Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 2 - Oceania - F potx

There areapproximately 20,000 Fore who are separated by the Wanevinti Mountains into the North Fore andSouth Fore regions, with the population of thelatter being somewhat greater than th

Schiefenhovel,W.(1988).Geburtswerhalten undreprodukrive Foi

Strategien der Eipo: Ergebnisse humanethologischerund ethnF

medizinischerUntersuchungen imzentralenBerglandwonIrian

Jaya (West-Neuguinea), Indonesien Mensch, Kultur, und

UmweltimzentralenBerglandvonWest-Neuguinea, no. 16 ETHNONYMS: Fiwaga, Foe, Foi'i, Kutubuans, Mobi, Mubi Berlin: D Reimer

Identification. The Foiinhabit the MubiRiverValleyand theshoresofLake Kutubu on thefringeofthe southern

high-lands in Papua New Guinea They divide themselves into three subgroups: thegurubumena, or 'Kutubu people"; the

awamena,themiddle-MubiValleydwellers;and thefoimena

proper, theso-called LowerFoiwhoreside near the junction

of the Mubi and Kikoririvers.The term'Foi" formerly ap-plied to the commonlanguage of all threesubgroups.Itwas

subsequently employed as an ethnonym by the first

missionaries

Location. Mostmembers of the Foi population inhabit the banks of themiddlereachesof theMubi River,between ap-proximately 143025' and 143035' E and between6027' and 6°30'S ThealluvialMubiRiverValleyisapproximately670 meters inaltitude and abuts thehigherranges of thecentral

highlandsintheSouthernHighlandsProvince of Papua New Guinea.The regionis in every sense intermediate between

thehighlandsvalleystothenorthand the coastal regions of the Gulf Province to the south The southeasterly monsoon brings considerable rainfallduringthemiddle monthsof the year,while the months betweenOctoberandMarch are rela-tively drier

Demography. The 1979 Papua New Guinea National Census counted some4,000 Foiandaccounted for another

400 Foiliving elsewhere in thecountry Foi territory com-prises 1,689 squarekilometers,andthepopulationdensity is 2.4 persons per square kilometer However, the Foi

settle-mentarea isrestricted to thebanksofthe Mubi Riverand the shores ofLake Kutubu;over 60 percentoftheir land is re-served for huntingandis notpermanentlyinhabited.TheFoi are consequently separated from their neighbors by buffer

zones of uninhabited bush To the north are the Angal-speakinggroupsoftheNembiPlateau;to thesouthwest are the FasuorNamu Popeople;totheeast are Kewaspeakers of the Erave River Valley Directly south of the Foi are small groupsofKasere,Ikobi,and Namumi speakers of the interior Gulf Province

linguisic Affiliation Foi and Fiwaga are the only

lan-guageswithin the East Kutubuan Family of the Kutubuan LanguageStock It isclosely related only to the languages of the West Kutubuan Family, which includes the Fasu, Kasere, and Namumi languages, but it also exhibits some small amountofcognationwith other interior Papuan languages such asMikaruan (Daribi) and Kaluli

History and Cultural Relations

It islikely that the Foifirst enteredtheMubi Valley from the

southwest,bringingdomesticated sago with them.Although theFoi werebriefly contactedalongthe southern reaches of their territoryatdifferenttimes byexplorers moving inland from the Papuan Gulfcoast,itwasnotuntilIvanChampion first sightedLake Kutubuin 1935 and consequently visited the lake onfoot during hisBamu-Puraripatrolthat regular

60 Foi

contactwasestablished between the Foi andEuropeans in

theformofthepatrolpostatLake Kutubu.The

Unevangel-ized FieldsMissionbeganactivitiesatboth LakeKutubu and

the middle MubiValley in 1951, andbythe late 1960sthe

traditional religious life of the Foihad been largely

super-sededbyChristianity.From 1950the Foi wereadministered

fromvarious highlands patrol posts until the early 1970s,

when anewadministrative center wasbuilt and government

healthstations werereestablishedintheMubiValley.

Austra-lian administrators introduced variousEuropean and other

foreign vegetables to the area, including Singapore taro,

pumpkins, chokos, Cavendishbananas, and pineapples In

1988,largeoilreserves werediscoveredwestofLake Kutubu

inFasu territory.The Foi of the upperMubiValley

tradition-ally traded and occasionally fought with their highlands

neighborstothe north.They exportedthereddishoil of the

kara'o tree (Campnosperma brevipetiolata) and in return

re-ceivedpearlshells, pigs,andaxblades.TheFoi ofLake

Ku-tubuwererathermoreunder theinfluence,because of their

close ties with the intervening Fasupeople, with the Bosavi

complex tothe west,anditappears asiftheboys' homosexual

initiationcult,the gisaro-kosaceremonialcomplex, and other

Bosaviculturaltraits had moved eastward into Foi territory

shortly beforeChampion'scontact Inthelasttwenty years,

the morepopulous andpoliticallyascendantpeoples ofthe

highlandshave exertedsome amountofculturalhegemony

overthe Foi.The Foi havethereforeexperimented with the

southernhighlandspork-and-pearl-shellexchange inrecent

years Relations witheasternandsouthern neighborsappear

to have beenmore tenuous

Settlements Foi communal life centers around a men's longhouse,

whereinresidetherepresentativesofanywherebetween three

and thirteen patrilineally composed exogamous dispersed

clans Villagesrange in sizefrom about20peopletoalmost

300 Inthevillage, womenresideinsmaller housesflanking

thelonghouse;thelonghousecanreachlengthsof55meters.

The separate domiciles of men and women stem from Foi

men's belief thatcontactwith women's menstrualsecretions

isdeleterioustotheir health The Foisubsistenceeconomy,

however, revolves around nuclearfamily bushhouses,

scat-tered in the territory surrounding the longhouse village,

where a man, his wives, and children reside on the man's

property. Most Foi move backand forth between bush and

longhouseregularly, but the longhouseistechnically onlya

public,ceremonialvenue.Mubi Rivervillagesareclosetothe

riveritself and much trafficis by dugoutcanoe.

