Oceania Publications, University of Sydney

The Incest Passions: An Outline of the Logic of the Iqwaye Social Organization
Author(s): Jadran Mimica
Source: Oceania, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Dec., 1991), pp. 81-113
Published by: Wiley on behalf of Oceania Publications, University of Sydney
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OCEANIA

DECEMBER,1991

Vol 62No.2

THE INCEST PASSIONS:AN OUTLINE OF THE

LOGIC OF THE IQWAYE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
JadranMimica
University
ofSydney

Part 2

In the firstpart of this paper (Oceania 62(1)) I presentedthe mythopoeicof incestamongtheIqwaye people,a Yagwoia-Anga
cosmologicalfoundations
of
the
West
group
MenyamyaCensus Division,Morobe Province,Papua New
Guinea. The core of incestpassions derivesfromthe primordialautosexualhowincest
i.e. self-procreative,
cosmicman.HereI amdemonstrating
autonutritive,
as autocreation
of Iqwaye social
is realizedin themainstructural
configurations
thenamingsystem,patrifiliation,
matrifiliation,
affinity,
organization,
specifically
cross-sexsiblingship
malehomosexuality.
institutionalized
and,finally,
4. BodilyPerson, the Naming System, Exchange and the Circle of Kinship
of norlivedas a trans-corporeal,
spiritual
AmongtheIqwayethepersonis neither
thought
The
and
concretebody.The self
the
irreducible
of
a
entity. primary
reality personis his/her
is thebody.Accordingly,
theirsociality,are focussed
codetermining
Iqwaye sensibilities,
the
Itsfleshyenvelopederives
which
of
the
derivesfromthebodies
upon bodilybeing
parents.
fromthemother'sblood and milk,the skeletonfromthefather'ssemen.Now, thecore
intuition
theIqwayeviewofthebodyis theorganismic
factofitsgenesis,namely
underlying
thatthehumanbodyoriginates
tothebody
internal
substances
fromthenutritive-procreative
tothe
theeatingoffoodwhoseoriginis external
itself,
although
theyarereplenished
through
thebodyhas an autopoieticsignificance
ofbeingthesourceofitself.
body.Nevertheless,
thefoetussubsists
in earlyinfancy
attesttothisfact,forintrautero
Conceptionandnutrition
and in a largepartdevelopsout of thebody of themother.Post-partum
it feedsoffthe
s milk.Thesignificance
it
is
ofcannibalistic
mother'
is
that
ofthisorganismic
interdependence
substances.
nature.
Forthelifeoftheinfant
s
is sustained
its
the
mother'
intra-bodily
by eating
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Oceania, 62, 1991

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The IncestPassions

of
This cannibalistic
mustnotsimplybe seen as the culturalspecificity
significance
the
existence.
human
but
also
of
as
the
immanent
Therefore,
Iqwaye experience
facticity
is a universal
ofthissignificance
ofthemother-infant
potential
interdependence
organismic
in thisprimordial
substratum
matrix
ofhumansocialityanditssensibilities.
However,notin
all life-worlds
is thissubstratum
and objectified
articulated
of thehumansituationequally
intoa systemofvaluesandpracticesconstitutive
ofsociality.
but
Thebodilyfluidsandsubstances
evaluatedandaccordingly
aredifferently
treated,
these
various
formulations,
through
practicesand theirsymbolic,specificallymetaphoric
substancesand fluidswhich are otherwisea bodily refuse,eg., urineand faeces, are
transmuted
intothe
intopalatablesubstances
andthusvicariously
eatenbackandreintegrated
s
is envisagedtobe symbolically
body. Thussaltproduction
takingplaceinsidethesalt-maker'
his intra-bodily
body. Salt is therefore
product,namelysemen ossifiedthroughthe
transmutation
of thesalt plants'ashes,whichare the'faeces' leftoverafterthefirehas
incinerated
The liquidsaltobtainedafterthewaterhas
(ie.,'eaten') theplantsandfirewood.
beenfiltered
intosolid
the
ashes
is
'urine'
which
through
finally,
boilingcrystallizes
through
'
as theprocessof
saltproduction
salt,theossifiedsemen'. Thissymbolicprocessconstitutes
the
of thehumanbodyand in thatdetermination
thecosmogony,
procreation
recapitulates
of
all
final
is
a
The
semen
is
that
the
archetype
procreation. point
(salt)
palatable
imaginary
substanceproducedvia thenon-edible
faecesandurine.Throughsalttheyaresymbolically
andre-ingested.
preserved
in theirpastpracticeofhomosexualfellatiorealsemen
However,in anotherinstance,
was actuallyeatenbytheinitiates.
was endowedwitha variety
Butheretoo,therealsubstance
ofsignifications.
One followedfromthesignificance
ofinsemination.
Apartfrombeingthe
insemination
the
also
was intendedas a
senior
act
this
bachelors
of
the
initiates
by
junior
vicariousinsemination
in
MB
fact
a
couldnothave
ofnephewsbymaternal
uncles,although
a homosexualrelation
withhisZS. The relations
betweenthejuniorandseniorinitiates(the
inseminators
betweentheolder
and theinseminated)
was and is envisagedas brotherhood
brothers
brothers
(+ B) andyounger
(-B).1
For Iqwaye all bodily fluidsare mutuallyin a relationof potentialand actual
and
as well as conflation,
identification,
equivalence.Their conceptualdifferentiation,
substitution
fluidscanbe globallysubsumedunder
Furthermore,
varyrelativetothecontext.
a singlecategorialidentity
of semenand/orblood whichthemselvescan be stillfurther
reidentified
withthecategory'water' or 'liquid' (aalye). In logical termsall
generically
elements
oftheclass' liquid'aremutually
namelysemenand
equivalentandsomeelements,
bloodarecontextually
identicalto eithersomeorall theelementsoftheclass.So a partcan
be identical
tothewhole:[(mucus,saliva,pus,urine,cadaverousfluid)=semen,blood]
=water,
i.e.,'liquid'.
Stillfurther,
in all Iqwayeexchanges,through
whichtheirsocialityis structured,
pork
and all othervaluableshavethesignificance
of human
and value of thebodilymateriality
ofthatoriginary
bodilygiving
beings.InthatsenseIqwayesocialexchangeis thecontinuation
andtaking- thesexual-nurturing
which
everypersoncomesintobeing.
procreation
through
matrixes
The coreofthesocial exchangeis theMB/ZChwhichderivesfromtheprimordial
is
a male
ofthemother- child andthecross-sexsiblingship
uncle
Maternal
relationship.
the
mother.
The kin-term
forMB naarnnemeansliterallymother'sbreast.Thus, MB/ZCh
relation
cannibalisticsexual-nurturing
oftheoriginary
through
exchangeis thecontinuation
flowofbodilysubstances.
Theseare nowsubstituted
(i.e.,procreative)
byotherfood,pork,
whichthebodyis maintained
game,clothes,andvaluablesthrough
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Mimica

