulf Papua -- SE. (Picture 10) - Sepik & Ramu of NE Coast (Picture7) - Not same culturally - But share some general traits - Riverine & swamp focus - Fish & harvest sago - Dug-out canoes - Village-based w/houses on stilts & huge men's houses - Head-hunting raids common - Aggressive male behavior

Pre-World War II pattern

- Districts - Admin. & Constables - Petty laws: men can't go 25 miles from residence, must volunteer as carrier, can't take weapons into town, can't sing/dance after 9 pm in town. - Patrols pacify & settle disputes - only on fringes of Highlands. - Sepik - pacification begins in 1920s - Head taxes to generate labor - public works & plantations. - Plantations largely coastal. - 1928 gold in E edge of Highlands. Lae. - 1938 (eve WWII) 7,000 laborers in mining. 21,000 in plantations. (Pic 3) - 1929-30s - interior Highlands just starting to be contacted by patrols, miners, & missionaries. - Virtually no idea of population size, or of cultures.

1860s & Cakobau

- European settlers. 2,000 by 1869. - Levuka = merchant colony. - Plantations on Viti Levu. Cotton boom. Labor from New Hebrides - labor traffic. - Levuka = merchant settlement on Ovalau.Planters on Viti Levu. - Attempts made to form a central government. - - 1865 - Leading chiefs agree & Cakobau elected President. - 1867 - Ma'afu tries for President, loses, & withdraws from govt. - Causes collapse of govt. - 1868 - Tongan government - under gun ship pressure - notifies Ma'afu that Tonga will no longer be involved in Fiji. - 1869 - Tui Nayau of Lakeba declares Ma'afu to be a Fijian chief = Tui Lau.

Rise of Plantations - 1860s

- Fiji & Queensland - cotton plantations (US Civil War shortages) - Local labor unreliable - obligations to chief, village & kin. - Labor -- from traders' contact areas. Primarily New Hebrides - Queensland & Fiji plantations. Labor from New Hebrides. - In theory - voluntary, indentured labor. Contract for 2-3 years, fed & housed, low pay, returned with goods. - In reality at start -- sometimes kidnapped workers & sometimes workers were forced to go by Big Men. - Traffic - 1867 - 1,200/yr. into Queensland. 100 or so brought per ship.

Fiji

- Fiji - one of Melanesian Austronesian cultures.Also, all Vanuatu, New Caledonia.Parts of Bismarcks, Solomons, SE New Guinea, Reefs/Santa Cruz. (Pic20) - Fiji. 600 miles east of New Hebrides(Vanuatu) 170 miles west of Tonga (Pic 28) - 300 islands (100 occupied). Viti Levu (3,800 sq.mi.), Vanua Levu & Tavenui. Moala = 9th largest (24 sq.mi.). Lau islds to east. (Pic 29) - Shared Austronesian Lapita origins w/Tonga & Samoa. Later influx from west. European Contact = 1800. Sandalwood trade - NSW & US (1804-1813) 150,000-200,000 population. Most on two large islands

Southern shore & parts of North = LOWLANDS.

- Gorges down to the southern Lowlands of New Guinea - make Highlands less accessible from south - Broad, flat lands. Meandering large rivers & swampy terrain. Swamp forest with mangroves, sago, & areca palm. - Humid, warm, tropical - lots of rainfall. - Southern Lowlands much broader & flat. - N Papua New Guinea - Large rivers. Lines of coastal hills sometimes separate lower from middle portions of river systems. - Irian Jaya - Baliem & Digul rivers of southern Lowlands - Papua New Guinea Fly River (Lake Murray) & others in south.  - North Shore = Sepik & Ramu.

Fiji (Brit. Colony) - 1874 to 1930s

- Govt. - strongly pro-Fijian - Governors use Great Council of Chiefs to administer Fijian lands. - Taxes - to village public works, part to chiefs. - Boost revenue through sugar plantation expansion. - Import Indian labor 1879, to avoid disruption village life. - Up to World War II, chiefs & British govt. control life in Fiji. - Fiji stable & developing national identity.

