Cover not available
Part of
Growing up on the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea: Childhood and educational ideologies in Tauwema
Barbara Senft and Gunter Senft
[Culture and Language Use 21] 2018
► pp. 9–146

Chapter 2
Childhood in Tauwema

Article outline
  • 2.1The fieldsite: Tauwema village on Kaile’una Island
  • 2.2The first period in the childrens’ lifetime
    • 2.2.1Conception, birth and birth-giving
    • 2.2.2The suckling
    • 2.2.3Weaning the suckling
    • 2.2.4Excursus: Adoption
  • 2.3The following period in the childrens’ lifetime until they reach the age of seven
    • 2.3.1Life in the children’s group – who plays with whom when and where
    • 2.3.2The games the children play
      • 2.3.2.1Dance, song and rhythmic games
      • 2.3.2.2 Games with objects and materials
      • 2.3.2.3Role-playing games
      • 2.3.2.4Construction games
      • 2.3.2.5Fighting and competition games
      • 2.3.2.6Hunting games
    • 2.3.3Two basic functions of the games
      • 2.3.3.1Testing and developing motor skills and physical abilities
      • 2.3.3.2Getting acquainted and becoming familiar with various objects and materials
    • 2.3.4The children’s socialization into the Trobriand community
      • 2.3.4.1Gender and sex-specific role-play
      • 2.3.4.2Tradition and control of norms with respect to the expression of emotions
      • 2.3.4.3Tradition and control of norms with respect to requesting, giving and taking
      • 2.3.4.4The role of the children’s “small republic”
    • 2.3.5The child in the adult world
      • 2.3.5.1Relationships between parents, grandparents and children
      • 2.3.5.2 Domains of education: obedience – personal hygiene – work – tradition of culture – morals
  • 2.4 Children after the age of seven years – a brief outlook
  • Notes
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.