Environment
and Human Adaption
The
Abelam tribe lived in the east Sepik Province of the Papua New Guinea; this was
located on the foothills. There were two different zones that the Abelam tribes
lived in the relict alluvial plains. These characterized for these zones are
landforms altitudes, annual rain falls, and soil types for thick secondary
vegetation. They live in a very hot and humid areas, they have adapted to these
area s time went by, with rain falls they created shelter, and with the heat
there skin help them in that department. From what my research had told me, is
that they lived in a rural setting, because they are indeed a population of
70,000 people, and a large range of farming, because the Abelam are big yams
people. They are a more isolated culture, when it comes to other types of
tribes, for example: say Indians. They eat pigs, and chicken, animal that can
be raised and killed, but they do hunt for variety of animals. They always grow
crops such as: giant yams, sweet potatoes, and even bananas. The heat and rain
are the main two that they have adapted to. Heat was a major one because how
they are outside most of the time, and the sunrays, so as time went on their
skin helps with the heat. Rain was another because how they needed to learn how
to keep their crops from becoming no good. So they build shelter for the
animal, the villagers, and also the safely of the crops.
One
physical adaptation I noticed are there thick black hair, for having such thick
black hair, I really thought this would be hard in the heat but to come to find
out it help from the heat. It is actually cooler for the scalp, and keeps it
from getting burnt. The second is there skin, now I never knew that black skin
actually helps them from the sunrays, but they must get hot and sweat, because
black is attracted to the sun. One culture adaption would be there hunting,
without some of the meat they get they could feel blah, I mean just eating
crops is no good, some meat you need. The Second one is gardening, I believe
they spend at least 12 hours a day just on there garden, planting or just going
through it make sure everything is in ship shape. The third is that there giant
yams, they take such good care of there yams, because they believe the big the
better, has more spiritual power inside.
Language
and Gender Role
The
Ndu languages are the most common language used for the family of the Sepik.
The Ndu stands for “man, ” and this language was made up from the family
Kirschbaum in 1922. There are about 45,000 speakers that know the Abelam
language, but for the people on the outside know this language as latmul. The
Ndu has about twelve languages all together and some are: Latmul, Ngaia,
Manambu, even Abelam, etc. It depends on what tribe you are with because these
languages are still in use. Yes, there is in fact a written language to all
twelve languages, which if they needed it to stay in contact with someone they
could.
From
the last time I checked there was only two genders and that is a female and a
male. The man takes care of the hunting, and preparing meat products, the women
cook, take care of the kids, laundry. They both work on the garden so they are
mainly a team at what they do. Use hunting for a example, it is not a women’s
job to hunt for there meat, only because we are sensitive in some situations. I
honestly think that a man doing laundry wouldn’t work either. There could be
people that looks down at that person, because it’s not in there natural, or
could be cast down from the tribe. The father or the man of the family will,
teach the young child at a age about 8 years old were the brain is like a
sponge and remember the route. A young age is a good age because of by time the
child is a man, will know exactly what to do. Yes, I believe that she would be
because she is the right protagonist for this culture. She would be great a
participating in there daily activities.
Subsistence
and Economy
A
traditional pattern, there yams, though is such a big deal to their culture,
the yams are a very spiritual, and the bigger they are. I f the yams were to
disappear, I really feel like that would mess up the culture. Some of them are
seasonal and one is all year long, the bananas are all year all, and the yams
and sweet potatoes are seasonal. There are meat sources also, but that depends
on how much they hunt. Yes, everyone in the tribe needs to help with the
garden, exceptionally the yams, because they are the most important item to the
culture. That isn’t dividing into sex, age, and/or social class; it’s more of
work together time of thing for the culture. My culture grows their crops, and
hunts their meat, but grows more than hunt. They all work hard to get the food
they need. The one food that is hard to take care of is the yams, because they
are easy to mess up, or get ruined, that’s why they spend so much time on them.
They
all work to get the food that they want; they don’t need to get their food from
a store, or anything like that. I honesty don’t think they are around anything
to buy anyways. Well the men have there labor that is specialized in and the
women are specialized in there’s. Men hunt, women clean those are perfect
examples. The yams are good and it shows wealth if it is grown the biggest out
of everyone else.
Marriage
and Kinship
The
Abelam tribe does the polygyny marriage, where if the man wants more than one
wife he can have it. When they marry, and the wife owns her own pigs, she still
has to ask her husband to sell it. When you have multiple wives, cooking has to
be done separate. The parents do not pick them for them, when they start there
menstruation, that is ay they need to go out and start getting interesting and
finding men or boy who they are interested in. There is on exchange that they
do, and I like to call it the sister exchange, this when the father’s sister
and the brother in law’s sister exchange. Well it seems like that male have
more of a variety of open relationship.
