Abelam Culture
Environment
The Abelam come from the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, near the Maprik area. They live within the floorplains of the Sepik to the foothills of the Prince Alexander Mountains. The hills are 600-700 meters above sea level. It is tropical and always having a chance of rainfall. There is a slight change in temperature in the seasons,. From December to March there is a northwest monsoon and from May to October southeast monsoon. April and November being the months with the lease rain; as well as, no monsoons. From April to November the temperature is anywhere between 81 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and 70 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The Abelam live in both an urban and rural setting. The ones that live in the Prince Alexander Mountains have more a rural setting, whereas those living in the floodplains are closer to the urbanized city. Living within the plains neighboring the Abelam are the Arapesh. Although they are neighbors, they do not have many problems with resources. The Abelam survive in their environment by cultivating gardens. They plant yams, beans, taro, and others. In the north, they have low fertile slopes and the south they have muddy, rivers and swamps.
Adaptation
A phsyical adaptation of the Abelam is their darker skin and thicker, coarse hair. The Abelam live in a very hot and humid environment. Their darker skin produces more melanin which helps protect the skin from sun rays, allowing them to adapt to heat better. Also, their thick, coarse hair helps keep their scalps cool from the sun. A cutltural adaptaion for the Abelam is their daily pattern. They abelem sleep about 10 hours of their day, hunt for about 2, and the rest of their day is spent on gardening. I believe this is because they have such a spiritual belief with the yams, so they spend all of their time on them.
A cultural adapation for the Abelam is their gardening of yams. They spend majority of their time gardening and preparing for there later yam festivals. The Abelam believe yams to be sacred and powerful. The size of a yam tells how much spiritual power one has. Because yams are such sacred, they have certain rules when dealing with yams. During yam season, sex is banned, as well as, conflict and fighting. It seems that during yam season it gives a sense of harmony for the culture.
Language
- Leigh, Caroline. "Abelam Yam Masks and Tops, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea." Art-Pacific.com. Caroline Leigh, 1996. Web. 17 April 2012. <http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/yammasko.htm>
- Kortman, Ulrich. "The Abelam." Tribal Art. Ulrich Kortman, 2010. Web. 17, April 2012. <http://ulrichkortmann.com/fiabelam.html>
- "The Abelam."Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Culture. Volume 1. 2003. Print.
- "Papua New Guinea, East Sepik." The World Factbook. CIA. Web. 21 April 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pp.html>
- Lewis, M. Paul. "Languages of Papua New Guinea." Ethnogue-Languages of the World. 2009. Web. 21 April 2012. <http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=PG>
Name
|
Written
Language?
|
Population
|
Language
Family
|
Unique Qualities?
|
Language Map
Reference #
|
Iatmul
|
Yes
|
8, 440
|
Sepik-Ramu
Ndu Family
|
"a"
is a front vowel
"â"
is a back vowel
|
155
|
Manambu
|
Yes
|
2, 110
|
Sepik-Ramu
Ndu Family
|
215
|
|
Boiken
|
Yes
|
31, 300
|
Sepik-Ramu
Ndu Family
|
The "p, t,
k, & ts" are all voiceless
|
145
|
Gender Roles
There are only two
specific genders in my culture, both male and female. Although there are two
specific genders, people such as the girl in "The Blessed Curse" are
not looked down upon or thought of differently than any other race. Each gender
has specific roles, although they do sometimes help one another and work
together. Roles are passed down to children differently based on gender.
At an early age,
children are encouraged to engage in gender specific acts. The girls begin
helping their mothers as soon as they are able to. Some of the chores they help
with are food preparation, cooking, and
watching smaller children. When girls get their menstrual, they go through a
ceremony. They are kept in a menstrual hut, where they do no work and rest.
Food and anything else needed is brought to them. Days after, there is a feast
prepared for her in honor of her becoming a woman. The boys, however, spend
majority of their time with their moms until they begin their coming of age
initiation. Males go through a gradual initiation from a few years old up until
they are in there 30's. It isn't until they are around 40, where they become
initiators themselves and considered a real man. The initiation is a process of
seclusion, physical deprivation, beatings, and penis hastings. After each stage
is successfully passes, males are honored with special ornaments and srtings
which they wear daily. There are also specific names for males that complete
these stages: ndur is man, kwinėm bėndu is an unmarried men, and nėmbikar-andu is a recently married man.