Bismarcks

- Group(s) from Halmaheras/W. New Guinea spread along North coast of New Guinea to Bismarcks. 1,600-1,400 BC - Settle unoccupied islands along larger islands & medium-sized islands not yet occupied (Mussau). (Pic18) - Bismarcks & perhaps some north New Guinea areas develop language differences - new language community within Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. (Oceanic subgroup) - Pottery style of these people = Lapita.Dentate stamping. (Pic19) - 1,200-1,000 BC. Oceanic communities spread east through Papuan Solomons & out into Remote Oceania (through the Reefs/Santa Cruz & Vanuatu). (Pic20) - 1,000-500 BC into s. Melanesia (Vanuatu, New Caledonia), w. Polynesia (Fiji, Tonga & Samoa) & e. Micronesia (Kiribati, Nauru & Kosrae) - Oceanic culture maintains a general identify until about 500 BC. - Lapita pottery gone by 500 BC. - Lots of local dialect/languages changes and cultural changes - result of isolation.

Traditions (Cont'd): Headhunting

- Headhunting Path to renown. 1st kill important. Right to wear white paint, feathers on tassel attached to lime stick, & flying fox loincloth - Raids -- organized by a big man. If fail, cause of shame. Could lead to death by sorcery. - Traditional enemy villages, and ally villages. - Large carved canoes : Bow man with deflector paddle - place of honor. Others with spears (spear-throwers) - carved often in ancestral creator croc. Daggers often cassowary bone. - Usually ambush - 1-3 people killed. Obtain person's name. Take body back - or at least head. Greeted as return. Call out warriors' names who killed, so his "beautiful" dances will go well. - Ritual re-killing of body in front of men's house. - Man wearing eagle mask - symbol of warriors. - Head retained - clay modeled. - Great Men - those who were successful. - Man with white paint, betel nut lime container, tassels hanging off lime stick, and flying fox loincloth. Each tassel = person killed. OTHER TRADITIONS: - Shell valuables & pigs - acquiring wealth & payments. - Male - female spheres & tensions. - Formal relations - fathers vs adult sons. - Illness, disaster & death = result of sorcery. Leads to counter-sorcery.

High Chief's houses

- High chief's & higher ranks' houses - more elaborate. - Higher foundation & More design work within (lashings & white cowries). - Bure ni sa - men's clubhouses.90+ feet long. A few per village. - Large central ceremonial ground - Temples nearby (bure kalou). - Higher foundations (6-20 ft.), elaborate decoration with white cowries (1/human sacrifice eaten on construction) - Priest for each god. Multiple gods (as clans) = multiple temples. - Oracles/advisors to ruler before war. - Bau - temple (bure kalou). Note tall building and higher foundations.

12,000-10,000 BP

- Higher sea levels -- New Guinea and Australia now separate. - Domestication of plants begins in New Guinea. - Well known plant domestication sites.Dongan (Lower Sepik) & Kuk (Highlands) (Picture5) - Lowlands Wild sago heavily tended (almost cultivated). Cut down, Pound inner pulp, Leach out starch into large containers, Dry & store [sago storage pot, Chambri Lake Sepik], Add water to fry bread or make soup.

New Guinea Highlands Traditions: The Enga & Dani

- Highlands societies live in the high interior valleys. - Above malaria belt - 4,000 ft - Below 7,000 usually - Cool, but tropical. 50˚- 75˚. - Plenty of rain. 100+ inches. - Valleys were densely occupied. - Densities drop off at higher & lower elevations - Densest = Chimbu (600/sq.mi.) & Enga (250/sq.mi.) in Central Highlands. - Early population estimates for New Guinea had to be revised in 1930s, when found these valleys were densely populated. - 750,000 just in Papua New Guinea - 60 languages - outsiders identify Highlanders by their language. (Picture10)

Impacts of War on Melanesian People

- Huge numbers of foreign military. - August 1943 - 492,000 Australians & 198,000 Americans in SW Pacific. - Temporary sizable bases - Espiritu Santo (New Hebrides) airfield, New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Manus. - Scattered Japanese garrisons - 10,000- 40,000. - Airfields & naval facilities. - Rabaul - 100,000 Japanese main base. - [Tulagi, Solomons - PT boat base] - PT boat camp, Solomons - Huge amounts of goods brought in by ship & plane. - Direct impacts of battles. - Felt in Papua New Guinea & Solomons. Bombing fatalities. - Japanese killing of livestock & sometimes villagers at end of war. - Participation in military forces - PNG Battalion - patrols, scouts, guides, & fought. Australian officers. 3,000 men. - Fijians - 6,500 in army - 2,000 served in Solomons. - Islanders were laborers, working at bases, & in PNG helping transport equipment & supplies. - Then fairly quickly, armies gone, bases gone, goods gone. - Colonial administrators return. - Cargo cults arose in desire for goods & authority. - Greater desire for equality.

