ANTH 208 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Cowry, Grass Skirt, Coconut Oil

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12 Jun 2018
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Chapter Six: Part One
Canoe only ready to be launched after painted and decorated, receives a personal name
and is of interest to the entire district
More than an object also something sailors will depend on and have destinies
connected to in the future
It’s functionality as well as appearance and beauty are considered
Thus the launching of the canoe is a big deal for the whole village not just the
owner and his family to which it brings prestige
Like with gardening, the ceremony involves the arrangement of the canoe to
great aesthetic affect
Date prescribed for the tasasoria
, or ceremonial launching and trial run and chiefs and
headmen from neighboring villages who also have a canoe and are part of the same
Kula community journey for it with their canoes, Malinowski describes it as similar to a
regatta effectually
Their canoes are usually new as well so it becomes a big display
Launching marked with a rite of mwasila
or Kula magic specifically called
Kaytalula wadola waga
(staining red of the mouth of the canoe) and it involves
the toliwaga
chanting a spell over red ochre and staining the canoe with it,
including a special cowrie shell which is attached to the prow board (tabuyo
)
Then the canoe is launched amidst much fanfare
Following the launching of the canoe there is a feast or distribution of food called sagali
that also follows many prescribed rituals for instance it’s always done when it is not the
toliwaga
who has built the canoe with his own hands, though he is likely the owner, and
so must repay those who did the physical labor
After the sagali
the canoe is fully rigged with a sail and has what is essentially a race
with the other boats, and the chief’s boat always wins more of a formality than an actual
contest
Usually the building of a new canoe and thus a tasasoria
is due to some large
upcoming event/journey usually a kula expedition, Malinowski describes one that
was taking place as there was a Kula expedition planned to a few different
villages.
One of the forms of cooking used on festive occasions and which Malinowski describes
seeing in preparation for a tasasoria
is kumkumuli
, the baking of food in the ground.
Also wore festive dress which is a new red, white, and purple grass skirt for women and
a new bleached white pubic leaf for men made of a palm leaf. Also anointed with
coconut oil and with large flowers in hair as well as face paint.
Best face paint usually applied right before the climax of the ceremonies, in
colors of red white and black
Very little eaten during the day before the feast though the food was distributed
first, to be eaten later
Malinowski describes how even during festivals like this the people keep themselves
divided by village with very little mingling and those from places in the north on the
northside of the beach those from the south to the south.
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Document Summary

Canoe only ready to be launched after painted and decorated, receives a personal name and is of interest to the entire district. More than an object also something sailors will depend on and have destinies connected to in the future. It"s functionality as well as appearance and beauty are considered. Thus the launching of the canoe is a big deal for the whole village not just the owner and his family to which it brings prestige. Like with gardening, the ceremony involves the arrangement of the canoe to great aesthetic affect. Date prescribed for the tasasoria , or ceremonial launching and trial run and chiefs and headmen from neighboring villages who also have a canoe and are part of the same. Kula community journey for it with their canoes, malinowski describes it as similar to a regatta effectually. Their canoes are usually new as well so it becomes a big display.

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