theF-Ch(and
Thismatrifilial
is spokenof as 'eating'whilepatrifiliation,
relationship
are
F-S) is therelationof planting'.These relationships processes,notstatic
specifically
bonds.Bothare correlative:
'eating' presupposes'planting',i.e., copulation(fertilization),
and 'planting'presupposes'eating' whichitselfis sexualized;it is an oral analogueof
to the
This corresponds
and procreation.
of fertilization
copulationwithits entailments
equivalenceoftheoralandpeniletracts.But sincein fellatio,copulationandeatingusedto
butas
coincidecompletely,
notmerelyas an analogue(metaphor)
'eating'thuswas affirmed
are
a completehomologueof'planting'
. In short,inIqwayeusagesoralandpenileactivities
andreferences.
cross-identifications
intoa unifiedfieldofmetaphoric
whollyconflated
is the
The crucialaspectof theM-Ch,MB-ZCh,theB-Z, and theF-Chrelationships
structure
of theiridentities,
i.e., theirbodilyselves whichare expressedin theirnaming
system.It articulateshumancorporealidentityinto a global systemof sociocentric
classification.
Hereis a briefoutline.
descent
on thepatrilineal
Therearethreemodesofnaming,
all ofwhicharepredicated
the
I
describe
shall
Here
matrifiliation.
and
groups(PDG) latice,specifically
patrilineality
nick-names.
the
and
names
of
of
endearment
aside
the
system personalnames,leaving
system
The cruxofthepersonalnamessystemis thatthenamesofthePDGs arealso thenamesof
ofa
thepeoplewhoembodythem.PDG arenamed,say,A,B,C,D,or E... Now all members
Women
names.
female
and
male
between
PDG bearitsname.Thereis a difference,
however,
bearthenameonlyoftheirownPDG. Men,on theotherhand,havein additionthenameof
s PDG. To illustrate:
as I andmysisterareofthepatrilineal
theirmother'
groupnamedA, my
s
s PDG is namedB. Ifmyfather'
sister's nameis alsoA. Mynameis A-B,becausemymother'
is ofthePDG C, andthathernameis also C. My
nameis A-C,thanitmeansthathismother
andso willbe myFFZ>FFFZ>
FZ willbe also A by name,thesameas mysister,daughter,
in regardto the
relatedmenwill be differentiated
andFBD, FFBD, and so on. Agnatically
is shownbelow.
Thisnamestructure
tothembytheirmothers.
namestransmitted

