John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series Torembi and the Sepik A Study of Village Life in New Guinea |
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Topic No. 17: The Spirit House and Local Government ~ Photos 332-347 |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series Torembi and the Sepik A Study of Village Life in New Guinea |
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Topic No. 17: The Spirit House and Local Government ~ Photos 332-347 |
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| 332. The Sawos have no hereditary chiefs or even village headmen. Nor is there any form of collective administration for the tribe as a whole. Instead, a tribe here is a loose grouping of independent villages sharing a common language and tradition. Decisions in the village are not made by any individual person, elected or otherwise, and then imposed on the rest. Instead, everyone shares in the debates – all the men that is. (Women at bride price ceremony in incomplete Spirit House at Kosimbi, north of Torembi) |
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| 333. The main focus of village life here is still the Spirit House – otherwise known as the haus tambaran or men’s house (since women are not usually allowed inside it). There are two buildings like this in every village, one for each moiety. (Haus tambaran in Torembi 3; also incomplete) |
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| 334. Since they are obviously the most important buildings in the community, they are built with great care. Much the same materials are used for a family home, but a Spirit House is meant to last for 50 – 60 years. |
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| 335. People here believe that the spirits of their ancestors live in the forest, but these are invited to the haus from time to time, for consultation. It is, therefore, decorated with their faces. |
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| 336. The apex of the gables of the Spirit House will also display the totems of the clans represented. This is the tarragaw or sea eagle. |
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| 337. Inside the haus the men either squat on stools near the fire, or stretch out on the benches which line the walls. The fires smoulder day and night, to discourage mosquitos. |
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| 338. From the ceiling are suspended racks, storing in addition to personal possessions, the symbols both of traditional belief and male dominance … including the ancestral flutes, hidden away high up in the roof, where a woman would never dare to look even if she did get inside the building. |
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| 339. The ‘mwai masks’ are kept here too, one for each clan. They are worn on special occasions and are decorated with the faces of female ancestors. With new grass skirts attached they hide the bodies of the dancers. And there’s enough room for the men inside the mask to use a short flute to impersonate the spirits. |
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| 340.The heavy slit gongs or garamuts are positioned at one end of the building, and are decorated with the totem of the moiety. |
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| 341. Since a village here is made up of independent households (though these may co-operate at times), there is no authority to determine what should be done and when. So, many men spend much of their time here, talking or resting: and most will doze during the heat of the day … though their wives may then be working hard in the bush! They chew betel nut more or less continuously, and the ground inside and out is stained with the red pulp, which results from mixing betel with lime. |
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| 342. From the point of view of local government, the most important item in the men’s house is the debating stool, which features significantly in all debates. |
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| 343. The stool has broad shoulders, on which will be placed a switch
made of leaves.
During a debate the man who has the floor will strike the stool from time to time, to emphasise his points. |
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| 344. He’ll talk as long as he wants. Then someone else may take over or there may be a lull before another man steps forward. Anyone, that is any man, who wants to speak, can do so; and some debates last all day. Eventually an agreement is reached and is accepted by those present. This is government by consensus, New Guinea style. |
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| 345. When an understanding is reached between two parties or a dispute is settled – in this case over an attack on a woman in Torembi 3 – the agreement is sealed by the gift of betel nut and a chicken. |
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| 346. Outside the Spirit House is a large dancing ground – seldom used now, but important in earlier days, especially the mound in the background, known as a ‘waak’. |
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| 347. This one in Torembi 3 is now occupied by a palm tree. In the not too distant past, however, it would have been decorated with the remains of enemies killed in battle. Clearly, much has changed here in 80 years. |
Text, photos and recordings
by John Tyman
Intended for Educational Use
Only.
Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum,
Oxford University, 2010.
Contact Dr.
John Tyman for more information regarding licensing.
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William Hillman ~ Brandon, Manitoba
~ Canada
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