This culture does use endogamy, all there marriage is in the particular
group which is there own, there is enough people in the village to go around,
and not inbreed or anything. There is not a practiced pattern, since you can
get a divorce and find another women to marry. Uncalled for that doesn’t happen
in this culture as a matter of fact I don’t think they even would try that,
because the tribe would most likely cast you out of the tribe.
The
only thing that descent would go on in this tribe would be the sister exchange
but nothing that has to do with uncle and aunts, or cousins. The only time you
would be in kin relationship is if you aren’t married or if you going to get a
divorce, and you have to stay at your parent’s house. They don’t ignore they
are just not in the relationship part; they like to be new family, and not just
in the family. The father or the brother in law, and the reason for this is the
sister exchange. Inheritance is
patrilineal organized. This concerns mainly landownership and clan membership
though there are many exceptions that give rise to disputes. Most likely father
and brother would be under father, and sister and mother would be under mother,
since there are multiple wives.
Social
and Political Organization
The
Abelam tribe is a more general egalitarian, they treat each other equally, and
everyone has access to power, and though would be the yams, each person has a
chance to grow the biggest yam, not just one individual. Yes, they all have the
opportunity, to have equal society and well my tribe is very good with that,
how they work together, men hunt with other men, and women clean with other
women. Everyone has the oppurtunity to grow the big yam to have the most power.
Ok
this might sound funny, but its all about the yams, the bigger the yam the more
power you have and then you give it to your enemy and pretty much have a
comptition, with him for next season. The biggest yam is about 80 to 90 inches,
its a well good and healthy yam, if its that big or even bigger. As the season
goes someone new will have the power or the same, it depends every year. It
really depends on that person and how well they can take care of their yam. To
us we have money and to them a yam shows responsibility in this tribe, and
sometimes money doesn’t make everyone rich in same places. No one really
contains, the law, but every tribe has a chief, and I am pretty sure they have
a chief who makes the rules. Each punishment is different for each crime down,
you could get beaten, killed, or even banished, depending on the situation.
I
believe that punishment is meant, and violate is not meant to happen. One would
be if someone stole something from someone, this would result in a fight or
even to death, and if someone kills but didn’t mean to then the chief would
there for make a punishment for them which would be positive because the chef
said it was ok. Another one would be, just an agreement over something, then
could go wrong, which would be negative, but when the chief comes in and sets a
punishment because of there action, that’s ok. Every action you make can and
will affect anyone in any ways, and if it were bad a bad result would be bad,
if its good a positive would come good.
Belief
System and The Art
The
most religious belief the have is the korambo and the grounds its on they call
the amei. The korambo is a ceremonial house, and the amei is stand for the
ceremonial grounds. This is, were there rituals are where they deal with the
circle of life. This will hold, when girls and there first menstruation, and
dealing with marriage. Another would be a death ritual; this is where they
leave the body for a whole day and night. My culture was monotheistic, because
they really just believe in their spirits; this is like there god, and their
name is Ngwallndu spirits. They were around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago and was
flooded with sea water and about 1,000 years ago, from what little people they
had moved westward toward the Ndu family, which is where is all started. The
same ritual that was held in the Korambo was where they held their death
rituals, which was very unique. They left their bodies out for a whole day and
night, so that the Ngwallndu spirit could come and take them, to their heaven.
This is very important, because there girls becoming a women, and the death
being then there right full resting place, so I really don’t think they would
function with out it.
The
Abelam has an artwork of paint; they see their paint as a magical as a
substance, that’s like they are being given a woodcarving. They feel like it
become powerful and active, which is a metaphor for it being a magical
substance. The Abelam music is like an Oceania, that is played with fine flute
music for solo and ensembles, as well as other wind music a fine flute and wind
music. Not much of performer they are, but there religious arts are what they
do at the korambo, all there religious arts are held the and everything they do
is in a helping way for there people.
Culture Change
The most
affected culture toward the Abelam would be the Western Culture. The Western
culture is trying to bring there own rituals, and traditions to the Abelam
tribe, and by this happening the negative impact is going to be losing the
traditions and rituals that the Abelam tribe has grown toward, and grew up by.
The positive impact that might come from this is that the Abelam might learn
something new, but they will always keep their own rituals, and traditions.
There
will always be something good, and something bad that comes in any situation.
The most things that the Abelam could be influence is that by the Western
Culture coming in, the Abelam could lose their identity. By this happening, the
information about them isn’t well known. This culture could become a market
economy, as time goes on. This could take time because of how small they our
but their food supplies could indeed get them in that direction.
Sources
http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Abelam.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1039/Abelam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelam_people
http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/yammasko.htm
http://www.uh.edu/~jcrowder/Abelam_Scaglion.pdf
