Environment and Human Adaption
Since the Abelam live in the foothills to the north in the
east Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, they in a an are of landforms,
altitudes, also annual rainfalls, and also live where there soil is thick
secondary vegetation. Since the rainfall is an annual thing I don’t think that
culture has any problems with it. They live in a more green area where it is easy
for there crops to grow. The Abelam culture has adapted to the weather changes,
which they the same weather changes as we do Fall, Spring, summer, and winter
and they have survived this far.
They live in a rural area, land where they have a lot of
room to farm; they picked a perfect part of the soil because of the crops.
Abelam culture, in subgroups, I believe that they are near each other, but they
have there distances, and room to have homes built, and a good area of room to
grow crops. No, other cultures other than the Abelam are at quite some
distance. That is a good thing because there won’t be any fight or issues that
may happen. The Abelam are well known for their yams, that they grow, so we
know that the Abelam are big farming culture. They are also good at hunting. So
by them growing there own crops and hunting for there meats, this is a healthy
culture. Some crops they do grow are of course the giant yams, taro, bananas,
and also sweet potatoes. For the meat section there is: chickens, pigs, which
are raised, and they also hunted smaller edible things such as: marsupials and
cassowaries.
One would be if they got a lot of rain, by this happening,
there could be sickness, the crops drowning, not being able to hunt much
because of the animal not out as much. Not only the crop drowning if it rained
so hard, but replanting could be at some trouble. If their animal are not kept
with some shelter that could cause the animals to get sick, and there is a possibility
they could die. Working outside would be a hard task if it were pouring rain
none stop. Environmental stress could be an cause some trouble things, like
there live stock, could die out, there hunting will be less, there crops will
be no good. Sickness, and even death would be some of them also. After being in
this climate for so long that they have adapted to make sure thing didn’t get
worse. Houses and make warm clothes, make shelter so the animal, and crops.
These are all thing I believe have adapted in there culture as the years went
by.
Two physical adaptations that the Abelam had, and took care
of was there, one dark skin, there dark skin was such help because, they
produce more melanin, then a lighter person, and that actually helps from the
sunrays. Another one would be there thick hair, there hair is so thick believe
it or not but it actually keeps their scalp collier. This also helps with not
burning the scalp. Three cultural adaptations that the Abelam has is, the yams,
the biggest thing that the Abelam, looks forward doing every day, as a matter
of fact they would spend most of their day working on there yams. The bigger
the yams the more powerful and spiritual it is. Second would have to be the
thing they do in just on day, you would think of gathering food hunting nope,
they actually only hunt of two hours out of the whole day. Not only that but
they sleep for ten hours, now that’s a tribe I would like because I am lucky if
I fours hours a day. The third would be gardening, because if most of there
time is those giant yams than a lot of that time is working and making sure
that the garden is growing well.
Language and Gender Role
The Abelam language is ran from the Ndu Language, which is
the top of all twelve languages. The Ndu is another meaning for, “man.” The
family that started the language from the beginning is the Kirschbaum, which
was in the 1922. Some of the other languages are Nagaia, Latmul, Abelam, and
also Manambu, and there are many more. There are 45,000 Abelam tribes that
speck these languages, well depending on what tribe you are at or if it was a
different tribe, the language could be one of the twelve.
There are only two specific genders when it comes to this
tribe, and that is, a man and women, sorry but there are no aliens. Well in
every culture there are important roles that very gender plays, the women have
every duties that every culture has, laundry, cooking, kids, making sure there
husbands are happy pretty much. The men had the hard labor like, building,
hunting, teaching the kids when the get old but just the boy kids. As a tribe
they all work on the garden together, because of the yams. I am sure that if
you do something as a gender role that wasn’t normal, you may have problems
with some of the tribe members. If something isn’t done right for example if a
man messes up a trap, this can cause some serious issues. It is always the mans
job to teach the young boy, what is duties will be, that way he knows them and
how to do them when they get older. The same goes for the female there gender
role is, cooking, cleaning taking care of the man of the family, and etc. She
most likely wont because she is more interested in the Native Americans, not
the Abelam or even a tribe like the Abelam.
Subsistence and Economy
The Abelam has art, and there painting is seen to be magical
that gives life a piece of there activities on a daily basics. These painting
are never life giving but life taking all throughout these tribes the painting
from these tribes are all around the world. Their crops have to be the number
one for there diet because they grow good bananas, yams, and also swat
potatoes, etc. These crops are mostly seasonal but they do have some that are
yearly. The men and women have separate labor, which I explained early, and the
garden is a culture effort, where they all work together on that, to keep the
crops healthy. They maintain their meat, and have a lot of crops; I think there
diet is very well controlled. I think it would be sometime difficult to
maintain the seasonal crops.
