Main Reef Islands
Also known as: Main Reef Islanders
Traditional Culture(1924)Expand All +
Belief
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Supernatural Beings |
| Nature Spirits | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Nature god(s) | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Ancestral spirits | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Deified ancestor(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| God(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Supernatural Punishment |
| Supernatural punishment for impiety | Present (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Afterlife and Creation |
| Myth of humanity’s creation | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Culture hero(es) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
General Features |
| Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural | Present (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Practice
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General Supernatural Practices |
| Headhunting | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Costly sacrifices and offerings | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Largest religious community | Larger than a household, no larger than the local community (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Rites |
| Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Piercing | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Genital cutting | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Social Environment
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| Population | 3000 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Population of largest political community | 99 or fewer (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Importance of Patrilateral descent | Medium (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Importance of Matrilateral descent | High (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Polygamy | Limited polygyny (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Marital residence | Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Conflict |
| (No) external warfare | Rare or never (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Isolation
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| Contact with other cultures | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source) |
| Davenport (1969), pp. 156, 161 | |
| Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 0.9 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) |
|
| Distance to nearest continent | 2134.0 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) |
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| Pre-Austronesian population | Absent: No evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement (Source) |
| Bellwood (1995), pp. 109 | |
| Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
| Cribb (2000), pp. Map 2.21 | |
| Islamic influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
| Cribb (2000), pp. Map 2.23 | |
| Christian influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (Source) |
| Davenport (1969), pp. 156 | |
Subsistence and Economy
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Land-based means of subsistence |
| Animal husbandry as a source of food | Minor (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Agriculture / Horticulture | Major (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Commercial Activity |
| Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Major (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Metalworking | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Physical Environment
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Geographical Range of Culture |
| Number of islands inhabited by culture | Four or more (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
| Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown) | Atoll (Source) |
| Davenport (1969), pp. 151-152 | |
| Island Size (km²) | 22.0 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) Daft Logic Area Calculator (2014) |
|
| Maximum elevation (meters) | 46.0 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Location |
| Latitude | -10.3 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Longitude | 166.3 (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Post Contact History(?)Expand All +
Religious History
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Conversion |
| Use of force in conversion | Low (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Syncretic Movements |
| Syncretic religious movements | Absent (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Secular History
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Demographic and Social Changes |
| Foreign government systems | Present, and of high importance (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Foreign education systems | High (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Loss of Autonomy |
| Loss of political autonoomy | High (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
| Nature of loss of autonomy | Largely voluntary (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
Economic Changes |
| Exportation of goods to other cultures | Present and substantial (Source) |
| Davenport (1969) | |
External Links
References
Bellwood, P. (1995). Austronesian Prehistory in Southeast Asia: Homeland, Expansion and Transformation. P. Bellwood, J.J. Fox, & D. Tryon (Eds.), The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (pp 113-114). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.
Cribb, R. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.
Daft Logic Area Calculator. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Daft Logic Distance Calculator. (2014). http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.
Davenport, W. (1969). Social organization notes on the Northern Santa Cruz Islands: The Duff Islands (Taumako). Baessler-Archiv: Beiträge zur Völkerkunde, Neue folge band 16(41 band), 137-205. Retrieved fromhttps://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu/ehrafe/citation.do?method=citation&forward=browseCulturesFullContext&col=collection(%27/eHRAF/ethnography/Oceania/ON13%27)&docId=on13-009&tocOffsetId=tocPubInfoP
Davenport, W. (1969). Social organization notes on the Northern Santa Cruz Islands: The Main Reef Islands. Baessler-Archiv: Beiträge zur Völkerkunde, Neue folge band 17(42 band), 151-243. Retrieved from https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu/ehrafe/citation.do?method=citation&forward=browseCulturesFullContext&col=collection(%27/eHRAF/ethnography/Oceania/ON13%27)&docId=on13-011&tocOffsetId=tocPubInfoP