There are specific
roles both men and women play in the Abelam culture. Women do majority of the
household work including; everyday cooking and taking care of the children.
Women take care of the pigs until they are going to be used to eat. They also
collect firewood and water for the family. Sewing and weaving string bags is
also another job of women. Men do all of the hunting. The also build houses and
fences, and cut timber. All arts and crafts (besides string bags) are done by
men. They weave masks, carve ritual wooden objects, paint with clay and ochers,
and decorate utilitatian objects. Men also make the spears, adzes, and other
tools used. There are also specific jobs that can only be done by specific
genders. Women plant and harvest taro, greens, bananas, and sugarcane. Men
plant and harvest the ceremonial yams "wappi", and the shorter yams "njaambi".
Although there are
specific roles for men and women, they also work together on some jobs also. In
gardening, men clear the heavy brush and cut trees while the women cute the
small and secondary plants. Men build trellises and make and repair the fences while
the women weed and harvest the crops. There are no negative repercussions for
either gender helping or doing others' jobs.Subsistence
Ableam is a
horticulture group. They live mostly off of taro and yams. Due to the different
parts having different types of soil, these are harvested differently. In the
north, they are harvested on hillsides and the south they are in the
grasslands. Besides taro and yams, they also feed off of coconuts, sago palms,
bananas, pigs, chickens, and a variety of vegetables. Of all the foods, sago
palms are seasonal.
There is a division
of labor as men are only allowed to harvest the traditional yams and women are
only to harvest the taro. The yams harvested by men are not to be eaten by the
men, instead they are used for traditional purposes. Once the yams are harvested
men then decorate them and they are used for yam festivals. Among yam
harvesting, men also have other chores.
They cut down the
trees and clear land for new gardens and later will fence the gardens. The men
then will plant all the yams, after women plant the taro in opening spaces.
Weeding of the gardens is done solely by the women. Once yams are growing, the
men will then put up sticks for the yams and will later cut the tubers. After
this, women will clean up the excessive mess for later gardening.
The general
nutrition of the Abelam is healthy. They get a variety of foods from meat to
vegetables to fruit which allows their bodies to not be dependent on any
certain food. Yams seem to be the only food that has a big importance on the
Abelam but more so due to traditional reason.
Economic Systems
Due to the different variations in the soils, both on the hills and down in the floor plains, the Abelam do not produce much of a surplus. However, they do have some natural resources such as, cocoa, BLANNBLANK. Among these resources, yams and pigs are used and traded during yam festivals. The others are used as currency, to pay back debts, or cross trade.
Marriage
Abelam marriages are
polygamous and exogamous. Husbands have 2 or more wives, but all majority of
marriages are outside of their lineage group. Exogamy marriages are frowned
upon. Women and men have the freedom of choosing who they wish to marry. There
are two types of marriages, informal and formal.
Formal marriages are
marriages when the man will the woman's family of his interest in marriage. Men
will normally tell the family during a woman's menstrual cycle
"naramtaakwa". The man will then cook a yam and send that to the
woman's family. If the family does not approve of the marriage they will send
the yam back. If the woman does not approve the family will eat yam. If the
woman and family both approve then the woman will eat the yam, which is a sign
of engagement. Months later the couple will marry. The man's family prepares a
house for the newlyweds where they stay for a week and rest together. Upon
marriage the couple will no longer drink cold water and eat coconut meat due to
certain taboos believed. They also plant a garden together and once the plant
has harvested all the taboos of foods and drinks will disappear.
Shell rings "yewaa" used as brideprice |
Cousin marriage is
not common in the Abelam culture. However they do engage in brother-sister
relationships. Brother-sister relationship are where the wife's husband is
either ill or away, her brother will now help her with all the manly chores; or
when the husband's wife is away or in the menstrual hut, his sister will do all
the womanly chores. Homosexual relationships are uncommon, however they are not
frowned up or censored.
