This section explores the second model of middle patriarchy where the temperamental quality of aggression is strong, but not as strong as in the
previous model. From the scale of one to four, the middle patriarchy model would be on four, being the second strongest model of patriarchy. Men in this model practice patriarchy in every way like the first model, but to a degree of strength and force less than the first.
The characteristics that the middle patriarchy share with the strong patriarchy model is that need to show physical prowess and strength and the male abjection of the female body, which is enforced through the observation of men’s space and territory like the men’s house, sections of the river, forests and so on.
One factor that is different with the strong patriarchy model is that the level of aggression is not too high, yet there is occasional warfare. Pay back killings are common where a killing in one tribe must be avenged. In this situation, the aggressive warrior trait is displayed in men (include how men solicit for sorcery ‘sanguma’). Physically, men still exert their power over women through the masculine roles of chiefs, warriors, shamans, orators, leaders and sorcerers.
Male initiation is one characteristic that all four models of patriarchy observe because it is the most dramatic manifestation of how men are socialised into their masculine identity. Manhood and masculinity are attained after men undergo initiation rituals. Without the rites of passage, a man is not considered as a ‘full’ man. According to the Sambia,
Pre-initiates are seen as boys, not men, for they show feminine traits such as shyness and crying, and they engage in female tasks and routines such as babysitting and weeding. In this sense they belong to the female world, though they are not female…They must learn new things, but they must also unlearn old traits and ideas, so that they can truly feel in their identity: ‘I am not feminine; I am masculine’ (Herdt 1987: 102).
In the hierarchy of masculinity in what Connell (2000:10-11) calls ‘hegemonic masculinity’, uninitiated men will be marginalized and belong to a lower class of males and in a societies like Sambia (see Herdt 1987); they may be seen as feminine. Other positions as warriors, cassowary or crocodile hunters (Sepik River) are attained as distinguished positions. Hegemonic masculinity
distinguishes those men in power not only over women, but men over other men. The social hierarchy of masculinity is the same in many other tribes as that noted by Godelier (1981) as an unequal hierarchy among the Baruya. He attests that the social hierarchy has men over women; shamans, warriors and cassowary hunters over other men; the initiates over non-initiates. ‘Forms of social hierarchy which exist in New Guinea, under which conditions has exploitation, not only of women by men, but also of men by men’ (Godelier 1981: 32). This same concept of hegemonic masculinity is also seen on Manam Island in
Madang. The Paramount chief of the island (Tanepoa or Kukurai) has power over other junior chiefs and all chiefs have power over the commoner known as the
gadagada. A similar experience is had in the Trobriand Islands where a chief has high rank while commoners belong to the low caste and who have to pay tribute of yams to the chief (Malinowski 1922; 1929; Weiner 1988).
All societies in PNG had some form or other of male and female initiation. The strong patriarchal societies conduct rigorous initiation rituals for males which is done in several stages. The Baruya and Sambia (Godelier 1981, 1982; Herdt 1981, 1987;) have up to four stages of initiation and ritual initiation is the key social mechanism for changing boys’ gender roles and internal gender identity. In both of these societies, homosexuality and feeding the young initiates with
semen is part of the initiation cult. They even pierce the nose of young boys. The Sepik River societies like the Korogu and Iatmul, engage in skin cutting and bloodletting of the initiates and the scars are left to ‘resemble the horny
protuberances of a crocodile skin’ (Sillitoe 1998:202). The symbolism and the imagery of the crocodile are used to encourage boys to develop harsh male personalities, communicate the desirability of ferocious crocodile-like emotions and behaviour (Sillitoe 1998: 211-212). The other two models of patriarchy do have initiation rites that require boys to go into seclusion where they are taught life skills and lore of the tribe. Other initiation cults include the Bougainville society’s Upe ritual and the Tolais have the dukduk and the Madang and Sepik people have the tumbuan cults. 32
In matrilineal societies outlined in model four like the Trobriand Islands, women’s blood is still a matter to be cautious of. Men in such societies are still guardians
32Upe is the initiation ritual for boys in Bougainville. Upe is the name of the special hat made for
each young initiate and is worn on the head throughout the duration of the initiation period. It is worn when the initiated parade into the village at the end of their period of seclusion.