Economy

Subsistence andCommercial Aczivities The Foidepend

uponthefollowingsubsistence methodsroughlyinthis order

ofimportance: sago processing,gardening,tree crop

cultiva-tion (including manta pandanus and breadfruit), foraging,

fishing, and hunting Inaddition,pigs aresemidomesticated

andare slaughteredbothcasually and,on ceremonial

occa-sions, inlargenumbers.Traditionally, the Foitendedto

di-vide theiryear into seasons, dominatedby theonset of the

rainy season inearlymid-year,atwhichtimethey leftthe

vil-lage and moved to thehuntingpreserves where they would

trap,fish,andforageuntilthedrierweather returnedaround

October They then returnedtothe village to cut newgardens

(according to standard swidden methods), make sago, and care forpigs

Trade Foi mentraditionally carried on and still maintain

avigoroustrade withtheirhighlandsneighbors tothenorth They export kara'o oil,black-palm bows, and cassowaries and

in returnreceive pearl shells andshoats In premission times,

theyalso received cultobjects andprocedures in trade Division ofLabor Foi subsistence tasks are sexually di-morphic: women process sago, tend gardens, forage, check trapsand weirs, carefor pigs andchildren, and weave baskets andstringbags.Menbuild houses and canoes,fashion weap-ons,do the initialtasks of garden land preparation and sago grove management,build traps and weirs, hunt with ax and dog, and engage in trade and ceremonial exchange In pre-missiontimes,the men also performed fertility and healing ceremonies

Land Tenure Land is owned by localclan segments as corporate units,thoughitsindividual members assert more or less permanent usufructuary rights in certain tracts These rights are usuallypassed on from father to son Women main-taintheirhusbands'productiveresources but maintainrights

in their natal clans' lands,should the occasionarise Land canbe sold, and in precontact times it was often granted to immigrants as a means of extending patronage to refugees fromother areas

Kinship KinGroups and Descent The local totemically named patrilineal clan is the exogamous unit among the Foi and var-iesconsiderably in size.Smaller unnamed 'lineages" consist-ingof a man and his adult sons are the units of marriage ne-gotiation, though the local clanisthe unit of exogamyand

bride-wealth distribution Descent is patrilineal Orphaned children are sometimesclaimed by their mother's brother, the clan of 'true origin' inthe Foi view

KinshipTerminology. Tothe extent that this is a useful characterization, the Foihave an Iroquois-type terminology Adults often address each otherby theirteknonyms if not otherwiserelated Inthe past, reciprocal food-sharing names (special personal names used by those who shared food with-outobligationtodoso) were common as modes of address, andchildren of people whosharedsuch aname often called each other by their parents' food-sharing name

Marriage and Family Marriage Betrothal isarranged by the fathers of boys and girls at an early age Upon the presentation of bride-wealth (consisting of pearl shells, cowrie shells, meat, and currency)

by thegroom's father and mother's brother to the same rela-tivesofthe bride, a girltakesup residencein her husband's house.Bride-wealth payments are often made in installments that stretchout foryears after marriage When a person dies, the spouse's clan makes funeral payments to the father's, mother's, andmother's mother'sclans ofthe deceased These payments effectivelycancel any residual claims of outstand-ingbride-wealth Divorce isinfrequent.Polygyny is practiced

by a small number of men

Domestic Unit A manhas oneor morebush houses in

various parts of his territory where he and his wife or wives

process sago,garden,andcarefor pigs.A manand his grown

sons oftenlivecloseenoughtoeach other for theirwivesto

cooperate in subsistencetasks

Inheritance A manpassesonhiswealth,land,and other

property to his sons, real and adopted

Socialization Children stay with their mothers in the

women'shouses untilaboutage 2, whenboysmoveintothe

men's house with their fathers Foi children learnby

trial-and-error imitation rather than overt instruction and

reward/punishment

Sociopolitical Organization

Political Organization. Three or fourvillages occupying

contiguous territories, whose longhouses are close to each

other, constitute anextendedcommunity Lessthan10

per-centof allmarriages take placebetweenvillagesfrom

differ-entextended communities Within thisunit, setbattlesdid

notoccur, though sorceryandhomicide did The extended

community was the traditionalunit of warfarealliance and

nowadays isthepoliticalunitofceremonialexchange.Inthe

1970s the Foiborrowedthepork-and-shell-exchange cycleof

theirhighlandsneighbors Thisinvolvesperiodiclarge-scale

pigslaughters,fueled bythecollection anddisbursement of

pledges of shell wealth Debtsinporkand shells accumulate

with each pigkill andvillagestaketurns indischargingtheir

obligationstocreditors.Theseactivitiesarecoordinated and

controlled bybig-men

Social Control Within eachlocal clan, oneortwo men

occupy positions ofrespect and authority, based on former

prowess inwarfare, success innegotiating marriages and

ex-change relationships, oratorical ability, magic, skillin

heal-ing, and reputedknowledgeofsorcery Eachvillagehastwo to

four suchbig-menwhorepresent thevillageasawholeto

Out-siders.'Socialcontrol" among Foidependsonthedegreeto

which the astuteness and judgmentofbig-men is

acknowl-edged by other men

Conflict While majorwarfarebetweenforeignand distant

villages was notendemic,sorcery,ambush,andassassination

werecertainlyregularoccurrences intraditionaltimes.Fearof

sorcery and revengekilling andconsiderations ofhigh

death-compensationpayments to thevictim'skinconstituted

mod-erately effective sanctions against violence and homicide in

the past; ethical commandments and fear of retribution in

the Christian afterlife passed on by missionaries havebeen

absorbed as models and incentives for correct behavior

Homicide and violencetodayare rare, suicide lessso

Religion and Expressive Culture

ReligiousBeliefs Intraditional times, Foimenengaged in

avarietyofcultactivities alldesignedto ensurefertilityand

heal sickness by appeasingghosts All sickness except that

caused by sorcery was believedto occurthroughtheagency of

ghosts Inaddition,mensoughttoacquireghosts'powers of

magic, prescience, and sorcery for themselves Accordingto

the Foi, alldeadpeoplebecomeghosts, and thepower and

the malevolence of certainkindsofghostsare aresult of the

manner of death: violent homicideproducesthe mostviru

lently malevolent and powerful ghosts, while the ghosts of dead people who die morepeacefullyareless efficacious and dangerous Ghosts take the form of certain birds, chiefly

fruit- and nectar-eating birds The trees which attract such birds,including several Ficus varieties, are considered the fa-vored abode of ghosts Other places thought to attract ghosts are the spots where powerful magic spells were once per-formed, still pools ofwater, and whirlpools formed in sharp bends in the rivers In the past, men fasted and sleptnear

theseplacesto establish contact with ghosts in dreams Such cult activity ended in the late 1960s following effective

missionization.