Cannibalism

- Human cannibalism escalates with warfare to expand and control vanua. - 200-400 dead & eaten common. - 1808 Vanua Levu - 3 days of attacks against a weak village - 20 captives per day slain & eaten. - Then caught 350 old men, women, children - 1 canoe seen with 42 bodies. - Chief Ra Udreudre set aside a stone for each person he ate - 872 stones.

Men's houses - haus tambaran

- Iatmul of Middle Sepik. (Maprik) - "Hot" places of gods, warriors, violence & killing. - Huge: 80-100 ft long. 60 ft high. 2-stories. - LOWER floor: Huge carved pillars - clan ancestral spirits & hero warriors - Central hall with clan spaces. Sitting places. Hearths. Sleeping places - Clan spaces: Carved hooks - held bird-of-paradise feather headdresses, etc. Clan stools Clan slit-gong drums Images of ancestors. - In MIDDLE, next to central pillar: Orator's stool -- carved in image of main spirit of clan whose land the house is on. Large slit drums. - UPPER level: Figures with spread legs hold up ridge poles. Also divided into lineage or clan areas -bachelor sleeping areas. - Storage areas for clan treasures (flutes, skulls, masks and dance costumes). - Clan treasures (drums, skulls, masks and dance costumes). Flute (resonance chamber) w/ stopper. - Skulls: eagle, croc, female - Ancestral dance mask - Yuat; Long, hooked nose characteristic art style of Sepik - Exterior facing of house: Masks of ancestors. Spires topped with clay figures or carved figures. (Gable) - Iatmul = human & marine eagle. [Eagle = head-hunting spirit.] - Mound in front. Planted with clan plants. Display area for enemy heads & bodies; Open dance area in front; Lined with viewing mounds for dances

Sepik

- Immense river in Lowlands of NE New Guinea - 650 miles long with 30 major tributaries - Emerges from central mountains - long curve through foothills. Upper Sepik. - Middle Sepik - broad valley, with curving river. Separated from shore by hill range. - Lower Sepik - river emerges from hills onto broad coastal plain, delta, & offshore islets (Picture11) - Upper (mtns), Middle, Lower (Picture12) - Many cultural groups; 90 languages in 6 major groupings - Villages of several hundred to 1,000 people - Several lineages per village - Large men's houses (ceremonial houses or haus tambaran)

Enga & Dani Warfare

- In the Highlands, war was common. Traditional enemies. - Raids/ambushes led to 1-2 deaths. - Formal battles on border lands. Lots of insults. Some hurt with bows-and-arrows or spears. Then all go home and celebrate or lament. Limited territorial conquest. - Warfare was fueled by revenge, Big Men's desires to extract payments in valuables, land disputes, pig thefts, failure to repay debts. - Conquest war - if country's population was growing. Needed more farm land to support the population. - Occurred in Enga area. - Fluctuating alliances of countries, dependent on size of male population & relations. - Weak countries were often targets - Forced to ally. Sometimes absorbed into ally country. Sometimes ally betrayed them. - In Enga lands, if country defeated, they could lose part or all of their territory. - Splinter & went to allies. Might return with help, or ...never return and blend with allies (genealogies changed.) - Constantly testing & challenging, even at feasts. Taunting: "We dreamed we walked the land of clan so-and-so, were we dreaming or will this come to pass?" - Stone axe = one weapon. Spears. Warrior from another Highlands group - bow. (Enga & Chimbu Shield)

WORLD WAR II

- Japanese controlled all of Micronesia (except Gilberts, Guam & Nauru) as League of Nations mandate. - Dec. 1941 - start of war. - Japanese invasion forces to west of Melanesia. S. Philippines - Dec. 1941 - Indonesia - Jan-Feb. 1942 - Jan. 1942 - W New Guinea. Also take Rabaul (New Britain) = main Japanese base. - March 1942 - NE New Guinea & northern Solomons. - April 1942 - Tulagi (s. Solomons) - May 1942 - sea invasion of Pt. Moresby called off after Battle of Coral Sea. - Coral Sea Transports taking troops to Port Moresby - June 1942 - Japanese reinforce Rabaul -- men from successful PI & Indonesian campaigns. - June 1942 - Lae becomes major Japanese advance base. - July attempt to cross Kokoda Trail to Pt. Moresby. - 13,500 troops under Gen. Horii vs vastly fewer Australians. - Kokoda Trail 1942. After 3 months, Japanese ordered to withdraw. Retreat with rear-guard suicide troops. Kill Australian prisoners & NG locals

