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
A basic building block of kinship in most systems is the nuclear family, that is, the parents and their subadult children. The organization of the family in another country may differ considerably from the
American model—the couple may live in the household of the wife’s mother, the children may be disciplined by other than parents, or economic support may be provided by the wife. Although behavior differs widely, the
structure of most kinship systems begins with the nuclear family.
This family necessitates two kinds of kinship relations. The parents are tied by a marital bond which the anthropologists describe as affinal. In addition to his wife, the husband finds he is now also related to his
wife’s parents, her brothers and sisters, and many others. Parents are related to their children in a different type of relation. It is commonly known as a blood relation, but the anthropologist refers to it as a consanguineal
relation. In short, the nuclear family is composed of affinal marital and consanguineal blood kin. Generally, the affinal ties are of a contractual nature and can be broken. The consanguineal ties, on the other hand, are a
matter of birth and are irrevocable Schusky 1965:5.
The following charts display these two basic types of relationships as they pertain to the Rotokas kinship system. It will be noted that cousin terms are of the Iroquois type, i.e., where sibling terms are extended to
parallel cousins, while there are separate terms for cross-cousins.
57 Symbols used are:
▲
male,
●
= female, é denotes consanguineal relationship and é é denotes affinal
relationship.
Rotokas Affinal Kinship Chart
58
Rotokas Consanguineal Kinship Chart
59 Kinship terms for second generation relatives both ascending and descending are as follows: aavuva
famodada; aavuto mofadaso; aaoto fafasoso; aaova soda; taataiva momo [fa = father, mo = mother, so = son, and da = daughter].
Great uncle or grand nephew is termed teekoto, and great aunt or grand niece is termed teekova. Beyond these, there are no further kinship terms. The situation is described in Tok Pisin as pinis long bisnis or “the end
of the family lines.” Many of the kinship terms may be used in such a way as to denote a relationship between ascending
second generation and descending second generation, e.g., vegei teekoarei or “we two who are great uncleaunt and grand nephewniece.” The neuter gender-dual number marker is suffixed to the kinship term.
The kinship term avue in-law of same generation is commonly used by both male and female speakers without being marked for gender. The term oaviri sister-in-law of female, although not marked for gender, is
restricted to that specific relationship. The term tutuara is also unmarked for gender and is used without restriction to name any grandparent.
Among the Rotokas, it is taboo for in-laws to be named directly. Indirect reference to them, using the terms avue, aige, taato with appropriate gender markers and oaviri, resolves the matter.
While working together on a story involving the language helper’s mother-in-law, the helper became very embarrassed when the name of this woman appeared in the text. He laughed and explained that he was
ashamed or embarrassed to say the name. Another man present named the person instead. Other kinship terms used are: ataato father-in-law; ataava daughter-in-law. These terms and several of
the second generation terms above need clarification.
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5 From Youth to Adult—Upe Initiation
5.1 General Background