Religious Practtioners. Certain men became skilled in suchhealingtechniques andrenowned for their rapport with

powerful ghosts These men also took the initiative for in-ducting young boys into the cult secrets Men attempt to pur-chaseknowledge of sorcery and the associated substances, often fromneigboring peoples Knowledge of effective sorcery

is associatedwithbig-men

Ceremonies The'Bi'a'a Guabora' (arrowhead cult) was

asecret male fertility cult designed to ensure success in hunt-ing.Itsrites wereperformed in conjunction with funeral

cere-monies,widowremarriage,and thecompletionof a new

long-house The usane habora was the major traditional healing ceremony It was followedbyaslaughter of pigs and the

ex-changeforpork orshellwealthand nighttimemen'sdancing

accompanied bydrums Thesorohabora was amore secular pig kill and exchange to celebrate the completion of a new longhouse or anespecially large canoe The nighttime perfor-mances at these ceremoniesincluded the singing of laments

inthememory ofdeceased men More recently, the Foi have borrowed theMendi-Nipasapig kill andexchange, which has

provided themwithlinksto theregional exchange networks

of thesouthernhighlands

Arts Themosthighlydeveloped artform among the Foi is ceremonialsong-poetry, composed by women as sagowork songs and performed by men These songs are laments

com-posed tocommemorate deceased men.They make useofa wide rangeof imagery, the most important of which is the linking of the deceased'slifespan to the seriesof places he oc-cupied and made use of during his life The Foi also have a large corpus of myths that they recite in casual recreational contexts Graphic art, bycontrast, isnonexistent

Medicine The 'Usi" and 'Hisare" (ghost-appeasement

cults) were the major cults of the middle Mubi area.They in-volved the preparation of certain potions, the learning of techniques of foreign-body removal from afflictedpersons, andinstruction in sorcery Something over 60 percent of all boys were inducted into Usi in pre-1960 times Adult men were also subject to a number of food taboos in traditional

times,the rationaleofwhichwas to preventpremature aging

and weakness by avoiding items associated with femaleness and old age These taboos have relaxed somewhat since 1970 Death and Afterlife Ghosts were expected to leave the community of the living and takeup residence in the after-world located in the distant east This belief now competes with vague ideas concerning Christian Heaven A widow is thought likely to attract the attention of her dead husband's ghost and is consideredparticularlydangerous to othermen for some time after herhusband's death For this reason,

wid-62 Foi

ows who areabouttoremarryhavetoundergovarious

purifi-cation ritualsdesignedto forestall the anger of their former

husbands'ghosts.Ghostsarealso believedtobe the agentsby

whichmen caninduce illnessintheir sisters' children ifthey

become frustrated over insufficiencies in the bride-wealth

they have receivedfor thesewomen.Onthe otherhand,men

seek throughdreams andintheirhealing cult rites to

estab-lishcontact with ghosts whom theyconsider thesource of

magical techniques andknowledge of futureevents

See also Kaluli, Kewa, Mendi

Bibliography Weiner, James F (1987) 'Diseases of the Soul: Sickness,

Agency,and the Men's Cult among theFoiofNewGuinea."

In Dealing with Inequality, edited by M Strathern

Cam-bridge: Cambridge UniversityPress

Weiner, James F (1988).The Heartof the Pearl Shell: The

Mythological DimensionofFoi Sociality Berkeley:University

of California Press

Weiner, James F., ed (1988) MountainPapuans: Historical

and Comparative Perspectivesfrom New GuineaFringe

High-lands Societies AnnArbor University ofMichigan Press

Williams, F E (1940) Natives ofLake Kutubu, Papua

Oceania Monograph no 6 Sydney: OceaniaPublications

JAMES F WEINER

Fore

ETHNONYMS: none

Orientation Identification The Fore people aresubsistence-oriented

swidden horticulturalists who live in the Okapa District of

the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea

Al-though they shared a common language, they traditionally

hadno group nameforthemselves,no encompassingpolitical

organization, and no unifying collective ceremonies. The

Forearewell known for beingvictimsofanalways-fatal,

de-generative neurological disease, called kuru, which medical

researchersnowbelieveiscausedbyanunconventional,slow

virus infectionof the centralnervous system thatwas

trans-mitted in the past through cannibalistic consumption of

thosewho died of the disease.With the discontinuation of

thispractice, Foresociety is now recoveringfrom the

devas-tatingeffects ofkuru.

Location. Foreterritory, centeredon6°35'S and145°35'

E, is a wedge of approximately 950 square kilometers,

boundedonthe northbythe Kratke Mountains and onthe

westandthe southeast by theYaniand the LamariRivers,

re-spectively.Inthismountainouslower-montanezone,altitude

variesfrom 400 to 2,500 meters, although most people live within the altitudinal range of 1,000-2,200 meters Broad, grass-covered valleys occur inthe north, aresult of human clearing and cultivationactivities.Inthe south, the tropical forest canopy isbroken only by more recently cleared settle-ment sites assmall groups ofForecontinue to pioneer in un-inhabited areas along their southern border