Indians

- Labor traffic ends 1916 - India govt. learns of abuses - poor pay & working conditions. - 1920 - strikes fail, but do not go back to India as life worse there. - 1921 - 61,000. Neglected by govt. - 1930s - unions. - 1930s - Indians pushing for representation in legislature. Opposed successfully by chiefs led by RatuKamisese Sukuna (Bau-Lau elite)

Religion

- Linguistic reconstructions: *qatua -- powerful spirit *qanitu -- spirit of the dead - Perhaps faces on pottery = ancestral deities. (Mussau Lapita)

SE end of New Guinea

- Lower but not lowlands. - Port Moresby here = capitol Papua New Guinea today. - Sets of islands off end = Massim. (Kula trading network - Trobriands). - SE end influenced by Austronesians - Branch of Austronesian speakers, like Polynesians.

Early Settlers

- Matenbek Rockshelter, New Ireland [early site] - Kafiavana Rockshelter, Highlands Early site - These early settlers of New Guinea -- Papuan speakers of the Australoid physical type. - Same ancestral population as Australian Aborigines. - Archaeological finds of similar skeletal remains in Indonesia and Philippines. - At European contact - 700-800 Papuan languages (most on New Guinea). - Population of 2-4 million on New Guinea. - Very old languages. - Perhaps 12 language families (each like Indo-European). - So old cannot easily trace interrelated history. - Papuan languages of Near Oceania at European Contact (grey areas) (Picture2)

Men's House (Cont'd)

- Men's house = focal place of men's life & of clan's sacred life. - Considered improper for men to spend much of their daytime hours at their dwellings with women. - Leisure area - smoke, talk, carve, idle. - Place where decided on main activities: Hunting & fishing expeditions; Tree-cutting (sago and canoe); Head-hunting expeditions - Place where celebrations occurred after events like raids or hunts. - Place where key rituals planned & took place - with dance portions outside. - Initiations = key rituals. - Symbolic & real "House of Ancestors" - Place where men would debate issues - minor discussions, plans, head-hunting raids. - Debate with aggression - Noisy, prideful, boasting. Threaten about knowledge of clan secrets. Dance steps or pantomime that was insulting. - Debate at orator stool. Slap stool with grass bundle for emphasis. Not for sitting. - Iatmul debate. Can result in brawls, spearing, sorcery.

Foreign ControlThe Colonies up to World War II: Colonization in Melanesia:

- New Caledonia - French (1853). Fiji - British (1874).Rest = spheres of influence. - British (NSW) sphere = New Hebrides, So. Solomons & SE New Guinea. German = No. Solomons, Bismarcks & NE New Guinea. - 1884 - Germans & British agree to fix their spheres of influence & control them. To block United States. - Germans quickly annex Bismarcks, NE New Guinea & no. Solomons (Bougainville, Choiseul & Santa Ysabel). - Britain more slowly forms protectorates starting in 1884. Over SE New Guinea (Papua), So. Solomons. - 1887 - New Hebrides - France & Britain agree to joint control. - 1898 - England forces Dutch to establish a presence in W. New Guinea (claimed in 1828). - 1899 - Germany & US divide Samoa.Germany gives Choiseul & Santa Ysabel in Solomons to England - retains only Bougainville. - Germany - NE New Guinea, Bismarcks & Bougainville.\ - British - SE New Guinea (Papua),Rest of Solomons, Fiji. - French - New Caledonia. - French-British - New Hebrides. - Dutch - Western New Guinea. - 1880s -- Melanesians lose independence. [New Caledonia in 1853; Fiji in 1874] - Divided among the powers of world - Germany, England, The Netherlands & France.

The Papuans: Settlement & History of Pre-European Times

- New Guinea shares settlement origins similar to Australia. - Pleistocene Ice Ages - periodically lowered sea level. Land exposed connecting New Guinea & Australia. - Glaciers larger in highlands.

