Malekula (Small Islands)
Also known as: Vao; Upiriv; Wala; Rano; Atchin
Malekula is a large island in the north of Vanuatu. A chain of islets along its eastern coast, known locally as the Small Islands, was the subject of the detailed ethnography 'Stone Men of Malekula' by the English anthropogist John Layard. Layard's ethnography focuses primarily on the island of Vao. The 'stone men' of the title refers to the monoliths that were erected as part of the 'Maki' rites, which marked the ascendance of men through the ranks of the local graded society.
Traditional Culture(1890-1915)Expand All +
Belief
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Supernatural Beings |
| Nature Spirits | Absent (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 205-239 | |
| Nature god(s) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 205-239, 210-218 | |
| Ancestral spirits | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 205-239, 236-237, 257 | |
| Deified ancestor(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 12-13, 205-239, 216, 236-237, 257 | |
| God(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 12, 218-225, 235 | |
Supernatural Punishment |
| Supernatural punishment for impiety | Present (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 235, 630 | |
Afterlife and Creation |
| One's actions while living can affect the nature of one's afterlife | One factor in determining one's afterlife (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 234, 236 | |
| The actions of others after one has died can affect the nature of one's afterlife | Principal determinant of one's afterlife (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 225, 234 | |
| Myth of humanity’s creation | Present, and creationist (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 36, 212-213 | |
| Primordial pair | Absent (Source) |
| Layard (1942) | |
| Culture hero(es) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 205-239, 210-211, 217-218 | |
General Features |
| Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural | Present (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 236-237, 633 | |
Classes of Tapu |
| Kinship tapu | Present (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 154-155 | |
| Social hierarchy tapu | Present (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 45 | |
Mana |
| Mana as a personal quality | Absent (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008) |
|
| Mana related to social influence or technical skill | Absent (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008) |
|
| Mana as a spiritual or religious concept | Absent (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008) |
|
Practice
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General Supernatural Practices |
| Headhunting | Absent (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 205-683 | |
| Costly sacrifices and offerings | Present (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 226, 235 | |
| Size of largest ritual social group | Larger than a household, no larger than the local community (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 290 | |
| Political and religious differentiation | Considerable overlap between religious and political leaders (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 34-35 | |
Rites |
| Piercing | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 42-44 | |
| Genital cutting | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 473 | |
| Scarification | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 473-565, 671 | |
| Tattooing | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 672-673 | |
| Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 42-44, 473-565 | |
Social Environment
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| Population | 2000 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24 | |
| Population of largest political community | 100-999 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24, 53-55 | |
| Importance of Patrilateral descent | Medium (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 11-12 | |
| Importance of Matrilateral descent | Medium (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 11-12 | |
| Polygamy | Full polygyny (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 227 | |
| Marital residence | Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 228 | |
Conflict |
| Conflict with other cultures | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 588, 601-603 Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 15 |
|
| Conflict between communities of the culture | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 26, 53, 590 | |
| Conflict within communities | Endemic (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24, 26, 590, 602-603 | |
Cultural Isolation
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| Contact with other cultures | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. xviii, 53, 601 | |
| Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 0.0 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24-25 | |
| Distance to African or Asian mainland (km) | 6914.4 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 28 Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) |
|
| 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) |
| Layard (1928), pp. xviii | |
Subsistence and Economy
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Land-based means of subsistence |
| Animal husbandry as a source of food | Medium (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 25, 48 | |
| Agriculture / Horticulture | Principal (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 25, 48 | |
| Land-based gathering | Absent (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 40-50, 48 | |
| Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 48 | |
| Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Minor (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 48 | |
Water-based means of subsistence |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 48 | |
| Water-based gathering | Minor (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 48 | |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals | Minor (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 48 | |
Commercial Activity |
| Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Medium (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 15, 48, 253 | |
Physical Environment
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Geographical Range of Culture |
| Number of islands inhabited by culture | One (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24-25 | |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
| Latitude | -15.9 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 30 Google Maps (2014) |
|
| Longitude | 167.3 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 30 Google Maps (2014) |
|
| Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown) | Volcanic high island (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24-25 Encyclopaedia Britannica (Malekula) (2014) |
|
| Island Size (km²) | 2023.0 (Source) |
| Layard (1942), pp. 24-25, 30 Encyclopaedia Britannica (American Samoa) (2014) |
|
| Maximum elevation (meters) | 879.0 (Source) |
| Encyclopaedia Britannica (Malekula) (2014) | |
Post Contact History(1915-2014)Expand All +
Religious History
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Conversion |
| Use of force in conversion | Low (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 164-167 | |
| Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source) |
| Layard (1936), pp. xviii, xix | |
| Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 225 | |
Secular History
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Economic Changes |
| Changes in means of subsistence | Medium (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 39 | |
| Exportation of goods to other cultures | Present and substantial (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 226-227 | |
Modern Infrastructure |
| Air travel | Present, local only (Source) |
| Geismar (2009), pp. 211, 224 | |
Loss of Autonomy |
| Nature of loss of autonomy | Largely involuntary (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 15 | |
| Loss of political autonoomy | Medium (Source) |
| Geismar & Herle (2009), pp. 13, 15, 39 Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vanuatu) (2014) |
|
Demographic and Social Changes |
| Language shift | Medium (Source) |
| Geismar (2005), pp. 205-206 Geismar (2009), pp. 207 |
|
| Foreign education systems | High (Source) |
| Geismar (2005), pp. 205-206 | |
Current Culture(2014)Expand All +
Belief
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Religious Demographics |
| Dominant world religion | Christianity (Source) |
| Geismar (2005), pp. 198, 200 | |
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.
Blevins, J. (2008). Some Comparative Notes on Proto-Oceanic *Mana: Inside and Outside the Austronesian Family. Oceanic Linguistics, 47 (2), 253-274. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ol/summary/v047/47.2.blevins.html
Blust, R. (2007). Proto-Oceanic *Mana Revisited. Oceanic Linguistics, 46(2), 404-423. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20172322
Bouma, G. D., Ling, R., & Pratt, D. (Eds.). (2010). Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Churchill, W. (1916). Sissano: Movements of Migration Within and Through Melanesia. Washington, D.C.: The Carnegie Institute of Washington.
Cribb, R. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.
Daft Logic Distance Calculator. (2014). http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.
Deacon, A. B. (1934). Malekula: A Vanishing People in the New Hebrides. London, England: George Routledge and Sons.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (American Samoa) (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/20153/American-Samoa
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Malekula) (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/359493/Malakula
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vanuatu). (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/623102/Vanuatu
Geismar, H. & Herle, A. (2009). Moving Images: John Layard, Fieldwork and Photography on Malakula Since 1914. Adelaide, Australia: Crawford House.
Geismar, H. (2005). Footsteps on Malakula: a Report on a Photographic Research Project. Journal of Museum Ethnography, 17, 191-207. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40793780.
Geismar, H. (2009). Stone Men of Malekula on Malakula: An Ethnography of an Ethnography. Ethnos, 74 (2), 199-228. doi: 10.1080/00141840902940468
Google Maps (2014). Retrieved from maps.google.com
Keesing, R. M. (1984). Rethinking "mana". Journal of Anthropological Research, 40(1), 137-156, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629696.
Layard, J. (1942). Stone Men of Malekula. London, England: Chatto & Windus.
Layard, J. W. (1928). Degree-taking rites in south west bay, Malekula. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 58, 139-223. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4619530.
Layard, J. W. (1936). Atchin Twenty Years Ago. Geographical Journal, 342-351. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1786338.