Demography There areapproximately 20,000 Fore who are separated by the Wanevinti Mountains into the North Fore andSouth Fore regions, with the population of thelatter

being somewhat greater than that of the former Whilethe overall population density averages 21 persons per square ki-lometer, the NorthForepeopleliveatnearly twice thedensity

asdo the South Fore

linguistic Affiliation TheForelanguage, with three dis-tinctdialects,isthesouthernmost member of the East Cen-tralFamily, East NewGuinea HighlandsStock,Trans-New Guinea Phylum of Papuan languages The Fore share territor-ialboundaries with speakers ofsevenother mutually

unintel-ligible languages Recently, linguistmissionarieshave

devel-opedanorthographyfor thelanguageand Fore now existsin written form

History and Cultural Relations

The ancestral homeof the Fore people is unknown, but lin-guisticand geneticaffinities and vegetative patterns strongly indicate migrationroutesfrom the north and east Australian prospectorsfirstpenetrated the highlands in the early 1930s andAustralian exploratory patrols entered the region in the late 1940s, bringing with them steel axes, sodium salt, and cloth In the early 1950s, a Lutheran mission was founded at Tarabo, the colonial government opened a patrol post at Okapa, and various new garden crops, domesticatedanimals, itemsofclothing,and other manufactured goods were

intro-duced.Also, subsistence activities began to be augmented by

a nascent commercial economy The first coffee seedlings wereplanted in 1955, and Fore men began to venture out of the region as migrant wage laborers In 1957, the Kuru Re-search Center was opened at Awande to begin intensive study

ofthis disease Cannibalistic practices ceased about 1960, and since then theannual number of kuru deaths has fallen fromabout200per yeartoless than 10 per year at present By themid-1960s, Okapahadbecome the regional administra-tivecenter and boasted a hospital, school, and severalsmall stores.Elections also had been held for the local government council.Today, most people have access to some formal edu-cation, medical care, and other government services, and manyhave converted to Christianity The Fore have come to accept a common groupidentity, and the degree of social iso-lation and enmity has declined dramatically They now liveas active citizensof the Nation-state of Papua New Guinea

Settlements Fore settlements are relatively dispersed over the landscape with small groups of people living together at the edge ofthe forest in close proximity to their food gardens The main resi-dential unit is the hamlet which, in earlier times, typically consisted ofone or twocommunalmen's houses andarowof several smallerhousesoccupied by women and children An open space withcookingpitsseparated the two types of

dwell-ings Behindthe women's houses at theedgeof theclearing

wouldbe one or two small structureswherewomen stayed

during menstruation and childbirth The entire settlement

was surrounded by a defensive stockade Today, the men's

housesand stockadesaregone andmostfamilies livetogether

in onehouse,ofteninlarger aggregated villages.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities Fore

subsist-ence isbasedon asystem of swiddenhorticultureandpig

hus-bandrythat isaugmentedtoa smalldegreebyhuntingand

foragingactivities Newgardensareclearedinforestedareas

usingslash-and-burmtechniques.Afterfencing,theplotsare

plantedusing adigging-stick technology.Themostimportant

crop is the sweet potato, whichis thestaple food forboth

people andpigs Pigsare amajor form of wealthamong the

Fore and successful pig raisers are much admired Treatedlike

valuedpets, pigs live in closephysicalproximitytotheir

keep-ers and are fed gardenproducedaily Gardens also contain

smaller amounts of other tubers (taro, yams,manioc),pitpit

(Saccharum edule and Setaria palmifolia), maize, winged

beans,bananas, sugarcane, andavariety ofleafyvegetables

and herbs In recentdecades,many new crops havebeen

in-corporatedinto Foregardens, includinglimabeans,peanuts,

cabbages,pumpkins, onions, andpapayas Coffeegrowingis

a major commercial venture in which nearly all Fore

participate

IndustrialArts Aswithmany of theirneighbors,the Fore

havelargely abandonedlocalmanufactureofclothing,tools,

andutensils, relyingonarticles of Western manufacture that

are purchased with the proceeds from cash crops House

building andfencingofgardensandinterhamletpathwaysare

theprincipal maleindustrialarts; utilitarian netbags,made of

hand-spun bark string, are still manufactured by women

Prior to the 1950s, Forealso extractedsalt for local use and

for trade fromthe ash of Coir gigantea, an indigenoustall

grass This lastindustryhasbeensuperseded bythe

introduc-tion of commercial salt

Trade Regionaltradewasalwaysanimportant meansby

which Foreacquiredgoodsnotavailablelocally.Tradeitems

passed throughcomplex networks of hand-to-hand

transac-tions between established tradingpartners who rarely lived

more than oneday's walkapart Ingeneral, stone axblades

came from neighbors to the north and west inexchange for

locally manufactured salt, fur pelts, bird plumes, andbetel

nuts;black-palmbowsand arrowheadsweretradedfromthe

southeast for saltandpiglets; occasionally, afewshellswere

obtained fromPapuanpeoplestwodaystothesouthfor

to-bacco and net bags However, nowadays most Forerely on

small stores and the periodic market inOkapatoobtain

non-local goods

Division of Labor The Foredefineonly a few tasks as the

exclusiveresponsibilityofmenorwomen.Ingardening,men

fell the trees while women clear the underbrush andpilethe

debris forburning.Womenthendomostofthe soil

prepar-tion and planting whilemenbuild theenclosingfences The

cultivation, tending, harvesting, and transporting of most

crops falls towomen, but men arefree to assistwith these

tasksifthey so choose Pandanus and tobacco are cultivated

only by men as are a fewrituallyimportant, red varieties of

su-garcane,bananas,yams, and taro Womenundertakethe

pri-maryburdens of pigtending under thedose supervision of men Childcare again ultimately falls to women although menand oldersiblingsregularlyassist.Most food isprepared andcooked by women with mentakingmajor responsibility for obtaining firewood and preparing the earth-oven fires Womentraditionallymadeallitemsofclothing andnet bags, and men fashionedweapons, stone axes, and some items of personal adornment

Land Tenure Land rights are held communally by the male and female members oflocal clan groups whocurrently

occupy the land and controlaccessto it.Gardenplotsareal

locatedfor the use of memberfamilies, and occasionally

non-members will begranted temporaryusufructuary rights No Foreland isindividually owned

Kinship Kinshipisadominant organizingprincipleof Fore society

Although genealogies normally can only be recalled to the

secondascending generation,all significant social groups are

assumed to bebasedon shared kinship, with the predomi-nantideologystressingpatrdinealconnections Fore kinship, however, is not a simple reflection of actual genetic related-ness ofindividuals Previously unrelated newcomers are easily incorporated askin throughvariousmechanismsofadoption,

affiliation, and mutual consent Byfulfillingtheobligations

ofloyalty and cooperation expected ofkin, people become one blood."

