How Others Live

The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia. By Professor Brcinislaw Malinowski, Ph.D., D.Bc: Preface by Havelock Ellis. Illustrated. (Routicdge. 42s.)

READERS familiar with Professor MalinowskPs previous works will ex'pedt to fmd in this volume deep erudition com- bined with that literary charm which makes hitn the. most readable of living anthropologists. They will not be dis- appointed. His is the grace Of'diction; 'the felicity of phrase, which allow' the layman to 'follow the points of an analysis which in any other hands would be blanketed by the obscurities of scientific terminology: A light 'touch illtimines the most intricate 'argument: - Vivid- metaphori, picturesque' descrip, tions -rinake-of the Trobrianders a living reality: • We can see them as they 'are and -almost feel ourselvei partaking in their island life. In a word, in our 'author's favourite word, they function : -they are not automata. •

After a and account of the material setting of his a

'slanders nd an extremely lucid statement of the anthro- pological backgroundfor the benefit of readers unfamiliar with is earlier works which 'cover the same field, Professor Malinowski settles comfortably into his stride. He describes for us the whole life cycle of the Trobianders, from childhood, through puberty, to marriage and procreation, till the wheel comes round full circle. .The later chapters are devoted to special aspects' of Trobriand culture which emerge' from the life history of the 'individual and the family. The whole is very thothughly documented, and while the material will be of esveciel value both to the psychologist and the anthro- pologist; it will prove no less interesting to the general' reader unacquainted with anthropological literattire.' We May roniark in.paSsing that frankness of exposition is allied with a sedulous avoidance of lubricity.

While sex is a paramount , fact in Trobriand society this does not mean that Trobriand society is orgiastic. Theirs is not the decadent licence of Strato

las ynpiesa rb KaX4v, Actrci4os wpiv .iriX0a• (1 di ;Abet, rf Ool3i roil' I Firft atalirat:

•

There are very peremptory rules of decency and decorum ; there are negative as well as positive institutions, renuneiations • as well as privileges. Nakedness, for instance, is not shameful - when it is necessary, and only'becomes so when due to careless- ness or lewdness. Sex, moreover, is not an isolated elements in Trobriand society. • It is part of the whole texture of life,- and their attitude . towards sex cannot be. comprehended- except in relation to the general culture.. We cannot under. stand the sexual institutions of the Trobrianders, unless we also understand their social institutions, and study the whole complex of economic, legal, and religious interactions. That their moral code may differ from ours does not prove the Trobrianders to be immoral : culture and morality must be

judged as one

" Many things which we regard as natural, proper and moral' are anathema to the Trobriander.. And the onus probandi.wouldv. rest on anyone who maintains that the. Trobriander's meralay.tt

w ouri is "right, That his limitations and barriers are inadequate and artificial while ours are sufficient and real." Sexual experience starts young, but its nature and implica- tions change with the growth of the individual. From being little more than a game, in which imitation and experiment are uppermost, it becomes a more serious business with the approach of puberty, till after a period of courtship love making crystallizes into marriage and finally parenthood. But there is no justification for assuming, as certain theorists have, that promiscuity and communal bachelor-houses Imply group-concubinage. There is no evidence whatever for this and, as Professor Malinowski points out, every indica- tion makes such a hypothesis untenable. We might incidentally imagine that with so much pre-marital freedom the Trobriander would not be inclined to marry ; but marriage is clearly his chief ambition, and not the least of the incentives is the economic advantage of his new status.

With the approach of adolescence jealousy 'would appear to make its first appearance, and to increase in intensity till It becomes almost an obsession in married life. This accords with the conception of childish love being casual and experi- mental, but it is doubtful whether, psychologically speaking, jealousy can have so abrupt a beginning as is here suggested. Experience in other countries and in a vast diversity of cultures proves children to be capable of as ardent jealousy as their elders, and the possessive sentiment has no real relation with legal possession.

Before puberty there is little sex control. Casual lovers may be seen in public, arm-in-arm ; they may be perfectly obvious lovers. But with puberty there comes a tightening-up of the rules governing courtship ; greater discretion is required, and affianced lovers may not eat together. After marriage we find that, while conjugal affection is genuine enough, reticence and discretion are still more emphatically enjoined. There may be no allusions to sex, and a man and woman are debarred from any public. 'demonstrations of affection. One Might assume that the possibility of conception might have something to do with the stricter rules of intercourse at and after adolescence ; but as a matter of fact the rules hardly affect the sexual side at all. They deal more with the formal aspects of love-making. Moreover, the Trobriander would not be affected by such a consideration, as we are told that he is completely ignorant of physiological paternity. The father has clearly defined social functions, but he plays no actual part in the procreation of a child. A woman, so soon as she is in a state of receptivity, can conceive without the intervention of any male.

This accounts for the fact that there are no contraceptive methods known to the native, but it does not account for the fact that illegitimacy is both rare and strongly disapproved. There is as yet no satisfactory explanation for the apparent sterility of girls before marriage and their prolific fecundity after.

As a matter of fact several other questions are left unanswered, and though Professor Malinowski marshals a great deal of evidence in support of the no-paternity theory, we must confess to being not entirely convinced on this point. Why, for instance, if there is no bodily tie between father and son, should any intimacy between a son and his mother's co-wife cause a scandal ? If there is no physiological need for a male, why is sexual continence required of a mother during the period of lactation in order to prevent too early a re-conception ? We insist expect to find' inconsistencies in primitive theory, but, making every allowance, we are not satisfied that either here or in Central Australia is the evidence for no-paternity conclusive.

. The aesthetics and magic of love-making are fully discussed and .2su'v 'lcs"susented tome of the magic formulas are ‘ery remanrable, and one at least deserves quotation for the beauty of its sentiment and expression :— '

" Beautiful will my face remain, Flashing will my face remain, Buoyant will my face remain I No more it is my face, My face is as the full moon.

No more it 'is my face,

My face is as the round moon.

I pierce through,

As the creamy shoot of the areen leaf, I come out,

As a bud of the white lily."