52 described by a Rotokas man are called pipisiara. The expression of the condition stated that the child was
“stuck.” Paipaipareve kakaeto kare arapa, “The small male child would be stuck unable to arrive home.” Nowadays, the women are encouraged by government health officers in the area and by radio broadcasts
to have their children in government-provided maternity clinics. In the late 1960s, a maternity clinic was built near the village of Ruruvu with cement floor, woven bamboo walls, corrugated iron roof, and rain water tank.
It was considered a very modern building. Eventually, however, it fell into disuse and was torn down. In 1982, a very nicely constructed building was erected in the same area to house a maternity ward, clinic,
and office. It is situated about fifteen minutes walk from Togarao village [see section 10.3.1 for pictures of both buildings].
Finally, an illegitimate child is treated no differently than one born to a married couple. After the initial discussion surrounding the situation, possible compensation, responsibilities, etc., the child is raised in an
otherwise normal fashion. One young woman living in Togarao had a child out of wedlock. The girl’s father was very angry and complained in public that the boys were taking advantage of her. The little child was well
accepted and it seemed to us later turned out to be given more attention than other relatives its age.
4.5 Childhood and Youth
The naming of a child may occur soon after birth, or up to six months after its birth, depending upon the particular name given. Church-related names such as Peter, John Wesley, Cherubim, Rachel, etc. may be given
soon after birth. The village name, such as Vavioviri, Akoitai, Pute, Verisievi, Porerireviera, etc. is usually given after a longer period of time has elapsed. Young initiates as well as their parents may be renamed at a
certain time during the initiation rites in order to “hide” the village name.
Some names are given in memory of deceased relatives. One girl was named after the mother’s sister who had died, Oriri. Some of the names are given in keeping with the clan lines, i.e., the mother’s side of the family
brings influence on the giving of the name. The use of one’s father’s name as a surname is becoming more common, for example, Tasipie Aso. Aso was Tasipie’s father. In some cases, the name is without explanation,
such as one given to a boy born to parents living in Sisivi—who was named John Kenedy. The only explanation offered was that “John” was the actual name and “Kenedy” was the name of John’s village. In
some cases, three names or more are given. One man is Benley Caleb Karuruvate Vavioviri Vavioviri being his father. Some names are acquired in dreams, as was the name of Karuruvate’s first daughter, Viuri.
I am not sure of the implications of this, but a village pastor once came to us to get a list of Biblical names. Apparently, parents would use this list as a source of ideas for naming their children.
There are three main stages in the development of a child’s diet. Stage one, of course, is when the child is completely dependent on the mother’s milk. Stage two is when the child begins to eat solid foods, other than
meats, in addition to breast milk. Traditionally, the mother would prepare the food, usually taro, by premasticating it thoroughly. This paste was then placed in a clean coconut shell, covered with leaves and kept
in a warm area above the cookhouse fire. When the child would cry for food, the mother would use this prepared food along with her milk. The food was fed to the child using a pig bone sikeperu as a spoon. The
food aio kataa was normally prepared daily. If it began to ferment after a day or so, this was of no major concern.
By contrast, some parents today use tinned baby foods. This is not uncommon, especially on the coast, where it is more readily available.
The second stage is weaning, which might begin when the child is about two years of age. One way to facilitate weaning was to smear a bitter substance on the nipples. Another way was to use a “pacifier.” The
shell of the freshwater snail akoro was fastened to the wrist of the child by means of a cord. This was intended to keep the child “busy” pugu piesa.
The third stage of development is when the child begins to eat solid meat. Up to this time, the mother has continued to chew the tougher foods before giving them to the child. Having his own teeth now, the child is no
longer dependent upon the mother’s help. The child may still desire and receive his mother’s milk. A feast is held to celebrate the child’s advance to this stage [see section 15.2.1 ].
During childhood, a taboo is enforced that prohibits the eating of a type of sugar cane kopakai. This type of cane, with brownish stripes and rather dark pith, is said to cause a child to mature more slowly if eaten. In
explaining this, the Rotokas man said that this was only a “guess.” One of the major concerns of Bougainvillian parents observing their children growing up today is that the
children are not showing respect as they should. Oliver makes the following observation:
53 Relationships among family members, particularly between parents and their offspring,
have changed over the last few decades. In pre-European days, the authority of parents was probably decisive until their children were married and set up in households of their own.