KinGroup.andDescent The Fore conceiveoftheirkin

groups asbeinghierarchicallyorganized and based on recog-nizedpatrilinealdescent.Thesmallest unit iscalled alounei,

or "line."Membersof a given lineusually reside togetherin a single hamlet and are an exogamous unit Several lines to-gether form the next group level, the subclan, members of which live in close proximity to each other and consider

themselves closely related; they may or may not be

exoga-mous.Thelargestkin-basedgroup is theclan, composed of severalsubclans;the clan is not exogamous Although mem-bers of aclan recognize a common territory, it is not uncom-mon for some members to reside outsidethese boundaries Kinship Terminology Fore terminology distinguishes

siblings according to sex andrelative age and uses the Iro-quoisschemefor cousin terms In thefirst ascending

genera-tion, bifurcatemerging occurs

Marriage and Family Marriage Marriage among the Fore involves the relatives

of thebride andthe groom in a lengthy and complex series of prestations In the past, thiscould commence soon after the birth ofthefemalewhen,followingthe customofinfant be-trothal, she would bepromised as the future wife of a young crosscousin Among the North Fore, this preferred relation-shipbetween spousesincludesbothmatrilateraland

patrila-teral crosscousins, but among the South Fore, patrilateral

cross cousins are forbidden to marry Today, it is more

com-mon for a couple to makeknown their intention to marry and therebyinitiate the negotiations betweentheirrespective rel-ativesconcerning thebride-wealthpayment that culminates all marriage ceremonies The newly married couple resides with relatives ofthe husband Many Fore men aspire to

64 Fore

polygyny, but the lack of marriageablewomencausedby the

highdeath rate fromkurumeansthatrelativelyfewmen

suc-ceed.Although most younger widowsdoremarry, manymen

spend longperiods withoutwives. Under these conditions,

mostmarriagesterminatewithadeath,and divorceaccounts

foronly 5-10 percentof dissolutions.

Donmetic Unit In the past,the Fore observedstrict

resi-dentialsegregation stemmingfrombeliefs about thedangers

posedto menbyfemalemenstrualpollution Allmenabove

8-10 yearsof age lived communally inlarge men's houses,

and women and youngerchildren residedinsmallerseparate

houses Today, residential segregation of the householdis

rarely maintained Nuclearfamilies,oftenaugmentedby

eld-erly relatives orunmarried siblings of the husband or wife,

oc-cupy individual houses andare the primaryproduction and

consumption units in Fore society

Inheritance The Fore inherit land rights and valuables

through their recognized patriline Although women, after

marriage,retainrightstolandof their natal group,they

can-notpass theseon totheir children

Socialization Frombirth, Fore infants enjoy nearly

con-stantphysical contact with parents,siblings, and other

care-takers As toddlers, they are free to investigate the world

nearbyand oftenareencouragedinspontaneousactsof

ag-gression From anearly age,girlsareexpectedto assisttheir

mothers ingardening tasks Youngboys form small groups

basedonfriendship androamhamletlands exploring,

hunt-ing, and playing together Occasionally, such groups build

their ownhouses andcook,eat,and sleeptogether.At 8-10

yearsof age,boys begin their formal initiationintothe secret

world of men where the valuesof cooperation, mutual

sup-port, andloyalty arereinforced

Sociopolitical Organization

SocialOrganization. Foresocietyischaracterized as

rela-tively egalitarian, meaning thatmostsignificantdistinctions

insocialstatus arebasedonlyonageandsex.Thereis no

sys-tem ofrankedstatusesandnosocialclasses.Nonetheless,

in-equalitiesdoexist Mendominate thepublicarenaand

con-sider themselves superior to women, who are called 'the

handsofmen."Also,mencompete with eachother for

politi-cal influenceand prestige with themoresuccessful

individu-als achieving regional prominence and increased access to

wives, valuables, and resources

PoliticalOrganization. The traditionalpolitical

organiza-tion is based ontheparish,or"district,"whichiscomposed of

oneor moreadjacenthamlets whose members recognize and

defend a common territory,shareonesacred spiritplace,and

ideally settle internaldisputespeaceably. Parishes are

subdi-vided into "sections" which, in the past, werethe effective

military units Parish sections responded jointly to threats

and attack andnegotiated the settlement of hostilities

Sec-tions,inturn,arecomposedof"lines,"whichareexogamous

descent groups aswell aspolitical units Although parishes

and sections are coresidential groups, rather than descent

groupswhose composition changesconstantly, thetenuous

groupunityoftenisreinforcedinthelanguageof

consanguin-ity with membersreferringtothemselvesas'oneblood." All

sectionsand parishesareledby leaders,calledbig-men,who

command the respect andloyaltyof their followersby

demon-strating superiorskill in activities necessary for survival of the group They initiate and organize most group activities (in-cluding warfare), direct economic transactions with other groups, and recruit immigrants to bolster group numbers A

big-manmust be a strong, dominating figure, an aggressive warrior,and askilled orator and negotiator He also must face constant competition from other would-be leaders who will usurp his authorityif he falters Today, the local political sys-tem iscomplemented by the national system of elective of-fices and Fore big-men oftenstand for provincial and na-tionalassembly seats

Social Control Big-men, asfight leaders and peace nego-tiators, play an important role incontrolling the level of hos-tilitiesbetweenparishes.The threat of sorcery also is a power-ful means of social control for members of different parishes Within parishes, unity depends on reciprocity and coopera-tion among members Perceived violations of these group norms arepublicly denounced by offended parties and often lead todemands for restitution Actions especially prohibited within a parish are stealing, adultery, fighting with lethal weapons,and sorcery The imposition of sanctions, however, restslargely on the authorityof big-men and their ability to command the cooperation of others.Withinhouseholds, the structured antagonism between men and their wives can be influenced by the intervention of close relatives and also is modulatedby fear that wivessecretlymay contaminate abu-sive husbands with menstrual secretions