1870s - the Cakobau Government

- Now 3,000 Europeans. - Europeans push for new government. - 1871 - European dominated Cakobau Government. United Kingdom of Fiji. - Key Europeans cabinet members allied to Bau. - Cakobau's second son & another Fijian chief in cabinet. Cakobau = President. - 1871 -- Many Fijian chiefs support the govt. And Ma'afu. European opposition led by new British Consul. Form Ku Klux Clan & Volunteer Corps. Europeans in cabinet keep control & disarm Klan and Corps. - European dissidents claim financial problems in govt. & complain to British in Australia. - Cakobau dissolves House in 1873. He offers government to Britain to keep order & protect Fijian interests from European demands. - 1873 - Cakobau & aides negotiate 13 conditions. Retention of Fijian land rights. Recognition that main chiefs are landowners & guardians of the people - 1874 cession accepted. - NSW Governor comes & accepts with Australian Squadron of Royal Navy - 1874 lowering of Cakobau Government flag. - 1874 marks the colonization of Fiji. - Also marks the embedding of the power of the major chiefs in the colonial government and policy. - Also Bau & Lau elite as head of chiefs. - Cakobau. Leader of Bau Confederation 1837 - 1871. President of the Fijian Cakobau Govt. 1871-1874. 37 years in power (Pic 32)

Arrival & Pre-Euro Contact

- Oceanic Austronesians = first settlers of eastern Melanesia, all Polynesia & Micronesia (except Belau & Marianas = Western Malayo-Polynesian) - After the initial spread of the early Oceanic people, there are 2,500 more years of history for Oceanic Austronesians until European contact (to AD 1700s). - In the Papuan areas of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland & Solomons, complex histories w/mixture. - Oceanic Austronesians = settle the rest of Micronesia moving east to west. They settle all of Polynesia. - Evidence of Austronesian arrivals in California & South America (chicken & sw. potato -- So. America; California -- names of canoe parts in Chumash) (Pic 27) - At European Contact -- 300 - 400 Oceanic languages. (These are the daughter languages of the original early Oceanic people). - At European contact in most of Austronesian Melanesia - small, village-based hereditary chiefdoms. But in some Austronesian areas in Melanesia, larger countries formed with multiple social strata (ruler & local chiefs over communities) & respect behavior stricter. - Fiji & New Caledonia = two cases.

Leadership

- Oceanic Austronesians introduce an important cultural tradition of the Pacific!!! - Hereditary leadership. - Senior man of most powerful kin group = the leader or chief (*tala(m)pat) [*ariki -- eldest son of a chief ] - Chief minimal power - Lineage leaders discuss. Chief voices result & directs execution. - As most senior kinsman - ties to important ancestral spirits. Appeals to these gods = form of control.

New Guinea - 1880s to 1930s

- Papua - SE New Guinea - Govt. center = Port Moresby. Settlers 1,500. Population = 400,000. - 1884-1906 British control, funding via Australia. - 1906 on - Australia control. - Before 1920 - focus on south coast. - Pacification of head-hunting groups vital. - Want people obedient, so they could be raised "eventually to the highest civilization of which he is capable" & So could develop resources. - Police (constabulary) patrols to show flag & end head-hunting. - "the people did not ... believe outsiders had the right to tell them what to do" [Kitauai] - Divide territory into districts, each with village constable to report to district administrator. - View = no chiefs, so appointed constables. - "we have no chiefs, no councils, no courts, no administrative machinery of any kind, nothing but ... a few stray sorcerers." [Murray] - Different from Fiji. Appointments impact local big men.

Village formations

- Peoples' lives became village-based. - One village = a country. - A number of lineages lived in each village. The village's territory was small. - Big man political organization - an achieved leadership system. - More about this in our specific cases. - We know very little of ancient history of Papuan people in detail. - New groups of Papuan speakers undoubtedly entered New Guinea from islands of Indonesia over the years. - New tools come in -- ground axe - Pig is in by 3,000 BC. Pig comes with farming. The most important animal of Melanesia. Valuable exchanged for other items. - By European contact, 2-4 million Papuan people living in New Guinea. - The Highlands -- some of the densest populations in the Pacific. - So .... Papuan peoples = also among the 1st settlers of Oceania. Present for tens of thousands of years!! - By 2,000 BC - new pressures in west from expanding farmers - members of the Austronesian language family. - Spread along north coast of New Guinea to Bismarcks by 1,600 BC.