A common village is
made up of a hamlet with 2-3 clans/lineages. Clans are said to be patrilineal
and consist of a man's with his brothers
and sons and their wives and their children. Some villages do have multiple clans
in that are not related. Gardens with multiple plants from marriages are worked
on by the brothers and their wives and each family has it's own pot. Women own
their own pigs and chickens and work separately from other wives. All women
must cook daily, regardless if they are in a polygamous relationship or not.
Kinship
The descent pattern
in Abelam culture is a patrilineal system, meaning all family members come from
the male's side. Altough women are said to be inferior to men, clans are still
open to recruitment from the woman's family, if needed. Inheritance is also a patrileanal
system. Land and clan ownership is given
to the males in the families. A hamlet/village consists of 2-3 clans/lineages;
a lineage consists of a man with his brothers and sons and their wives and
children. Each family has several houses: sleeping house for the father, a
dwelling house for the mother and her children, and one or several storehouses
for the root crop. Females members are called iai,
males are yai, their sisters are yato, and their wives are tagwa. Within each village, there is a
"Big Man" or Nemandu that has
authority of the group. A Nemandu is a male and is then passed down through
decent, usually to the first born son. In order to become a Nemandu, one must
know about rituals and oratorical skills.
The Abelam's kinship system is somewhat similar to that of the Iroquis'
cousins system. Cousins are only the children of the mother's sisters and
father's brothers.
Social Organization
The Abelam is
generally an egalitarian group; no one is above any one and everyone is for the
most part considered equal. Each village has a Nemandu, or Big Man, that is the "leader". Although there is a big man in the village, they are never really put into effect until there is conflict &/or time to vote. In the Abelam, they also believe men to be more superior than women, but women still have their rights and are treated equally.
Political Organization
There is no
political structure for the Abelam. They Nemandu is the only political
leader/figure in villages. The Nemandu are the political speakers of the group.
Voting is mandatory, so the Nemandu's are the ones that discuss issues and
concerns with the local council. Among political control, they also are the
conflict resolvers of the group. If there is any conflict among the people, the
Nemandu works as a mediator stressing the importance of cooperation and
solidarity. Fights are held in a ceremonial way. A group of Nemandu's will
watch over the dispute whether it be through fighting, the exchanging of shell
rings, or ritual songs.
Role of Violence
Role of Violence
One of the biggest forms of violence in the Abelam culture is physical violence towards women. This can be from any man; brother, husband, cousin, etc towards a woman. Beatings towards women, however is not looked at as a punishable act unless it is taken too far. Physical punishment towards women in the Abelam culture is thought to be the same as child "spankings" in our culture. These beatings are looked at as neccesary punishment for these women and men are not punished for them.
Religion
In the Abelam culture, they do not believe in any specific religion. However, they are very serious about rituals. They have ceremonial houses called korambo and ceremonial grounds called amei. They have many rituals for men, women, and festivals. For women, the first part of their menstraul and when they are given shell rings all take place infront of the korambo. Also, during death rituals, the corspe is held in front of the korambo for a night. The Korambo is used to house the spirits before they got to their other world. Men initations are also a big thing in the Abelam culture. Men iniations start from when childhood all the way until the 30/40's. Also, the Abelam spend majority of their time taking care of their yams. Yams are thought to be spiritual. During yam season, the Abelam refrain from sexual activity, conflict, and anything really other than taking care of their yams.
Art
Artwork: Artwork is
highly used in the Abelam culture. Painting is the main form of art used. They
believe the paint to be magical. Once paint has touched the wood, it becomes
powerful and active. Paint is preferred
over other types of art work because it allows them to give more detail and
color to their artwork. The function of benefit of painting is to express spiritual power and
show the life of a community through their detailed paintings.
Conclusion/Cultural Change
The Abelam culture has somewhat been affected by the more modern cultures, especially the Western cultures. Western cultures are trying to bring their traditions and stop the Abelam traditions, like their ritutals and iniations. I believe it is some what of a negative impact because this is their culture and what they have been doing forever simply because it works in their culture. Although, Western cultures are trying to stop Abelam traditions, people of the Abelam culture are still trying to keep certain ones.
