Buka
Also known as: Kurtatchi; Tinputz
Buka is an island separated by a narrow strait from the larger island of Bougainville to the south. The people of Buka and of the northern coast of Bougainville speak related Austronesian languages, and form a cultural unit. The primary source on this culture, Beatrice Blackwood's "Both Sides of Buka Passage", is based largely on fieldwork carried out in the Tinputz-speaking village of Kurtatchi on the north coast of Bougainville.
Supernatural Beings |
Nature Spirits | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 462-543, 524-525 |
Nature god(s) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 462-543, 505 |
Ancestral spirits | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 477-478 |
Deified ancestor(s) | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 462-543 |
God(s) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 462-543, 505 |
Supernatural Punishment |
Supernatural punishment for impiety | Present (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 516-517 |
Afterlife and Creation |
One's actions while living can affect the nature of one's afterlife | One factor in determining one's afterlife (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 505-506, 513 |
Myth of humanity’s creation | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 37-40 |
Primordial pair | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 37-40 |
Culture hero(es) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 462-543 |
General Features |
Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural | Present (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 505 |
Classes of Tapu |
Kinship tapu | Present (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 64-65 |
Resource management tapu | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 298-543 |
Social hierarchy tapu | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 32-81, 462-543 |
Mana |
Mana as a personal quality | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 475 |
Mana related to social influence or technical skill | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 475 |
Mana as a spiritual or religious concept | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 475 |
General Supernatural Practices |
Headhunting | Absent (Source) |
Blackwood (1935) |
Costly sacrifices and offerings | Present (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 278-279, 491 |
Size of largest ritual social group | Larger than a household, no larger than the local community (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 1-624, 278-279 |
Political and religious differentiation | Some overlap (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 50-51, 462-543 |
Rites |
Piercing | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 424-426 |
Genital cutting | Absent from culture (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 424-432 |
Scarification | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 426-432 |
Tattooing | Absent from culture (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 426 |
Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 426 |
Importance of Patrilateral descent | Low (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 32-33 |
Importance of Matrilateral descent | High (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 32-33 |
Kinship system | Iroquois (Source) |
Ogan (1991), pp. 132 |
Polygamy | Limited polygyny (Source) |
Ogan (1991), pp. 132 |
Marital residence | Matrilocal or uxorilocal - with wife's kin (Source) |
Ogan (1991), pp. 132 |
Conflict |
Conflict with other cultures | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii-xxiii, 47-48 |
Conflict between communities of the culture | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 47-48 |
Conflict within communities | Low (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 32-81 |
Contact with other cultures | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii-xiii |
Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 0.0 (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii-xxiii |
Distance to African or Asian mainland (km) | 5070.1 (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) |
Pre-Austronesian population | Present: Clear evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 109 |
Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
Cribb (2000), pp. 2.21 |
Islamic influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
Cribb (2000), pp. 2.23 |
Christian influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (Source) |
Ogan (1991), pp. 131 |
Land-based means of subsistence |
Animal husbandry as a source of food | Minor (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 271-297, 281, 284 |
Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Minor (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 284, 317-326, 326 |
Land-based gathering | Medium (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 271-297, 276, 277-278, 283-284 |
Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 284, 317-326, 326 |
Agriculture / Horticulture | Principal (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 272 |
Water-based means of subsistence |
Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Major (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 272, 284, 326-358 |
Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals | Major (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 272, 284, 326-358 |
Water-based gathering | Medium (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 271-297, 276, 284-285 |
Commercial Activity |
Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Major (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. 272-273, 284 |
Metalworking | Absent (Source) |
Bellwood et al (1975) |
Geographical Range of Culture |
Number of islands inhabited by culture | Two (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xix, xxii |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
Latitude | -5.5 (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii Google Maps (2014) |
Longitude | 154.8 (Source) |
Blackwood (1935), pp. xxii Google Maps (2014) |
Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown) | Volcanic high island (Source) |
Yule (1995), pp. 507 |
Island Size (km²) | 8600.0 (Source) |
Yule (1995), pp. 507 |
Maximum elevation (meters) | 2743.0 (Source) |
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Bougainville Island) (2015) |
Conversion |
Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source) |
Regan & Griffin (2005), pp. 126, 318 |
Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (Source) |
Regan & Griffin (2005), pp. 318 |
Economic Changes |
Exportation of goods to other cultures | Present and substantial (Source) |
Regan & Griffin (2005), pp. 240-258 |
Loss of Autonomy |
Loss of political autonoomy | High (Source) |
Regan & Griffin (2005), pp. 77-108, 168-199 |
Religious Demographics |
Dominant world religion | Christianity (Source) |
Regan & Griffin (2005), pp. 318 |