Conflict In the past, interparishwarfare was a normal as-pectof everyday Forelife.Drivenby an ethic that demanded retaliation for actual or suspected wrongs, sporadic raids and counterraids were made into enemy territory to kill those thought culpable and to destroy their houses, pigs, and gar-dens Fighting tended to occur between members of neigh-boring parishes, and at any given time a parish was likely to be

atpeace with someneighbors and actively prosecuting hostil-itieswith others By mutual consent, peace could be declared, but the tenor of interparish relations was subject to rapid turnabout

Religion and Expressive Culture ReligituBeliefs Fore religion consists of a complex body

of beliefs concerning nature, human nature, and the spiritual realm It is animated by a host of ancestor spirits, ghosts of the recently deceased, and nature spirits Central figures in Fore cosmology include a sacred creator-spirit couple who emerged from a swamp in South Fore and traveled through the region, leaving humansand many useful species of plants and animals along the way They also provided fundamental teachings for acceptable human existence emphasizing the themes of fertility, strength, cooperation, andloyaltythat are expressed in myths and ritual activities This couple exists in many manifestations among the Fore, and they make their presenceknownmost frequently by giving their voices to the playing of sacred flutes on all important ceremonial occa-sions.Ghosts and nature spirits are capable of causing illness

or misfortunewhen offended and of rewarding respectful be-haviorby ensuring abundant gardens and wild resources In recent decades, many Forehave been evangelized by Chris-tian missionaries

ReligiousPractitioners Therearenospecifically religious

specialistsamong the Forealthoughsomepeople,both men

and women, areknown forhaving superior knowledge of and

access to the spirit world Chief among these people are

curersandsorcererswhoareable tomanipulate spiritual

pow-ers to their own ends

Ceremonies The most important ritualcomplexamong

the Fore revolvesaround the initiation ofboysintomanhood

Young boys are removedforcibly fromthe careof their

moth-ers andtakentolivewithmen During the initiationstages,

which lastseveral years, they are taught the rationale and

techniques of nosebleeding,caneswallowing,andvomiting

designed to promote growth, strength, and fertility and to

protect their health from the polluting powers ofwomen.

Theyalso are instructedintheproperbeliefs, behaviors,and

responsibilitiesof adultFore men Atpuberty,young women

also aresecludedbriefly,undergonosebleeding,andare

in-formed by older women of their new responsibilities. The

Fore also holdperiodicpig feasts once or twice eachdecade,

ofteninconjunctionwithinitiations.Thesearethelargest

so-cialgatheringsinthe region andarehighlycompetitive

politi-cal events

Arts A major focus of Fore art is itemsofbody

adorn-ment,including feather headdressesandshellheadbandsand

necklaces.Traditionally, menalso carved wooden bowsand

arrows and warshields whilewomenfashionedclothing and

knitted netbagswith intricategeometric designs

Medicine Fore attribute most serious illness, including

kuru, to sorcery, butlesserailments may becausedby witches,

ghosts, and nature spirits or mayresultfromabrogationof

so-cial rules andexpectations Curersrelyonpreparations from

the local pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants, incantation,

bloodletting,anddivination Localcurers,called 'bark men"

or"barkwomen,"treatrelativelyminorillnesses,but

sorcery-causedsicknessrequires theattentionofpowerfulandwidely

known 'dream men' whoalwayslive in a distantparishand

may be non-Fore Thesemenperformactsofdivination and

curing using information gained in dream states inducedby

ingestion ofhallucinogenic plantmaterialsand heavy

inhala-tion of tobacco smoke

Death and Afterlife Death is marked by extended

mourningrituals, public displayof thecorpse,andthegiving

of gifts by paternal relatives tothe maternal relatives ofthe

deceased In the past, the body commonlywaseaten,

espe-ciallybywomen, children, and theelderly and theremains

were buried in an old garden site of the deceased Human

fleshwas thought to promote fertility and regenerate both

people and gardens The Fore no longer practicemortuary

cannibalism, and each line maintains a common burial

ground for its dead The spiritofthe deceased isthought to

remain for a time near the gravesite andfinally tomove to

one of the known spirit places to continue its afterlife

indefinitely

See alsoSambia, Tairora

Bibliography

Berndt,Ronald M (1962).ExcessandRestraint:Social

Con-trol among a New Guinea Mountain People.Chicago:

Univer-sityof Chicago Press

Gaidusek,D.Carleton (1977).-Unconventional Viruses and the Origin and Disappearance of Kuru." Science 197:

943-960

Hornabrook, R W (ed.) (1976) Essays on Kuru Faringdon, U.K.: E W Classey

Lindenbaum, Shirley (1979) KuruSorcery:Disease and Dan-ger inthe NewGuinea Highlands Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Company

Sorenson, E Richard (1976).The Edge of the Forest: Land, Childhood, and Change in a New GuineaProtoagricultural So-ciety. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press

DAVID J BOYD

Futuna

ETHNONYMS: East Futuna, Hoorn Islands, Horn Islands

Orientation Identification Futuna and its neighboring island of Alofi (orTua) arepoliticallyjoined toWallisIslandunderFrench

administration as overseas territories They were named the

"Hoorn [or Horni Islands'after the birthplace in Holland of one ofthe first European explorers to sight the islands This Futuna must not be confused with West Futuna, east of Tanna in Vanuatu

Location Futuna islocated 240 kilometers northeast of Vanua Levu (in Fiji),and 200 kilometers southwest ofWallis

at 14°S,178° W.Futuna and Alofi are both volcanic islands withsteep mountainous interiors rising to the highest point

of 850meters There are many streams and a plentiful supply

offresh water Futuna is subject to cyclones

Demogrphy. In 1983thepopulationon theislandof 44 square kilometers of land was 4,324, and it was growing at

about 4 percent per year In addition, approximately 4,000 Futunans were living in New Caledonia About 50 French people are resident asadministrators,teachers, anddoctors

linguistic Affiliation. East Futuna is an Austronesian language, included in the Nuclear Polynesian Subgroup of the Polynesian Group It is mutually understandable with Wallisian but distinct from WestFutunan, and it has some closecognates with Samoan French is now spoken by some

of the younger Futunans, particularly those living in New

Caledonia

History and Cultural Relations Occupation of Futuna has been documented for about 3,000 years, divided into three periods: Kele Uli, Kele Mea, and KeleUla Lapita-associatedpotteryhasbeen found related to the first period, when first settlement apparentlywas on the