Property of some kind—land-use rights, planting stock, shell money, pigs, etc.—was needed by young people to marry and maintain households, and the only initial source of such
property was close relatives, especially parents and the latters’ siblings. Thus, parents were able to back up their authority with a very powerful sanction. Later on, when youths left
home to work on European plantations and other enterprises, not only did they escape direct parental control during the periods of their absence from home in pre-European days there
had been no wholly safe places to go beyond the frontiers of one’s own tribe, that is, beyond the control of one’s own relatives, but they also returned home with some cash and other
goods of their own. And while many of these goods were bespoken by parents and other relatives, the returnees in many cases seem to have retained some measure of independence,
due to their contributions to older relatives and to their personal acquaintance with the awesome new outside world, including their ability to communicate, in Pidgin, with the
European masters of that world. Still later, widespread formal schooling served to remove even younger children from parental control and influence for at least a few hours a day.
With the establishment of boarding schools, many boys and girls now remain away from home for months at a time. Moreover, when they eventually return home, which not all of
them invariably do, they possess types of skills and knowledge that serve to render them even more independent of parental influence and control. In other words, Bougainville, like
many other parts of the world, is experiencing a widening generation gap Oliver 1973:200.
The Rotokas area is no different from the rest of Bougainville, with the exception that the Upe rites still provide some emphasis on respect. More will be said about this in chapter 5. It is enough to say here that in the
past, respect for the opposite sex was strictly observed, with violations punishable by death. Today initiates are instructed to stay in their own area of the village, away from women and girls.
The severity of disciplining young children varies from family to family. It is everyone’s duty to placate a toddler who cries, and the burden often falls on his next older siblings. None of his wants are denied, except for
things that could harm him, in which case the child’s interest is simply diverted to something else. The child loses this position of preeminence as soon as a new brother or sister comes along to take his place and he
quickly learns what his new role in the family is.
Striking or spanking children for disciplinary purposes is generally not as acceptable among Rotokas people as it is for westerners. “She is not a good mother—she hits her children.” Older children might be
spanked, depending on the seriousness of the misdeed and the degree of the parent’s anger. A man of about thirty-two years of age made what we considered a sage observation. He said, “We
Rotokas people can’t spank our children like white people do. That’s why we need our Upe practice and training to teach our young men respect and obedience.”
An adult may discipline his much younger brother or sister. In an uncommon case, a man greatly respected in the community punished his nephew—an older teenager—for being disrespectful. The man struck the boy
repeatedly until the boy shed tears and yelled in pain. Gestures and verbal threats are a common response to children’s misbehavior. A parent may threaten a
child with a stick, or may throw objects at one who is out of reach, but real pain is seldom inflicted, and the result is seldom effective discipline.
There are varying degrees of affection shown between Rotokas parents and their children. Small children are held and cuddled. Parents hold the hands of their young children as they walk. A grandmother was seen
shaking hands with her grandchildren, aged four and six years, before leaving for a brief trip to the coast. Another visiting grandmother was kissing a grandchild repeatedly before she left by plane to return to her
coastal home. It is interesting that fathers are as often seen hugging and kissing their children in public as the mothers.
As far as the early religious training of the child goes, parents who are churchgoers together instruct their children in the teachings of Scripture andor the church. Those boys who choose to undergo initiation training
are put in the care of selected older men, who school them in the traditional beliefs and practices. This training may require up to two years. At this time, some parents are concerned because some traditional beliefs are in
opposition to the teachings of the churches.
54 For recreation, the children have a number of games which seem to be common to children everywhere:
tag, hunting with mock bows and arrows, rhythm games, etc. The following are descriptions of their toys and games.
Coconut doll
A doll tuisi was commonly made using an immature coconut. It was used by the children much in the same way as little girls play with dolls in the western world. The doll was dressed with a cloth laplap skirt
and powdered. Some would place a make-believe charm belt on the doll. The doll was “fed” and would be carried about or “put to sleep.” In baby talk, the doll was called koko after kakaeto “little boy”.
Banana doll
The banana doll is a variation of the one described above and is made from the immature fruit of the wild banana. The younger girls call the dolls kakae vure children. I saw this kind of doll being used. It was said
that the coconut doll, however, hasn’t been used much by children in the last fifteen years.
Rhythm games
Rhythm games are played with various types of sound boards and balls. The fruit of the sirivukoto Areca palm makes excellent balls for this purpose. The player places a piece of coconut shell in the palm of the hand
as a sounding board and tosses two of the balls into the air, one at a time. The manner in which the balls are juggled about results in a rhythmic knocking and requires a good deal of skill to execute properly.
Noisemakers
Noisemakers are made by the children from split coconut leaves. The tip portion of the leaf, about twelve centimeters in length, is bent double and fastened to the midrib in the shape of a suspended loop. A portion of
midrib, slightly longer than the length of the loop, is placed under tension between the two ends of the loop. The midrib with rigid loop is then whirled about the head to produce a roaring, whirring noise. The sound is
produced by the two parallel sides of the loop vibrating against each other.