Bau's Rise to Power 1800-1850

- Powers on Viti Levu = Rewa & Verata - 1760s - 1790 - 1st Bau chief. Small village under Verata vanua. - By 1850s, Bau controlled & had influence over eastern Viti Levu & west half of Vanua Levu. - Rose to equal & exceed the power of Verata & Rewa: via marriage alliances (Rewa on Viti Levu & Cakuadrove on Vanua Levu). war success (defeat of Verata & Rewa) - Rise of Bau (contd.) 1830s Cakobau ("Evil is Bau"), chief of Bau - considerable ambition, reputation for cruelty. - Enemies & slaves killed under house posts, canoes pulled ashore over them, eaten at feasts. - Lesser chief rebelled- cut out tongue & ate it as the chief was tortured. - 1839 - Bau crushes Verata (Viti Levu) again, w/260 dead Veratans eaten. Women & children as slaves to die later. - 1840s - continual wars on Venua Levu & Viti Levu. With enemies. With allies - 1845-1849 Cakobau gradually encircles & destroys delta villages of Rewa. - 1849 Tui Dreketi of Rewa sues for peace. Came on Cakobau's canoe & told to go ashore. He does not & is killed. Rewa is burned with 300 dead. - 1849 - Bau dominates eastern Viti Levu, most of Vanua Levu, Tavenui & Lau islands. - Tide turns against Cakobau - 1852 - Rebels from Bau under cousin join new chief of Rewa - blockade Bau - 1853 - Bau army defeated by Rewa.

Fishing

- Proto-words - nets (*kupenga), spears, basket traps (*pupu), fishhooks (*kau, *matau), trolling hooks (*mpaya) etc. - Archaeological finds : Fishbones - lots of nearshore fish. Fishhooks of shell. (Samoan/ Tongan Lapita) - Not only borrowing of Papuan plants. - Evidence of genetic mixing between Papuan and Austronesian people. - Thalessemia gene - malaria resistant (Papuan gene, in most Polynesian populations). Others. - Language - not extensive sharing.

1870s - Sugar & Copra Plantations

- Rise vegetable oil prices 1870s -- coconut oil (copra) demand. - Collect from trading outstations. - Samoa - early center of coconut plantations. Dominated by German trading companies - Godeffroy, Hernsheim. - Sugar cane fields -- Queensland & Fiji. - Many German copra outstations in Micronesia, New Britain & NE New Guinea in 1870s. - Acquired nuts from local groves. - Acquired labor for Samoa plantations - particularly in Bismarcks & NE New Guinea = German trade area. - German trading sphere = Samoa, Bismarcks & NE New Guinea. Also Micronesia. (Pic 36) - Queensland & Fiji sugar cane fields - labor initially from New Hebrides (1860s-1870s). - Later Queensland from: 1870s-1880s -- Solomons 1883 - SE New Guinea. - Initial clashes w/trading stations as in New Hebrides, then stabilize - New Hebrides, Solomons & SE New Guinea = NSW British sphere. - French take New Caledonia - 1853. Settlers & convicts 1860s. Plantation labor - New Hebrides, then Vietnam. - 1880s - French settlers into New Hebrides - planters. Vietnamese laborers. Friction with NSW British. - Fiji - government opts for Indian sugarcane plantation labor in 1870s. (Pic37)

More Intense Contact - Traders 1800s to 1840s

- Sandalwood became an important item in the China trade. - Fiji (1803-1816) - Sandalwood - Fiji (1803-1816) & later in more volatile New Hebrides & New Caledonia (1820s-30s). NSW traders!! (Pic 34) - Trade agreements made with local chiefs. - Weapons & aid in conflicts in return for cutting of wood. - Attacks on ships. - Crew - Melanesians taken on & non-Melanesian deserters jumped ship. - 1840s - 1850s - Trading stations in E. Melanesia - New Hebrides & New Caledonia. NSW companies. - Primary items = beche-de-mer, tortoise shell, pearl shell, & pearls, sandalwood. - Establish stations (non-local hires). - Hire local Melanesians as crew on trading ships. - 1850s - shore station trade becomes more peaceful, as Melanesians realize how to operate with traders.

Sepik Lowlands

- Sepik Lowlands = high population density area - Here they domesticated varieties of: - Taro, Yams dioscorea spp., Bananas, Breadfruit, had pottery. - Root crops domesticated: Varieties of taro & yams. (Previously north coast wild taro species colocasia common.) Sugar cane. - Tree crops domesticated - Selection for larger fruits & nuts, more seedless types - Coconut, pandanus, breadfruit, & Canarium almond. - Some banana varieties.

