Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Article Notes: Stewart, PJ and A Strathern

Female Spirit Cults as a Window on Gender Relations in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
By P J Stewart and A Strathern
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5.3 (Sept 9,
1999): p345.

This article examines three cults based around female spirits in the PNG highlands: one in Hagen, one in Duna, and one in Pangia. The cults generally are/were practiced by groups of men worshiping a female spirit, asking for success in reproduction and other things (varied by cult).

Duna, which was the more geographically removed of the three focused on acquiring powers for the individual. Such powers might be detecting witches through divination, healing, etc. Each parish had its own maternal spirit.

Hagen was more group oriented in its goals, stressing alliances through exchanges. Pangia was similarly group-focused.

Christianity has since its introduction influenced these beliefs. Many of the menstral rituals were abandoned, cult practices were dissuaded and it promoted monogamy rather than the polygyny (and some polyandry) practiced by these groups.

Hagen's cult was extant from 1964 through 1984. Pangia's began in the 1920s, but died out within a generation, no longer present when Christian missionaries arrived in 1967. Duna the cults slowly vanished in the 1960s as Christianity came into the region. That said, the middle aged and older adults are still influenced by some of the cult beliefs today.

Hagen's cult was around Amb Kor. The tribe would invite allies to participate in the rituals. They divived the men into 2 groups, rapa (men's house) and amb-nga (women's house). One man from each group would be paired together in the ritual. Women stayed outside of the ritual grounds and sex was avoided during the ritual. However, women provided the food and sacrifices for the rituals. After preparations were complete, there would be a ritual dance and a feast.

The Pangia cult was around Laiyeroa. It placed limits on menstrating women. Also limited which foods could be consumed and involved a ritualized cooking. Sex again was avoided during the ritual. There was a fear about injesting menstral blood. It was believed that doing so could make a man pregnant. As gender confusion is greatly feared in the culture, any such injestion was greatly feared and the rituals protected the men from the power of menstral blood.

In Duna, Payame Ima was worshiped. Married men were also excluded with the women. The rituals were for a coming-0f-age for boys into manhood. However, the ability to divine witches was also received through the rituals. This was believed to help protect the boys from witchcraft.

Major Themes:
1) Women's work was integral to the cult.
  • cults needed both genders to collaborate
  • women provided needed food/sacrifices (pigs)
  • Also made netbags (which symbolized the womb)
2) Observing Taboos
  • both genders have to keep taboos
  • even the exclusion taboos needed to be kept for the rituals potency
  • ritutals benefited both genders
3) Reproductive Symbolism
  • Hagen/Pangia had visual elements that inferred sexual activity and the procreative outcome
  • used reproductive organs of sacrificed sows
  • Duna had male and female elements merged in a hut (womb)
4) Menstral Taboos
  • Blood -> fertile woman, no blood (yet) -> Not fertile
  • Absence of blood in a fertile woman was a good sign
  • Taboo due to 'power of menstral blood' and the fear of male -> female gender changes
5) Collaboration vs Trickery
  • narratives stress that achieving procreation (or at least wives) through trickery leads to problems
  • Rituals require the collaboration of the genders
6) Incest, cosmos, exchange
  • Incest both frowned upon and common
  • Boys today "spend too much time with their mothers", implied that it might lead to incest
  • everyone helps with brideprice for sons to avoid incest
  • Daughters' brideprices used often to pay off father's debts paying for the mother
Conclusions:
  • Male cults have collaborative elements and themes
  • Male exclucivity obscures both female agency in the rituals and symbolization of gender relations
  • Gender alliances stressed rather than male dominance
  • Both separation and conjuction stressed

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