Presentations

Abstract

In his famous introduction to his monograph "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" Bronislaw Malinowski (1922: 24f.) points out that a "collection of ethnographic statements, characteristic narratives, typical utterances, items of folk-lore and magical formulae has to be given as a corpus inscriptionum, as documents of native mentality". This is one of the prerequisites to "grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world". Malinowski managed to document a "Corpus Inscriptionum Agriculturae Quriviniensis" in his second volume of "Coral Gardens and their Magic" (1935 Vol II: 79-342). But he himself did not manage to come up with a holistic corpus inscriptionum for the Trobriand Islanders. One of the main aims I have been pursuing in my research on the Trobriand Islanders' language, culture and cognition has been to fill this ethnolinguistic niche. In this talk I report what I had to do to carry out this complex and ambitious project, what forms and kinds of linguistic and cultural competence I had to acquire, and how I planned my data collection during 16 long- and short-term field trips to the Trobriands between 1982 and 2012. The talk will end with a critical assessment of my Trobriand endeavor.

Abstract

In his famous introduction to his monograph "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" Bronislaw Malinowski (1922: 24f.) points out that a "collection of ethnographic statements, characteristic narratives, typical utterances, items of folk-lore and magical formulae has to be given as a corpus inscriptionum, as documents of native mentality". This is one of the prerequisites to "grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world". Malinowski managed to document a "Corpus Inscriptionum Agriculturae Quriviniensis" in his second volume of "Coral Gardens and their Magic" (1935 Vol II: 79-342). But he himself did not manage to come up with a holistic corpus inscriptionum for the Trobriand Islanders. One of the main aims I have been pursuing in my research on the Trobriand Islanders' language, culture and cognition has been to fill this ethnolinguistic niche. In this essay I report what I had to do to carry out this complex and ambitious project, what forms and kinds of linguistic and cultural competence I had to acquire, and how I planned my data collection during 16 long- and short-term field trips to the Trobriand Islands between 1982 and 2012. The paper ends with a critical assessment of my Trobriand endeavor.

Abstract

In his famous introduction to his monograph "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" Bronislaw Malinowski (1922: 24f.) points out that a "collection of ethnographic statements, characteristic narratives, typical utterances, items of folk-lore and magical formulae has to be given as a corpus inscriptionum, as documents of native mentality". This is one of the prerequisites to "grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world". Malinowski managed to document a "Corpus Inscriptionum Agriculturae Quriviniensis" in his second volume of "Coral Gardens and their Magic" (1935 Vol II: 79-342). But he himself did not manage to come up with a holistic corpus inscriptionum for the Trobriand Islanders. One of the main aims I have been pursuing in my research on the Trobriand Islanders' language, culture and cognition has been to fill this ethnolinguistic niche. In this talk I report what I had to do to carry out this complex and ambitious project, what forms and kinds of linguistic and cultural competence I had to acquire, and how I planned my data collection during 16 long- and short-term field trips to the Trobriands between 1982 and 2012. The talk will end with a critical assessment of my Trobriand endeavor.

Abstract

After a summary of the research on frames of spatial reference that was done at the Institute and an introduction of these 3 systems of spatial reference absolute systems of spatial references that are found in Oceanic languages are presented and discussed

Abstract

The Trobriand Islanders' concept of "karewaga" can be glossed not only as " authority" but also as " responsibility, jurisdiction, competence, sphere of influence", and so on. After a lexical semantic analysis of this concept based on the actual usage of the term in everyday Kilivila contexts of social interaction this paper points out that many of the ethical principles which are rooted in Western philosophy and thought and which should guide any field research - be it anthropologically, linguistically, cognitively or sociologically oriented - find their equivalent in the Trobriand Islanders' indigenous concept of "karewaga".

Abstract

The Trobriand Islanders complex eschatological belief system explains in detail what happenes when a Trobriander dies. Bronislaw Malinowski described the essentials of this belief system in his famous articles "Baloma: the Spirits of the Dead in the Trobriand Islands" and "Myth in Primitive Psychology" In these papers he also presented the Trobrianders belief in the fact that a spirit of the dead, a "baloma" can be reborn; in connection with this myth he claimed that the Trobrianders are actually unaware of the father's role as genitor. This talk presents not only a critical review of Malinowski's ethnography of Trobriand eschatology, it also documents highly ritualized songs - the "wosi milamala" the songs of the harvest festival - which are sung in an archaic variety of Kilivila - the "biga baloma" - the language of the spirits of the dead. In these songs the Trobriand Islanders have codified many aspects of their eschatological belief system. It seems that Malinowski was not aware of these songs. Thus this talk provides for the first time a comprehensive ethnographic overview of Trobriand eschatology. Until the mid 60s of the last century the Trobrianders used the "biga baloma" to communicate with the spirits of the dead; however, in the meantime the sungs are still sung during the harvest festival and after the death of a Trobriander, but there are only a few people left who still understand the "wosi milamala". They are a moribund genre of Kilivila - and with them the Trobriand Islanders' complex indigenous eschatology will vanish.