Trade/Exchange

- Sites marked by presence Lapita pots. - Only a small % had designs: Dentate stamped. - Similar to later tattoo, mat, kapa designs - Mussau - designed pots only under houses over reef. Elite ware. - Clay analysis - most were not from Mussau. - Hypothesis - designed pots were valuables made by some Lapita villages & traded. - At contact, true in many Oceanic societies - Mussau - shell valuables of conus shell (beads for necklaces, armrings). Being made in Mussau - for trade. (Tridacna) - Trading obsidian. Manus & Talesea on New Britain = sources - Probably pigs, food, mats, and cloth also traded - based on daughter Oceanic societies at European contact. - Trade in obsidian - shows sailing 100-300 miles. And much farther to Reefs & Vanuatu. Points to navigation skills. - That evidence and proto-Oceanic word reconstructions show that Austronesians brought: advanced sailing/boat technology - Boats themselves - outrigger & sails and Navigation systems

Basic Highlands traditions

- Small countries - clusters of houses scattered within the territory in fenced hamlets. - Population <1,000 (ave. = near 500). - Sweet potato gardens dominate. - Pigs dominate exchange - Big man politics -- with oratory, aggression, public exchanges of pigs & shell valuables. - Warfare common.

Political control.

- Start appointment of headmen (luluai). But elected locally - often warriors, Big men. - Ends traditional nature of Big Men power. - Local police force (600) - pacify. - Economic changes - 1906 - head tax. Pay in cash or forced labor. - Generates plantation labor. Labor on roads to access plantations.

Navigation (Cont'd)

- The navigator is in charge. He has learned all this local knowledge from a master navigator. Hippour of Puluwat. - As near destination, home in by: land birds; reflections of land or lagoon off clouds; cloud formations; debris in water; expectation of sighting island (Tahiti 7,000 ft. elevation - visible 80 miles out) - System -- almost guaranteed success of arrival in a sea of small islands. Like Carolines. (Pic 25) - Maximum day's sail = 100 miles.Common sail = 1-3 days.Rarer = 3-5 days. - System - does not easily handle distant lands (find, return home, resettle). 15-30 day sails. No safety net. Hawai'i, Easter, New Zealand (Pic 26) - Navigation system & outrigger sailing canoes = open-sea exploring and sailing cultural tradition. 2,000 years before the Vikings. Not like the coast hugging Greeks or Phoenecians. - Basic Oceanic cultural concept = Other islands are out there.

Another party becomes involved - Tongans

- Tongan Kingdom extended from Tongatapu up to Uvea.By 1600s in Lau Islds. (Pic 31) - Tongans in Lau Islands. Stay for months - building huge canoes. - Whale's teeth exchanged into Fiji for rights to build canoes. Fine mats of Samoa also traded into Fiji. - Jr. Tongan nobles - become mercenaries in Fiji to build renown - 1840s - 800 of 2,400 people on Lakeba, Lau's main island = Tongans. - Hundreds more in nearby smaller islands. - Dominant force in Lau Islds. - Tongans had converted to Christianity. - 1835 - Tongan king (Taufa'ahau or King George I) sends Wesleyans. Fiji Lau chiefs have to let them in. Tongan residents converted in hundreds. - 1847 - Ma'afu Tongan king's cousin arrives.800 warriors & canoes - a force in Fiji. Spreading the lotu (word) of the Tonga church & kingdom. - 1853 - Tongan king appoints Ma'afu Governor of Tongans in Fiji. Tongans now control east half of Fiji. 1853-54 - Ma'afu conquers Matiki & Moala, expanding Tongan control.

Melanesian view of labor

- Used trade & labor for own purposes. Fact of life -- 1860s-1890s. - Personal level - brought back goods (clothes, tobacco, tools, guns) which increased status - Adventure & novelty of plantation life. - Many Melanesians voluntarily signed up in New Hebrides. - Other areas, after first returnees. - Learned good companies.

