Sa'a
Also known as: Sa'a, Ulawa, Uki Ni Masi
Sa'a-speakers of Maramasike (Small Malaita), Ulawa, Uki Ni Masi and the Three Sisters Islands.
Traditional Culture(1896)Expand All +
Belief
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Supernatural Beings |
| Nature Spirits | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 178-207 | |
| Nature god(s) | Absent (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 178-207 | |
| Ancestral spirits | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 187 | |
| Deified ancestor(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 179-181 | |
| God(s) | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 199-207 | |
Supernatural Punishment |
| Supernatural punishment for impiety | Present (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 185 | |
Afterlife and Creation |
| One's actions while living can affect the nature of one's afterlife | One factor in determining one's afterlife (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 182 | |
| The actions of others after one has died can affect the nature of one's afterlife | One factor in determining one's afterlife (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 179 | |
| Culture hero(es) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 178-207 | |
General Features |
| Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural | Present (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 200 | |
Practice
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General Supernatural Practices |
| Headhunting | Absent (Source) |
| Ivens (1972) | |
| Costly sacrifices and offerings | Present (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 241 | |
| Largest religious community | Larger than a household, no larger than the local community (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 28-29, 242-245 | |
| Political and religious differentiation | No overlap (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 109-129, 160-177, 242-245 | |
Rites |
| Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 82-86 | |
| Scarification | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 82-86 | |
| Piercing | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 82 | |
| Tattooing | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 83 | |
| Genital cutting | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 82-86 | |
Social Environment
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| Population | 6,000 (Source) |
| Eberhard (2020) Ivens (1911) Ivens (1913) Daft Logic Area Calculator (2014) |
|
| Population of largest political community | 100-999 (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 22-54, 25, 109-129 | |
| Importance of Patrilateral descent | High (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 55-70 | |
| Importance of Matrilateral descent | Medium (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 55-70 | |
| Polygamy | Limited polygyny (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 127 | |
| Marital residence | Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 71-108 | |
Conflict |
| (No) external warfare | Occasional, at least every generation (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 24-25, 294-304, 309-310 | |
| Conflict within community | Moderate (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 12-13, 294-304 | |
| (No) internal warfare | Occasional, at least every generation (Source) |
| Ivens (1972), pp. 294-304 | |
Isolation
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| Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 0.0 (Source) |
| Tryon & Hackman (1983), pp. 24 | |
| Distance to nearest continent | 1775.0 (Source) |
| Tryon & Hackman (1983), pp. 24 | |
Physical Environment
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Geographical Range of Culture |
| Number of islands inhabited by culture | Four or more (Source) |
| Tryon & Hackman (1983), pp. 24 | |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
| Island Size (km²) | 481.0 (Source) |
| Clark & Bedford (2008), pp. 64 | |
| Maximum elevation (meters) | 518.0 (Source) |
| Clark & Bedford (2008), pp. 64 | |
Location |
| Latitude | -9.6 (Source) |
| Tryon & Hackman (1983), pp. 24 | |
| Longitude | 161.5 (Source) |
| Tryon & Hackman (1983), pp. 24 | |
External Links
References
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.
Daft Logic Area Calculator. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (eds.). (2020). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (23rd ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. Retrieved from http://www.ethnologue.com
Ivens, W. G. (1911). Grammar of the language of Sa'a, Malaita, Solomon Islands. Anthropos, 755-773.
Ivens, W. G. (1913). Grammar of the language of Ulawa, Solomon Islands. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 22(1 (85), 28-35.
Ivens, W.G. (1972). Melanesians of the south-east Solomon Islands. New York, NY: Benjamin Blom Inc (Originally published 1927).
Tryon, D. T., & Hackman, B. D. (1983). Solomon Islands languages: An internal classification. Canberra, Australia: Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University.