Trobriand people
People participate in the regional circuit of exchange of shells called kula, sailing to visit trade partners on seagoing canoes.
In the late 20th century, anti-colonial and cultural autonomy movements gained followers from the Trobriand societies.
When colonial rulers forbade inter-group warfare, the islanders developed a unique, aggressive form of cricket.
Although reproduction and modern medicine is widely understood in Trobriand society, their traditional beliefs have been remarkably resilient.
These tenets form the main stratum of what can be termed popular or universal belief.
In the past, many held this traditional belief because the yam,[specify] a major food of the island, included chemicals (phytoestrogens and plant sterols) whose effects are contraceptive, so the practical link between sex and pregnancy was not very evident.
[dubious – discuss][better source needed][1] The Trobriand peoples speak Kilivila, though different dialects are spoken in different tribes.
Foreign languages are less commonly spoken, although by the 1980s, Trobrianders occasionally spoke Tok Pisin and English.
[2] Drawing upon earlier work by Bronisław Malinowski, Dorothy D. Lee's scholarly writings refer to "non-lineal codifications of reality".
In such a linguistic system, the concept of linear progress of time, geometric shapes, and even conventional methods of description are lost or altered.
The betel nut acts as a stimulant and is commonly used by Trobrianders, causing their teeth to often appear red.
In 2009, the problem of population pressure, leading to food insecurity, received much national and international media attention.
The man and woman sit together in the morning and wait for the bride's mother to bring them cooked yams.
[1] When a Trobriand couple want to marry, they show their interest by sleeping together, spending time together, and staying with each other for several weeks.
After that, the girl moves to the boy's house, eats her meals there, and accompanies her husband all day.
Trobriands believe that conception is the result of an ancestral spirit entering the woman's body.
Young people learn spells from older kin in exchange for food, tobacco, and money.
Spells are often partially or fully lost because the old people give away only a few lines at a time to keep getting gifts.
A person may direct magic spells toward heightening the visual and olfactory effects of their body to induce erotic feelings in their lover.
[1] The beauty magic words are chanted into coconut oil, and then a person rubs it onto their skin, or into flowers and herbs that decorate their armbands and hair.
The spouse is joined in mourning by female kin and the dead person's father's sisters.
The first set of exchanges takes place the day after burial and involves yams, taro, and small amounts of money.