Dukduk is the sacred spirit mask of the Tolai and Duke of York people. Only special initiated men wear this mask is dance festivals in the village.
Tumbuan is the special totem mask believed to inhabit ancestral spirits. It is usually worn by initiated men and displayed during village dance festivals.
of knowledge like the ‘shark-calling’ charms in New Ireland, sorcery (sanguma) practices among the Trobrianders and Dobuans of Milne Bay Province and parts of the New Guinea mainland, the ‘black magic’ practised by the Tolais of East New Britain.
In Melanesia, men’s space is very important. In a way, it adds to the
strengthening of male identity. In Papua New Guinea, the concept of ‘men’s house’ (haus man) is well known, as this was the most visible institution of segregation between men and women in a society.33 In patriarchal societies a man’s house is exclusively for men and it is like a ‘club house’ or the Ilahita – Arapesh (Tuzin 1997) and the Sepik River people call it the Haus Tambaran (the spirit house). This is where male symbols of identity are kept and guarded. For example, the sacred flutes and masks like the tumbuan, the dukduk are
safeguarded there. The Baruya (Godelier 1981) and Sambia (Herdt 1981; 1987) capture young boys and keep them in the men’s house and take them through initiation. Sambia and Baruya men return to live in the men’s house when their wives give birth for fear of pollution. Matrilineal societies also have men’s house. Paulias Matane who is a Tolai from East New Britain, comes from a matrilineal system. He shares his experience of spending part of his childhood in a men’s house (Matane 1972). In their quest to be a big-man, a Siuai (NSP) man has to attract enough following to help him build a men’s house. Then he must furnish
33 ‘Haus man’ is a men’s house. It is like a men’s institution that permits only men, where
women are not allowed to enter it. Researching men and what they think on gender issues felt like I was entering men’s mind to know their views and this was like entering the men’s space and this made me feel strange. Haus man is also interchanged with haus boi.
the house with gongs (garamut). In the men’s house, sacred panpipes are played and spirits who are believed to inhibit the men’s house, teach gifted men new tunes (see Sillitoe 1998).
There are other spaces that are used by men to maintain their masculine identity. For the Baruya and Sambia, the forest is masculine and it is occupied by men only for hunting. Women are prohibited from entering that space. Men and women use different tracks. Men’s tracks are on the higher part and women’s in the lower part. Sleeping space in the family house is also demarcated. Men occupy the space away from the doorway so as not to be touched or walked over by female members in the household (see Herdt 1981; Godelier 1982). The Eastern Iatmul cosmology as Silverman (1997) explains, claims trees, villages and dry ground are masculine while river or water is feminine, hence the division of masculine and feminine space. He further states that Eastern Iatmul attain masculine identity through totemic names inherited from their ancestors and these names embody space and time. These men transcend historical space and time and perpetuate this identity by passing on this name to the next generation. In other patriarchal models, men’s spaces are observed, but sometimes not as strictly as those that practise the strong patriarchal model.
Marriage and procreation are an important aspect of life in Papua New Guinea. It is expected that all men and women marry in their lifetimes. It is rare that one remains unmarried, because the main purpose of marriage is procreation for the
survival of the clan and tribe. A man attains full manhood when he sires children and especially male children. For example, the Baruya and Sambia reach the last stage of initiation and manhood after the first child is born (Herdt 1981; Godelier 1982). A man’s sperm is seen to be the most important element in procreation. The Baruya claim that ‘…a child is first and foremost produced by the man, by his sperm…’ and that ‘…sperm is life, strength, the nourishment that give life…’ (Godelier 1982: 51-52). The Eastern Iatmul say that at conception, man
contributes the stronger permanent structure of the new life while the woman the softer parts as Silverman (1997) states ‘semen becomes the bones that form a stable core the bones’ and the ‘…growth of delicate organs and flesh originate from menstrual blood’. Therefore paternal identity, like bones is fixed and permanent (Silverman 1997). A woman who is childless can suffer a lot of
criticism and denigration. A man can take another wife if his current wife does not bear children. A man can take another wife if his current wife does not bear him male children.