Another noisemaker is made from tube-like grass stalks between thirty and forty-five centimeters in length. The stalk is cut so that the joint or node at one end is open and the opposite joint is left closed. The
entire tube is split up one side. The mouth is placed over the open end and air is blown into the tube, causing the walls to vibrate and producing a rasping sound.
Carved model airplanes
Model airplanes and helicopters became especially popular after an airstrip was opened in Togarao village and light aircraft began flying overhead, landing and taking off becoming common sights. The wood used is
almost as soft as balsa wood and easily carved. Wings are carved separately and attached to the fuselage by various means. One such plane was given to our son. The wings were loosely nailed in place and windows and
the letter “H” were painted on with plant dye. There was a nicely carved tail, but without elevators.
Leaf propellors
Leaf propellors are sometimes placed on the noses of model aircraft described above. The toy is made by weaving together two coconut leaves in the shape of an “X.” The midrib of the leaf serves as the shaft on
which the propellor spins in the wind.
Models from citrus fruit
With great imagination, Rotokas children fashion models from citrus fruit in all shapes and sizes. A neighbor boy made a model kerosene pressure lamp using a grapefruit and sago leaf midribs. The grapefruit
was cut in half. One half was inverted to form a base. Four midrib sticks were stuck upright in the base to sup- port the other half of the grapefruit, which became the top of the lamp. Three other sticks served as the “legs”
of the lamp. There was also a “pump” made from a stick and a small immature lemon. The pump could be pushed in and out of the lamp with a pumping motion. The height of the model lamp was about thirty
centimeters.
55
Models made by Rotokas children – lamp, helicopter, and wheels
Another favorite toy made from lemon fruit is the model car. Four round lemons are connected in such a way as to make a four-wheeled “vehicle” that can be towed by attaching the long flexible midrib of the sago
palm leaf. A model tractor is also made by using the pithy section of palm trees for wheels. “Treads” are cut into the pith in a criss-cross design much like the treads on road equipment or heavy equipment at the mine
site.
Airplanes and helicopters are also fashioned from citrus fruits of various sizes. Again the parts are held together by midribs of the sago palm leaf.
56
Bows and arrows
Bows and arrows are common items for play among the boys. The sago palm leaf is cut in such a way that the midrib provides the shaft for the arrow while the trimmed leaf provides the vanes. The arrow is called a
kikisi kae and is strong enough to kill small game. The bow is made from a trimmed section of bamboo. Vine is used for the string, and depending upon the
thickness and length of the bamboo portion, it can be quite lethal.
Water sports
Water games are varied. Playing tag in streams and up and down the banks is commonly seen. Making small boats, diving for fish, etc. are all part of having fun in the nearby streams. Some children have rubber
inner tubes, which are used to float down the streams. Where the height of the banks permit, diving competitions are held.
Fads among the young people
For amusement, the young people will speak with a distinctive style while the fad lasts. For a time, young girls between five and fifteen years of age enjoyed lengthening the final vowel of phrase-final words,
creating a pronounced drawl. This turned out to be something of a teenage “fad.” Another fad among the young people is seen in some parts of the Province, especially on Buka Island. It
involves the use of hydrogen peroxide for the purpose of bleaching the hair or parts of the hair. It was used in the Rotokas area in the past, but apparently the United Church taught against it. David A. said that the pastors
would not specifically condemn an individual who used hydrogen peroxide, but would speak to the entire congregation on the matter. The individual would then think, “Ah, he is talking about me.” This nondirect
verbal approach was sufficient to cause the young person to quit using it.
Many other games are played in the area by the younger children. Older youth especially enjoy soccer and basketball. In the early 1980s, after the Togarao airstrip was no longer used for its original purpose, soccer
teams from several nearby villages and hamlets began to gather each Friday to compete against each other. Teams were dressed in colorful sports uniforms purchased in town stores. Players were skillful, and winning
teams would go on to area competitions where prize money was sometimes awarded.
Aside from helping parents in the orchards and gardens, young people have a “good life” in the villages, for the most part, today. Transportation is available for trips to and from coastal centers, including Arawa,
Kieta, Buka Passage, and inland to Panguna. Cash they receive from working in the cocoa or selling produce buys stereo casette players and music tapes. Acoustic guitars are common and powerful electric guitars and
amplifiers are admired. Even homemade “amplified guitars” are heard. These are made by fastening the speaker of a broken radio to the sound box of an acoustic guitar and running the wire to the microphone input
socket on a stereo-tape player. Times have certainly changed. Bougainville, too, “is experiencing a widening generation gap” Oliver 1973:200.
4.6 Kinship