I believe with the influence of other cultures, it could cause a chance of their culture losing their identity. I feel Western cultures try to come to these cultures, similiar to Abelam, and take over simply because they feel they can and/or that the culture isn't doing right. I feel the Abelam should continue to keep their traditions, and could incorporate some of the more modern Western culture ways but do not lose their culture.
The Abelam culture does not seem to have a big role in the modern world, as there is not much information on them. However, due to their resources like cocoa, bananas, pigs, sago palms, chickens and variety of vegetables; I believe they will turn into a more market economy. Once more modernized cultures see this surplus of resources, they will begin trying to come in and take these resources.
Works Cited
Music: Music in the
Abelam is more so used as a religion expression. There are specific songs for
initiations, ceremonies, and/or sacred events. Men songs are for their
initiation, yam festival, ancestral spirit, and death's ritual. There are also
songs that are said to help nocturnal
people.
Performance: The
Abelam do many different performances during ceremonies. Like their music, they
have dances specifically for each ceremony. Of the ceremonies, Yam Festivals
and Male Initiations are the biggest. Colorful costumes and yam mask are worn
during performances.
Religious Art: All of Abelam art has connection with
religion. They use art as a spiritual technique. During male initiations they
are taught the secrets of the Abelam religion. They paint faces during these
initiations which represent the ancestral spirits. Also the wood carvings given
to the new "men" have painted images that express their ancestors.
Although their artwork is very detailed and colorful, it is more so used for
sacred purposes.
Other: Yam masks are
the closest used for religious purposes. Yam is thought to be spiritual and can
tell the life of a man. The Abelam men grow yams for at least 6 months where
they later use in festivals. Yam Festivals consist of fighting, yam exchanges,
and many different ceremonies and performances. Yams used in festivals are as
big as 80-90 inches in size. The bigger the yam a male has, they more spiritual
power he has. Abelam base majority of their time and life around yams and
preparing for these festivals.
Conclusion/Cultural Change
The Abelam culture has somewhat been affected by the more modern cultures, especially the Western cultures. Western cultures are trying to bring their traditions and stop the Abelam traditions, like their ritutals and iniations. I believe it is some what of a negative impact because this is their culture and what they have been doing forever simply because it works in their culture. Although, Western cultures are trying to stop Abelam traditions, people of the Abelam culture are still trying to keep certain ones.
I believe with the influence of other cultures, it could cause a chance of their culture losing their identity. I feel Western cultures try to come to these cultures, similiar to Abelam, and take over simply because they feel they can and/or that the culture isn't doing right. I feel the Abelam should continue to keep their traditions, and could incorporate some of the more modern Western culture ways but do not lose their culture.
The Abelam culture does not seem to have a big role in the modern world, as there is not much information on them. However, due to their resources like cocoa, bananas, pigs, sago palms, chickens and variety of vegetables; I believe they will turn into a more market economy. Once more modernized cultures see this surplus of resources, they will begin trying to come in and take these resources.
Very nice post. However, I do not think western culture tried to convince the Abelam to stop their traditions and culture. I would say it has something to do with the globalization, industrialization and modernization. Just like any other tribe or culture, practices and tradition also progress and changes happened. Sometimes there are also a margin between their practices and culture especially when these tribal members can obtain formal education. I would say there is really a change of the traditional practices and rituals more so if the members of the group realize that it is impractical.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. Your discussion on the marriage and kinship patterns was particularly good.
ReplyDeleteOnly a couple of minor points: For your language section, I really needed some explanation of your images.
Also, you talk about the leader of the Abelam culture, but then say they have no political structure. Keep in mind that the Big Man IS part of the political structure. A culture doesn't have to have a centralized government like ours to have a political structure.
Otherwise, very good.
great post
ReplyDeletei think its very interesting how men believe they are superior to women but still give them the respect to have equal rights also. I also like how everyone is equal and that the "big man" doesnt really come into play unless there is major conflict in the village.