Marovo
The coastal people of Marovo Lagoon, who speak a language of the same name.
Traditional Culture(1885-1910)Expand All +
Belief
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Supernatural Beings |
Nature Spirits | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 99, 101 |
Nature god(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 79-130 |
Ancestral spirits | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 87, 89-91 |
Deified ancestor(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 87 |
God(s) | Present, and the principal focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 79-130 |
Afterlife and Creation |
Primordial pair | Absent (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 81 |
Culture hero(es) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 35, 79-130 Somerville (1897), pp. 383-393 |
Classes of Tapu |
Resource management tapu | Present (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 268-269 |
Mana |
Mana as a personal quality | Present (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 89-91 |
Mana as a spiritual or religious concept | Present (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 89-91 |
Mana related to social influence or technical skill | Present (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 89-91 |
Practice
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General Supernatural Practices |
Headhunting | Present (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 89-91 |
Costly sacrifices and offerings | Present (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 386 |
Size of largest ritual social group | Larger than a household, no larger than the local community (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 86-88, 154-155 |
Political and religious differentiation | Some overlap (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 86-88 |
Rites |
Genital cutting | Absent from culture (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 395 |
Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
Somerville (1897) |
Tattooing | Absent from culture (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 365 |
Scarification | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 365 |
Piercing | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 362-363 |
Social Environment
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Population | 5,000 (Source) |
Bayliss-Smith et al (2003) Hviding (1996), pp. 378-381 |
Population of largest political community | 100-999 (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 132 |
Importance of Patrilateral descent | High (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 147 |
Importance of Matrilateral descent | Medium (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 147 |
Conflict |
Conflict between communities of the culture | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 79-130 |
Conflict with other cultures | Frequent, occurring at least yearly (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 79-130 |
Conflict within communities | Endemic (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 86-87 |
Cultural Isolation
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Contact with other cultures | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 89-115 |
Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 0.0 (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 96 |
Pre-Austronesian population | Present: Clear 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. 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) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 102-107 |
Subsistence and Economy
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Land-based means of subsistence |
Animal husbandry as a source of food | Minor (Source) |
Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Minor (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97 Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Land-based gathering | Medium (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97, 214 Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97 Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Agriculture / Horticulture | Major (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 75, 97, 116-118 |
Water-based means of subsistence |
Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Major (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97, 210-214 Hviding (1996), pp. 381 |
Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals | Major (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97, 210-224 Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Water-based gathering | Major (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 63, 69, 97, 211, 214 Somerville (1897), pp. 381 |
Commercial Activity |
Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Major (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 97, 116-117 |
Metalworking | Absent (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 103-104 |
Physical Environment
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Geographical Range of Culture |
Number of islands inhabited by culture | Four or more (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 36, 89 |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
Latitude | -8.5 (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 36, 89 |
Longitude | 158.0 (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 36, 89 |
Island Size (km²) | 3365.0 (Source) |
Clark & Bedford (2008), pp. 64 |
Maximum elevation (meters) | 860.0 (Source) |
Clark & Bedford (2008), pp. 64 |
Post Contact History(?)Expand All +
Religious History
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Conversion |
Role of social status in conversion process | Primarily a top-down process. (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 119-120 |
Use of force in conversion | Low (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 118-124 |
Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 119-120 |
Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 51 |
Syncretic Movements |
Syncretic religious movements | Present, and survived to the present day (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 51, 122-123 |
Secular History
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Demographic and Social Changes |
Foreign government systems | Present, and of high importance (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 10, 110-113 |
Immigration | Medium (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 98-99, 381 |
Language shift | Low (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 50-51 |
Foreign education systems | High (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 46, 66 |
Modern Infrastructure |
Vehicles and roads | Absent (Source) |
Google Maps (2014) |
Loss of Autonomy |
Nature of loss of autonomy | Largely involuntary (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 107-113 |
Loss of political autonoomy | High (Source) |
Hviding (1996), pp. 107-113 |
External Links
References
Bayliss-Smith, T., Hviding, E., & Whitmore, T. (2003). Rainforest composition and histories of human disturbance in Solomon Islands. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 32(5), 346-352.
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.
Clark, G.R. & Bedford, S. (2008). Friction Zones in Lapita Colonisation. In G.R. Clark, G.R, S. O'Connor & B.F. Leach, Islands of Inquiry: Colonisation, Seafaring and the Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes (pp 59-73). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.
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.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Solomon Islands). (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/553556/Solomon-Islands
Google Maps (2014). Retrieved from maps.google.com
Hviding, E. (1996). Guardians of Marovo Lagoon: Practice, Place, and Politics in Maritime Melanesia. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press.
Somerville, B.T. (1897). Ethnographic notes in New Georgia, Solomon Islands. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 26, 357-412.
Walter, R. & Sheppard, P. (2000). Nusa Roviana: The Archaeology of a Melanesian Chiefdom. Journal of Field Archaeology, 27 (3), 295-318.