This tribe has no surplus coming to them, and they don’t get
any. They have just the food they hunt or crop; it’s an all-natural thing. Only
the yams would be a specialization, because they are super taken care of. Once
again about the yams the bigger the yam, the wealthier you are, if you have a
same no good one, then you will be looked down upon. When you give a yam to
your enemy, and that shows you are the man, and if your enemy grows a bigger
one then that then that shows you aren’t the man, unless he has a small one or
you out beat his big one.
Marriage and Kinship
This culture is the polygynous, this is where the men have
many women, and the women cannot have many men, it’s just the way the culture
is. There is no cross cousin, or parallel cousins. The women find the man, but
it’s the man who says yay or nay. Oh yes they practice exchange and that is
with the father’s sister and the brother in law’s sister exchange to see if they
like a new wife. Those men have more of a right then women when it comes to
marriage. It had endogamy, which marriage stays within that group, there 70,000
people in just one village. The only one would be the exchange, with the
father’s sister and the brother in law’s sister. That is not expected in this
culture, you will be pretty much disqualified from the group.
The practice is having multiple wives, and how the wife’s
have to obey the husband with every request. The women with never have multiple
husbands, but if the relationship doesn’t work the wife has to go back home to
the kin family. They don’t ignore that situation, but they don’t really keep
they in the family. The father and the husband, if you are with your parents,
your father is the one, but if you are married your husband is the number one. There is no problem with there inheritances,
this culture keeps that organized. This was going to be mother father, brother,
sisters, children, but not so much of the aunts and uncles, because I didn’t
read anything about a part in the family, probably because they have there own.
Social and Political Organization
My culture is a general egalitarian, where everyone in the
tribe is treated equally, the power is in a equal way, and even some different
people in the culture has a chance to that the power. Every single person in
the tribe is equal, like every female has the same duties, and all the men have
the same duties, and also the children have to learn at the same age, and are
all treated equally, and I believe that’s way they get along so well. This is
one reason why they have such little problems there are no favoritism, so no
one should have a problem, and if they did, they should be punishment.
There is a chief of any tribe, but like individual power is
all in the yams, and how large and healthy they are. If the yam is the largest
out of everyone’s yams, than you have the power, but you give your large yam to
your enemy, to see if he can grow a large one, to see if you with hold the
power next time. This all depends on who grow the better yam, which is the one
who holds the power for the next season. The chief is the one with the laws,
which he is the one who holds that power in his hands. This all depends on what
you did in order to get punishment; I believe that each crime is linked to a
different punishment.
Belief Systems and The Arts
They are not so much religious with, a certain god, but they
are very spiritual with the Ngwallndu spirits. No this is one of there own
spiritual culture has, there than that other culture have there own religious
god or spirits. They are very monotheistic, where they are the only one that believes
in their spirits, the Ngwallndu spirits that mostly come for an after life.
They founded the Ndu family about 1,000 years ago, which is when they started
the Ndu language, and started the Ndu spiritual rituals. The important ritual
is the after life, because when the Ngwallndu come they take you to there
heaven, but the body need to remain in the Korambo, which is the ceremonial
house, and this has to go on for a day and night for the ritual to happen. This
is very thing to them, the function with this, if they didn’t have this what or
who would they look up to. They wouldn’t be afraid of death because of the Ngwallndu
spirits, but if they didn’t have them then what would they think when death
came along.
Abelam had a great painting technique. They would paint and
this meant so much to them that they felt it was magical, powerful, and soon
would become active. Even though these paintings were just a metaphor, to them
it was very real. There music was very soothing, to the people and calm, they
used a flue and wind noises, nothing bumping and jumping around, and my culture
is very peaceful and calm. There religious arts was when they had there
ceremonies at the korambo, and this was more like there circle of life, such as
a girl becoming a women, and when death is sent to heaven. There weren’t much
performances nothing big just the rituals.
Culture Change
The Western culture is one that has
be somewhat affected, because of the more modern cultures, but also they were
trying to bring the Abelam traditions to a stop, and bring their own traditions
in. By this happening the bad impact would be, because that they are so use to
what they have their rituals, and tratitions in., so by changing what they know
would become a problem. The great Impact would be that, some people are trying
to still believe in everything they have learned and looked up too.
The Abelam culture would get the
influence of losing their identity, if any other culture would come invading,
or being different out looks. With the Western culture, they would come in and
change things, because they know they can, and believe it or not they will.
Even though that the Western Culture will come and bring new things, the Abelam
will not stop using there culture doings.
The Abelam is very small and isn’t to
big with the modern culture, I mean well there is a small variety of information
on them. With the food, rituals, and traditions, in time sooner or later they
will become market economy.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelam_people
http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/yammasko.htm
http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Abelam.html
