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This is a wonderful book. Bateson is writing in the mid-1930's about his stay a few years earlier with the Iatmul, a tribe of recently subdued headhunters, on the Sepik River in the mandated territory of New Guinea. The people are fierce, yet ultimately they are people like everyone else. Bateson seems to have arrived at an easy working relationship with them, and he sets about defining the mechanics of their society, with an eye on the similarities and differences in Iatmul and European approaches to life. Bateson leaves it to us to combine this information with the premise that all of us are made of the same stuff, in hopes of learning things that would otherwise be denied us.
The aspect of Iatmul culture which interests Bateson most is the eponymous "naven." Although descent is patrilineal in Iatmul society, there is also a strong matrilineal element. Every male, and to a lesser extent every female, has a "wau", a maternal uncle, who from the day of his birth goes to great lengths to build an ongoing relationship with him. This includes gifts of food, support during the painful initiation process, and in former times assistance with early homicides.
The recipient of these favors is known as a "laua". Whenever the "laua" accomplishes something for the first time, his "wau" dresses up like a shabby old woman, parades, dances, and acts like a buffoon to commemorate the event. It is this display which is known as the "naven." Qualifying events include building a canoe, killing a crododile, killing an inhabitant of one of the other villages, or luring such an inhabitant to the Iatmul village under friendly pretenses, allowing others to kill him. Not only does the "wau" put on this display, but he is joined by other males who are not quite as closely related to the "laua", and women who are related in various ways dress up as men to commemorate the achievement. Bateson's primary question is why do these people do these things?
To answer his question, Bateson has to tread lightly between the competing "functionalism" of Bronislaw Malinowski and the "structural" approach of Reginald Radcliffe-Brown. He seems to address both viewpoints satisfactorily, simultaneously showing us how the "naven" allows the members of a Iatmul village to get what they want out of life, and how the custom itself is the consequence of the structure of Iatmul society, and how it contributes to the structure of that society. Basically, both "wau" and "laua" get strong allies for life, something not to be taken lightly in the violent internal and external environment of a Iatmul village. They also get a relationship which can be a source of personal pride to both of them. Bateson thinks that given the contentiousness of the individual Iatmul men, it is surprising that they can live in villages of two hundred to one thousand inhabitants. He attributes their ability to do so to the "naven" customs, which in conjunction with patrilineal and initiatory affinities bind members of the society to multiple clans and moieties. Once the village attains a certain size, even the ties of the "naven" are not strong enough to hold it together. The village is split into factions, and one group leaves to found a new village.
Bateson finds the individualism of the Iatmul people splendid. He points out that there is no law of the sort that Europeans are accustomed to. There are taboos and prohibitions, but it is always understood that if an individual is strong enough to defy these taboos and prohibitions, then he may do as he pleases. There is no chief. There are no tribal elders as such, although the older men have more sway than the younger ones. Needless to say, if the individual is not strong enough to defy the taboos and prohibitions and does so anyway, he suffers a much unhappier fate. When conflict arises, various individuals decide they have an interest in one side or the other, and they confront each other. This does not necessarily lead to violence, although one gets the impression that it did so more regularly in pre-European times. Rather, an offender's actions may result in the slit-gongs being sounded, summoning all the men of the village to the Ceremonial House for a debate concerning what is to be done. In the course of the debate the speakers will make their points by beating a ceremonial stool with branches of certain trees while declaiming their points of view. Sometimes they will threaten to expose the totemic secrets of the other side, and sometimes they will do so, openly mocking them. When this happens, a brawl often results. Women are excluded from these prceedings.
Since the "naven' is basically an exercise in transvestitism, Bateson examines in depth the differences between Iatmul men and women. The men tend to be harsh, arrogant, and uncooperative. These traits are so exaggerated that Bateson is sometimes surprised that they can live together at all. The women, on the other hand, tend to be jolly and cooperative, especially when they are away from the men. The women do most of the day-to-day work, gathering food in the surrounding forest, raising pigs, catching prawns and fish in the river, and tending to the young. The men get together in groups to build houses and communal structures, and they often put on shows and festivities, one of whose purposes is to impress the women who constitute their audience. They have many secrets which are hidden from the women. The woman's role in sexual activities is regarded as shameful.
The concept of death by natural causes is alien to the Iatmul. Violent death is quite common, and those who die by other means are considered the victims of sorcery. When an influenza epidemic kills a number of people in the villages, this is considered a series of murders by sorcery, one in retaliation for another. And there are village "sorcerers" who step forward to take credit for these deaths, sometimes explaining how the deceased or a relation of the deceased had offended in some way. These sorcerers use the fear engendered by their claims to extort food, wealth, and women from the other villagers. They tend to be hated as well as feared. They also tend to prosper.
Anthopology monographs go out of print rather quickly. This one is still in print. I think the book's high quality, combined with its entertaining style, is responsible for this. Bateson went on to other pursuits, including attempts to communicate with dolphins in Hawaii. I acquired the book, willing to indulge in anthropological theory, but really seeking the forbidden pleasure of watching people go about their lives free of the constraints with which I had grown up. Although Bateson ultimately gave his backers the science they had paid for, I always counted him as a fellow traveler in this pursuit.
- Paperback: 367 pages
- Publisher: Stanford University Press; 2nd edition (June 1, 1958)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0804705208
- ISBN-13: 978-0804705202
- Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 1 customer review
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,088,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1186 in Biochemistry (Books)
- #348 in Oceania History
- #3296 in General Anthropology
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