ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture 4: The Guardians of the Flute
24 Oct 2016
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Sambians in new guinea (sex segregated society) A warrior must be able to kill his enemy while staring him the eye (sign of courage) Men and women are forbidden to walk on each other"s paths. They have different spaces in the home for women and men. Menstrual blood drains men, poisons them, so they have to stay in separate spaces. Girls grow naturally into women and bear children. To grow into men, they need help, initiation that lasts months, taken from their mothers. Only when they become fathers will they return to living with women. Cleanse their skin of their mothers so they can grow strong. Forbidden to go back to their mothers. Boys not allowed to see the flutes; significance explained later during initiation. Red flowers symbolize polluted blood of women. Elders chew leaves from the forest which the boys swallow to increase masculinity. Red juices of plants evoke power of sun to protect them.
