Chapter 6
Summary
This chapter focuses on the role girls play in the community. The organization of young men is called the Aumaga, and the organization of young girls, wives of untitled men and the widows is called the Aualuma. The Aumaga is a lot like the organization of older men. They do the heavy work of the village and play a great part in the social intercourse between villages. The Aualuma is less formalized, and they do “hardly any work.” Their main function is to be village hostesses and ceremonial helpers at certain meetings for the wives of matais.
The chapter also discusses the women’s fonos of which there are two kinds: the ones that follow or precede communal work and the ceremonial fonos. Mead also mentions several taboos and explains how relationship group matters are different from the group matters already described.
Discussion
I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m use to our culture or not, but the formation of their groups sounds very complex and the different roles they play and rules they follow also sound complex.
I think it’s interesting how talking chiefs and chiefs must be spoken to with a different set of verbs and nouns suitable to his rank. It reminds me of the Japanese with the formal and informal speech – one thing that makes the language more difficult to learn. I wonder if Mead had to follow these rules too (as I’m sure she did), and if she ever messed up. When I took Japanese and had to carry on a conversation with my professor's Japanese wife, I was really nervous about insulting her by conjugating a verb in the informal rather than formal form.
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