66 Futuna.

coast Inthe KeleMeaperiod,Futunanstook up residencein

the interiorof the islandinfortifiedsites; Alofiwasalso

in-habited during this period Kele Ulaistheperiod coveredby

oraltradition,whenFutunawaslinked with Tonga and

Sa-moa(and possiblyFiji)throughvisitsbychiefs and their

fol-lowers for bothpeaceable andwarlike purposes Oral

tradi-tionalso records the arrival ofa'Chinese" shipwhosecrew

left numerous descendants.In1837FatherChanel,aFrench

Maristpriest,was oneof the firstEuropeanstotake up

resi-denceonFutuna; hewasmurderedin1841,but theCatholic

missioncontinued itsstrongpresence.Chanelwasbeatified

andhisrelicsreturnedin 1976torestin ashrineonFutuna

In1842,the lavelua (highchief)ofWallissoughtprotection

from France, a movewith which thetwotraditional leaders of

Futunaagreed Futuna, togetherwithWallis, becamea

pro-tectorateofFrance in 1887 andacolonyin 1913 In 1961,

Futuna andWallis became an overseas territoryof France

Futuna wasmarginally involvedinWorldWarIIwithafew

ships beingwreckedthere, particularlyoffitsnortherncoast

When nickel mines opened in New Caledonia, Futunans

took advantage of the opportunity to workfor wages; the

streamof migration has continuedtothe presentday,witha

few returningtotheirhomeisland, especiallyintheir old age

Settlements

Theislandof FutunaisdividedbytheVaigaifoRiverinto two

kingdoms, Sigaveinthewest and Alo(includingthe island of

Alofi) intheeast.Villagesarelocatedaround thecoastlineof

Futunaandlinkedbyoneroad;there are no permanent

in-habitantsonAlofi Themaincommercial and administrative

center is inLeavainSigave,but therearesmallshopsanda

churchineach of the villages.Mostof the housesare set on

the inlandside of theroad,with theirhouseholdgarden plots

behind the house.Theoval-shapedthatched housesare

sur-roundedbylowconcretewallstokeepthe pigsfromattacking

the crops and have open sides, except for coconut-frond

blinds thatcanbe let downinbadweather Most houseshave

veryrecentlybeenwired forelectricityandhaveoutsidepiped

water.

Economy Subsistenceand CommercialActivities Futunais a very

fertileisland withhigh rainfall,soeverythinggrows well The

maindietaryitems arestarchyvegetableswitha little

accom-paniment, such as coconut, fish, or afaikai pudding Taro

andyams arethemain root crops grown on arotational

sys-tem; breadfruit, bananas, andcoconuts are also important.

Allofthesecrops areliabletocyclone damagesuchas that

in-flicted by Cyclone Rajain December 1986. At the eastern

endof theisland wherethecoastalbelt is narrow,plantations

are cut intothehillside;atthewesternend,extensivefields of

irrigated taro areplanted Fishing islimited because of the

lackofa protecting reef andhighseas for most oftheyear.

Men fishinthe shelter of AlofiIsland,using the fewboats

that are owned jointly; older women fish on the reef for

smallerfish.Pigs predominatein thevillages,roaming around

their households and on the reef where they scavenge for

food;eachfamilyhas its ownpigsas these are the main

repre-sentationof wealth.Formerlycopra wassold;now thepeople

rely for cash on the fewadministrative andpublic-works jobs,

the sale of handicrafts, pensions for those over age 60, and occasional gifts from relativesin NewCaledonia

Industrial Arts Women spend a good part of their time weaving matsand beating tapa; both these items are shipped

toNewCaledonia as gifts for relatives and for sale Some of the mats are also used locally as gifts on large communal occasions

Trade Goods are imported from New Caledonia for sale

in Futuna, or sent as gifts by relatives Futuna'simports far outweigh its exports, especially since copra has ceased to be a marketable crop

Division of Labor Mencultivate the land, including both household plots and the plantations fartherafield This task requires them to clear any vegetation, turn over the soil, plant,weed, and harvest the crops; the latter job may necessi-tatecarryingloads of taro orkape kavaa) severalkilometers

Menalso gofishing together, though this activity is consid-ered morelikesportthan work Women look after the house-hold, take care of children, weave mats, and make tapa Older womenalsofishon thereef Children fetch water and act as runnersbetween households, bearinggoods and messages LandTenure The two halves ofFutuna, Sigave andAlo, aredistinct entities with separate land holdings; it is rare for a persontohold land in both kingdoms Each sau, orleader,is custodian of all lands in his territory, and in former times waged war in response to any violation of his lands In each village the headman was responsible for ensuring that lands were properly used, but individual families could cultivate theirhousehold land and also use the vacant land behind the village Some village land was maintained in production by a groupof men in ordertoprovideabountiful supply of yams and kape for any large communal feast Families depended on their household strip forday-to-day supplies of taro, bread-fruit, bananas, kape, and cassava But in these days of large households, the men find it necessary to cultivate their own plantation land, and sometimes that of their wives, in order

to growenough to feedthe family Land rights are passed on

toboth sons and daughters, but a couple prefers to live on the man'sland

Kinship Kin Groups andDescent Kin tieslinking alargenumber

of Futunansintooverlappingsocial entities center on broth-ersand sisters The oldest sister has certain privileges within thefamily group Thereisastrongprotective relationship be-tweenbrothers and theirsisters aswellasavoidanceregarding certain issues with sexualimplications The privileged rela-tionship to afather's sister (vasu) that allows theyounger person to take food from her is restricted to royal lineages Kin groups arethebasis for workingparties, such as for

fish-ing, thatching, or making a canoe Descent is reckoned throughboth mothers and fathers, mainly for inheritance of land rights or to trace arelationship to a chiefly family 'Fam-ily"toaFutunan means abilaterally extendedfamily, consist-ing of awide-ranging groupof people living both on Futuna and onWallis,aswell asinNewCaledonia Relatives are rec-ognized even thoughcontact may not have been sustained for several years