In these and other societies like the Ilahita Arapesh (Tuzin 1997) and the
offspring of chiefs on Manam Island, future marriage partners are betrothed from birth. While it may seem to maintain lineage relations among men, Modjeska (1982) argues that among the Etoro, arranged marriages through child betrothal is a way of men’s control over women. Arranged marriages are common and brideprice payment is a practice.34 For example, among the Orokaiva people,
34Brideprice is a form of payment, usually understood to be gifts given by the groom and his clan
‘The eventual payment of the brideprice is an important occasion which confers status on a clan as a whole and particularly the main donors within it’ (Newton 1985: 147). In all the four models of patriarchy, some kind of exchanged marriage is practised. This is when a woman is given for marriage in exchange for the woman her brother or a male relative has married. Among the Baruya, as Godelier states, ‘The only way one can really compensate the gift of a woman is by giving another woman in exchange, whether in the same generation or in the one that follows the first marriage. Thus, only a woman can equal or compensate for another woman’ (Godelier 1982: 23). Sometimes a woman can be given as part of her brother’s brideprice payment. Polygamy is practised in all societies in PNG, but usually chiefs and men of renown practise it because they are wealthy and can afford paying brideprice for all wives. A man who feels capable of looking after his wives can engage in polygamy.
The division of labour and other activities among the societies of PNG contribute to the socialisation of masculinity in a patriarchal society. In societies like the Highlands and Sepik River where strong and medium patriarchy are practised, hunting wild pigs, cassowary and crocodiles are masculine activities. Men’s physical prowess is measured by their hunting skills and by the success of their hunting expeditions. Men’s labour involves physical strength like clearing garden land, building fence around the garden and constructing houses, making canoes and slit gongs (garamut). Men’s planting and harvesting of yams as done in the Trobriands (see Malinowski 1922, 1929; Weiner 1988), the Arapesh (Tuzin 1997)
and the Melpa (Strathern 1988; Sillitoe 1998) enhance men’s definition of their masculinity. Among the Baruya and Sambia the sugarcane plant is seen as a symbol of the phallus and therefore a masculine crop which only men can plant and harvest (Herdt 1981; Godelier 1982). Men’s work is in the public sphere and results are noticed and their reputation in that work is acknowledged.
In a patriarchal society, land ownership is passed on from father to son. In the matrilineal society like in the Trobriand Islands, land is still passed to a son, but through matrilineal connections. Even if land comes from the matrilineage, it is still owned by a male person. So in practice, landownership remains the right of the male members. Children and wives in a polygamous marriage form part of a man’s wealth and these give him a sense of his male identity. Daughters have some value, as they are assets for brideprice later on. Totemic names give man his masculine identity as these names also carry power. The Eastern Iatmul and the Chambri have their whole politics of identity and their gender relations is based on totemic names. For the Chambri ‘…a male clan member competes to gain access to totemic names which are esoteric and which establish
identification with his ancestors. This enables the man to have power and to control social relations in his clan’ (Errington; Gewertz 1987: 47). For the
Eastern Iatmul a man who assumes the totemic name of his ancestor, embodies the spatiotemporal history of his clan and so the past and present converge in him (Silverman 1996; 1997).
Hence, a man’s status is attained by the amount of wealth he possesses. Not every man in PNG has such accumulation of wealth that is worth the status. For those who have a lot of wealth, gain and keep their prestige. Those who have no wealth become workers of the wealthy. Thus we find a society with a few wealthy men and men of rank who can wield a lot of power and control over the less powerful men and women in the society.