HISTORIAS DE USUARIO

I was not able to consult with the men nor hear their stories from their perspective due to a general reticence to speak by the men (refer to page 14). The information covered in this section is limited to women's knowledge of men's roles. Almost all women were able to recite the men's roles as emphasized by kastom without any difficulty.

The rural boy child at birth signals respect and authority by his family and relatives. He is looked upon as the future head of the family and leader of the clan. He will acquire

responsibilities over land, resources and the clan. He will receive teaching and words of wisdom through ha 'ananauha both by the mother and the father. The boy child is taught to respect his sisters, keep away from girls, know his relatives and know kastom values which must be passed on to the next generation. He must work hard in gardening and piggery which are aimed at generating money towards bride price and custom festivities. He must welcome and entertain his friends in his home. He must have the skills in building houses, making canoes, paddles and hunting. As he grows up, he is attached to his father to learn the skills through listening, observation and hands-on ejq)erience

similar to that of the rural girl's experience with her mother. Nonetheless, the boy child is highly respected in the femily. He is given some privileges such as moving aroimd to other villages, visiting his friends and participating in sports without close supervision by the parents. He can attend meetings and participates in men's activities. He can hit his sisters if they retaliate to his orders or go beyond boundaries. Girls are denied these rights. Girls are taught to be submissive and obedient to their brothers and femily members while boys are taught to be authoritative, strong and aggressive.

A boy is ready for marriage when his wealth and skills are demonstrated through building and owning a house, a fence of pigs and a garden of taro. The house represents his ability to accommodate his femily and to manage a femily. The pigs and taros represent

willingness, skills and capability to feed and finance his family. It is greatly emphasized that a boy must be willing, knowledgeable, hardworking and-skillful with his hands in order to get married. Having such qualities qualifies him to get married, a decision that is made by the boy's parents.

After marriage, he must house his family, cut the big trees in his wife's garden and mound the garden. According to my consultation with the women, the following was noted: 81% said that the men were responsible for cutting big trees in their wife's garden, 78% said men build houses, 19% said men provide hospitality to other men, 50% said men are responsible for cash activities, 28% said that men are the decision-makers and

ha 'ananauha and 9% said men make crafts such as canoes, paddles and axehandles (see Appendk A, Fig 2). (It did not add to 100% as women were given the choice to list unlimited roles performed by men). A man must not beat his wife or commit adultery. He must participate in some income generating activities to finance his family and to participate in clan and community activities such as houra (feasts), torana (bride price) and totoha (compensation). He is the head of the household which means that he makes decisions and cares for his family. If he harms his family through any means, he must pay con:q)ensation as well. If he is lazy, he is also criticised by the community.

3.6. Conclusion

Rethinking the roles of rural women and men in Waisisi community draws our

understanding to three important conclusions. Firstly, women work very hard and have a heavy workload performed on daily basis for the family's survival. While their work is numerous and varies a great deal to that of the men's, women are willingly carrying the load without any retaliation. Their pride and wealth is invested in the work they do, either for sustaining the family or for cash. They receive recognition and demonstrate their power through their hard work. They gain ownership of their gardens. They are powerful and active implementors of programs which sustain the family and the community.

Without women's contribution through their work, life in a community will be miserable, unsettled and uncomfortable. Women are the backbone of the community. On the other hand, it must also be noted that women's pride and recognition come at a cost. They endure physical harshness and carry the weight of responsibility with no rest from the cycle of life's daily demand.

Secondly, despite their contribution to the community, the status of women is quite low compared to that of the men in terms of privileges and their standing within the

community structure. Women are taught to be submissive and silent while men are taught to be outspoken, aggressive, strong and authoritative. Women must not hit back or

retaliate if hit by a brother or the husband. During meetings, women do the cooking while men do the talking. Women are often on the periphery while the men are around the centre of decision making. Women's work is associated with providing a service while men are assigned responsible position as decision-makers and head of households. It could be argued that women's submission and exclusion have denied them access to power and authority.

Finally, women's roles must be performed on a daily basis while men's roles can be performed on a monthly or yearly basis. For example, a house is built every five to six years. However, it must be acknowledged that men do play a big role in gardening and animal husbandry but it is often targeted at cash. This supports the argument that women's work is for family's consumption while men's work is for cash.

In conclusion, one of the respondents said, nima keni maoai oko riorio raea ke " a house

without a woman is easily and clearly identified" meaning that a house that does not have

a girl/woman may be dirty, lack the basic essentials such as food, water, firewood and is in disorder.