Kinsbip Terminology. Kinshipterminologyisofthe

Ha-waiian type wherethetermsformother, father,brother,

sis-ter, and grandparents are extended to collaterals Sibling

terms aredeterminedby the sex of the speaker

Marriage and Family Marriage Marriage ispreferred betweentwopeopleof the

same or neighboring villages, as long as they are not too

closely related The sau or one of his councillors must

ap-prove eachmarriage The youngcoupleislikelytolive with

ei-therhisorherparents,andthemother-in-law feeds hernew

daughter-in-law well lestthelatter's familycriticize her

Domestic Unit Two or more siblings and their spouses

andchildrenarelikelytoshareahouseholdtogetherwith

ad-ditional kinoradoptive kin Householdsize averageseight

persons, representing three generationsaswellas some

sib-lings of those intheolder generationandtheiroffspring.This

is the main group that interacts within the village and

beyond

Inheritance Land and property, such as kava-making

equipment, canoes,andplantingimplements, arepassedon

fromfatherstotheirchildren,whiletapa beatersandspecial

mats arepassedon inthefemale line.Titles withinthe

Tuiag-aifo andSauchiefly familiesarepassedbetweentwoseparate

groups; e.g., the incumbentfamilypassestheTuiagaifotitle

to the person selected by the family group of the past

incumbent

Socialization Childrenare raised within avery close

fam-ily networkthatconsists of manypeople.Theyarecarefully

guarded and watched over, andnotallowedtoroamfar from

homewithoutgoodreason.Thispatterndominates theirlives

even asadults Every Futunan is boundinto asystemof"Faka

Futuna" or'the FutunaWay," which heorshemusthonor

and respect Itincludesobligationstothe traditionalleaders

and to the Catholicmissionasweli as to seniormembers of

theextended family.Thissystem hasbeenextendedto New

CaledoniawherethenumberofFutunansislargeenoughto

continue thecaring andsharingtradition

Sociopolitical Organization

SocialOrganization Traditionally,there werethree social

classes, with thesau, orchiefly group, at the head and the

aikiastheassistantleader Theordinary peoplewerebound

totheir households Kava was theclassicmeansbywhich

sta-tus was expressed invillages atboththe district andisland

levels

PoliticalOrganization Thetwopolitiesof Futunan

soci-ety, Sigave and Alo, each have their own traditional

leader-ship consisting of the sau, his family,alikiandvillagechiefs,

and theirfamilies The rest of the population is organizedby

village groups,eachwith its own faipule (village official) and

advisers,allofwhomareresponsibletothe sau.The sau has

authority over internal affairsincludingsettlingdisputesand

signing passports; any Futunan wishing to go overseas must

seek his permission Villages are groupedaccordingto

tradi-tionalaffiliations Futunaalso haseightelected members of

the territorial assemblyofWallisand Futuna The Catholic

mission is also anotablepoliticalforceinthe lives of

Futun-ans, as theBishop ofWallis andFutuna, thetwosauof

Fu-tuna,the laveluaof Wallis, andthe highcommissioner repre-sentingFranceshare the power ofdecision making affecting thelives ofWallisians and Futunans

Social Controland Conflict Thechurch is a very strong agentof social control,along with the families and the faipule

of eachvillage.Moralguidance is sought from the priests and nuns,and this source ofauthority has dominated the lives of Futunans for morethan100 years.Thestaves carried by the deacons inchurch,used tokeepthecongregation awake and seatedattentively during services, are but one symbol of this controL Conflictbetweenindividualsandbetweenfamilies is

resolved through mediationbyaseniorfamily member, the faipule, or, if serious enough, by a member ofthe sau's family

Religion and Expressive Culture ReligiousBel"ef Traditionally,manaand tapu were con, cepts that werewidelyobserved.The maingodsincluded

Ta-galoa, the sky god; Mafuike, who brought fire tothe islands; Sina andthedemigodMaui; and ancestral gods and spirits of animals such asFeke(octopus),Fonu(tortoise), andTafolaa (whale) The Catholic faith has dominated the lives of

Futinans for 150 years, and ithasdiminished though not completely replaced faithin thesupernatural powers of the sau Futunans today attend Mass and belong to various groupswithinthe Catholicorganization, thoughafew have

expressedtheirdissatisfaction with the dominance that the church has over their lives.There is achurchineach village,

aswell asseveral shrines, all ofwhich are carefullytended withflowers eachweek A significant though unknown pro-portion ofpeople'sincome isdonatedtothe church for

gen-eralupkeep aswell as forideologicalcauses

Religious Pracaitione. TheCatholic priests on Futuna areboth European andWallisian, asarethe nuns.Futunans train atthe Pacific TheologicalCollegein Fiji toenter the priesthood

Ceremonies The church calendar dominates, with First CommunionaswellasChristmas and Easter asmajor social

festivities.BastilleDay(14July) andArmistice Day(11

No-vember), aswell as a daycommemorating Father Chanel's beatification, are allcelebrated

Arts Tapamaking andmatweaving incorporateuniquely Futunan designs The Futunans' fine black-ink etching on tapa isparticularlydistinctive Men carvewooden staves and otherobjects with particular designs, mainly for sale Medicine Acentral hospitalis located in Leava, Sigave, with a clinic in Onovillageandanother in Poi.Themedical serviceis staffed with a French doctor and local nursingstaff

Many Futunanpeople also use their traditional doctors, who may be women or men.They massage and rub affected areas using local oils andleaves; they may also give medicines made

of localingredients Pregnant women in particular visit the

Futunandoctorin order to ensure asuccessful birth.Some lovepotions are also administeredwhen requested

Death and Afterlife Futunans are buried according to Catholic ritual in cemeteries in the dead person's village Every funeral is followed by a special Mass each evening for six daysfollowingthe death Alargefeast alsomarksthe pass-ing ofeach Futunan Catholic beliefs in the afterlife, such as Heaven andHell, are very much part of Futunanthinking,