Oceanic culture: (glimpses from archaeology & proto-language reconstructions)

- Villages along shore. - Rectangular, stilt houses on shallow reef off small islets in Papuan area. (Stilt houses - northwest Irian Jaya) - Mussau - waterlogged site with houseposts. Lapita pottery on shallow reef below. - Onshore often in previously unoccupied islands of Remote Oceania. Mailu -southeast New Guinea

Agriculture

- taro on wet plains & dryland in uplands. - Ditch-bed swamp taro gardens, Rewa delta, Viti Levu - Fortified villages & ditch-bed taro fields. Rewa, Viti Levu. Villages:Burebasaga (Bu) = 4,200; Namoka (N) = 900; Natavia (Nt) = 400

New Guinea Intro

-1,500 miles long x 280-500 miles wide. -Close to islands of Indonesia at west end. -Halmaheras to west. Ceram -- spice islds Ambon & Bandas 90 mi. Aru - 90 miles SW (Picture1) -Australia 120 mi. across Torres Straits. Bismarck Archipelago - 60 mi. to NE (Picture2) - Bismarck Islands New Britain 340 x < 60 miles. New Ireland - 220 x <30 miles (Picture3)

Back to New Guinea

-West end = Vogelkop (bird's head) - bounded by Geelvink Bay Ties to SE Asia & Malay-Indonesian cultures. (Picture4) -Vast central mountain ranges divide the rest of New Guinea -Tall mountains Mandala - west 15,584 ft. Carstensz Massif -- 16,000 ft. w/glaciers. East - mountains up to 11,000+ ft. - Mountains cut by rivers - headwaters or upper tributaries. Form valleys. - Some valleys have broad, flat floors with swamps & grasslands. Highlands valleys. - Baliem in west - 37 miles x 10 miles wide. [sweet potato fields & hamlet]. Asmat area of Irian Jaya (West New Guinea) - West New Guinea - Irian Jaya (part of Indonesia today) (Picture4) Southern Lowlands. - Eastern Highlands, many valleys have narrow valley floors - but still with some swampy land. - Mountains from west to east = Highlands (Picture7) - E New Guinea. Independent. Part of Papua-New Guinea (Picture3)

Highlands

Highlands - Kuk site of Waghi Valley, eastern New Guinea - 7,000-4,000 BC - Ditch-bed gardens in swamps on valley floor. - Ditches = drainage. Beds = piled up mud. - Water control farming. - Crop = Taro (Colocasia & Cyrtosperma) - 5,000 BC - land clearing in Baliem valley, west NG. - Kuk - surface fields, ancient ditches, wooden spade. - 9,000 years later (1960s)Dani ditch-bed gardens and village West New Guinea Highlands - Domestication began slightly earlier for almonds (12,000 BC) & ca. 7,000 BC for taro. - New Guinea was a major, early plant domestication center - in world-wide view!!! - With domestication comes: Settled village lifestyle !!!!!

New Guinea Lowlands Traditions: Sepik

Iatmul speakers of Middle Sepik - 10,000+ Iatmul people - 12+ independent villages of 200-1,000 people. Each = a country. - Villages near river & lakes - back on side channels. - Iatmul villages:Tambanum, Mindimbit, Kanganaman, Palambei. (Picture13) - Dwelling house on stilts shared by 2-3 families - House interior - sleeping in mosquito proof bags. - Clans share men's house in center of village. - Clans had land & resource areas around village. Women: Check fish traps for fish & prawns. Gather cane. Cultivate taro & yams. Feed pigs (water weeds). - Men's roles. Helped with sago & clearing fields. Spear fish. Hunt crocodile, eel, wild pig, flying fox & possum. Head-hunting raids. - No one man in charge of village!!! - Dominant men - temporarily based on skills in: War Sorcery Knowledge of clan myths (orator) Aggression Wealth - Big Man - Malikindjim: Sorceror, Warrior, Orator-- Kanganamum Village

Tensions (Cont'd)

Prohibitions: Women cannot: eat meat cooked at men's house, cook meat at public events, enter men's house, step across a seated man, his weapons, or food. (male side & female side of house and courtyard). - Yet women raise the pigs!!! - Men continually have to reassure themselves of their dominance - saying "Women are nothing." - Women respond, "Men are no good." - Tensions result, arguments occur, and beatings of wives occur. - These male - female differences are imbedded in Enga religion & mythology. - Male - female tensions, unease, antagonism were common in New Guinea and Island Melanesia. - But tremendous variation in the extent. - The Enga are at one extreme. Many wives come from enemy clans. Distrust & danger comes along. - Dani seem to be at other.

Solomon Islands Intro

Solomon Islands - Not quite visible - sail out from New Ireland. - As it disappears, you see the first of the Solomons. - 30 miles to Nissan, then - 60 or less to Buka. - Solomon Islands: Bougainville - 110 x 30-40 miles. New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Malaita (Picture5) - All these islands: New Guinea, Bismarcks & the Solomons = Near Oceania.Close together. (Picture2)