A
A

\
aIx

AB

BY

IB

Figure1.
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The IncestPassions

All personalnameshave birth-order

whichare also thefingernames.Thus,
suffixes
femalenamesare,say,'A-thethumb'(i.e., first-born),
'A-theindexfinger'(second-born),
*A-themiddle
are' A-B-thethumb'(first-born),
names
and
so
on.
Male
finger5
(third-born),
to the
'A-B-theindexfinger'(thesecond-born),
etc. Birthorderis calculatedin reference
has
if
woman
a
and
two
forms
the
child.
series
relative
to
the
sex
of
So,
givenbirth
genetrix,
to threechildren
in theordermale,female,male,theywill notbe orderedas the'first-born
is specified
male'. Rather,theirbirth-order
male',the'secondbornfemale',the'third-born
in termsoftheirsex. The femalechild,althoughsecond-born,
is classifiedas the'first-born
female'. The thirdchildis classifiedas the' second-born
male'. The systememphasizesthe
ofcross-sexsiblingship.
importance
gradedintocross-sexsiblings
Siblingsetsareinternally
of thesamebirthorder,and theentirefieldof kinshipis focusedon thesedyadsand their
- themother's
derivative
childrelationship.
brother/sister's
The systemof personalnames as schematizedabove signifiesthe essence of the
of thecorporealperson.The
of thePDGs, and correlatively,
indigenousconceptualization
refersto theirbodily
man's and woman's own patrilinealgroupname,the patri-name,
interiority,
specificallythe bones. The man's mother'spatrilinealgroup name, his
referstohisbodilyexteriority,
thefleshand,also,hisexternal
focus,thepenis.
matri-name,
aboutthenatureof
To thateffect,
fortheIqwayeand otherYagwoia,themainassumption
in the
thesocialorderas exemplified
unitsofpeople,is incarnated
by PDGs as progenitive
population.

4.1. Sociocentricclassification
and thearticulationofexo-/endo-identityofthebodily
personand thepatrilinealdescentgroup
derived
skeletalidentity
is literallyhis/her
intra-bodily
Everyone'sinneror endo-identity
ofevery
fromthefather's
semen.Thispatri-identity
is markedbythepatri-name
component
is his/her
person'sname.Everyone'sexo-ormatri-identity
bodilyenvelope,thefleshwhich
cameintobeingintra-utero
fromthemother'
s bloodandmilk,andwas further
developedby
whichis a component
mother'
s nourishment.
Thisis encodedinthematri-name,
onlyofmale
of the
names.Womenhave onlypatri-names.
The reasonforthisis thetacitsignificance
has
the
of
interior
2.
The
in
section
Part
phallic
body
1,
Iqwayecorporealgenderexplicated
theIqwayebodyis categorically
a phallicbody.Thewoman's bodyis eminently
significance;
and
with
a
thewoman's bodyis thephalluswhich
difference
from
the
man'
s
because
so,
body
bearschildren.
Thisis themainsignificance
ofwoman's corporeal
genderamongtheIqwaye.
no exterior
has
woman
the
female
is
because
Furthermore,
penis.Andit
body monophallic
focusis
referential
is forthisreasonthatshe does notbearthematri-name,
whoseprimary
identifies
thus
which
theexternal
a
bears
Thatis whyeveryman
matri-name,
phallicgenitalia.
hisexternal
Moreprecisely,
imageof
bodilyidentity.
everyIqwayeman's bodyis themirror
His
hismother's
andmother's
brother's
i.e.,theirintra-bodily
phallus. bodily
endo-identity,
disclosestheirinnerbeing.
exteriority
The brother-sister
(cross-sex siblingship)relationis inverse of the M/MB-ZS
butonly
The cross-sexsiblingshaveidenticalinnerandouterbodilyidentities
relationship.
In thatsensethesister's
thebrother
phallicidentity.
fullydisclosestheircommonmaternal
theirpaternal
maternal
whileherownbodyenunciates
s exteriority
is herbrother'
self-identity
whichonlysheis capableofexternalizing
bybearinga child.Thisis whyevery
self-identity
thathis ZCh is his truechild;theZS trulybearshis
Iqwayemansays withouthesitation
maternal
in hisownmaternal
flesh.In thissenseeveiyIqwayebodily
uncle'spatri-identity
her
selfofthesister/brother,
of
the
is
other
selves:
the
mother,
fleshyenvelope
self-identity
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Mimica

sisterandbrother.
theIqwayebodilyselfdoes notpossessitselfas itsown
Fundamentally,
selfbutas a self,i.e.,body,ofanother
andlikewiseforthemother,
self.My sisteris myself,
butthrough
mother'
s sisterandmaternal
andfather'
s sisterarealso myself,
uncle.Myfather
theinteriority
ofmybones.In shortmychildis myself.We nowclearlysee whyamongthe
of autosexualityor
Iqwaye the incest interdictionis formulatedas an interdiction
Forto havesex withanyrelationwouldamountto havingsex withoneself
self-copulation.
ofeachother'sbodilyidentity.
sincetheego andthealteraredifferential
incarnations
In view of this natureof kinshiprelatednessamong the Iqwaye as the field of
factof procreation
of the selfwiththeother(based on theprimordial
self-identification
is the
and
therefore
out
of
the
the
child
as
the
other
is
born
self,
bodily
parents'
whereby
thecharacter
embodiment
oftheirselvesjustas theyareofthechild's) we canalso understand
thatexchangeofgoodsfrom
ofthecannibalistic
ofkinshipexchange.To theextent
meanings
The valuablesare the
ZCh to M andMB (andvice versa)is 'eating',it is thusself-eating.
s body,itsblood,milk,andother
fortheZCh's bodywhichcameoutofthemother'
substitute
fromtheir
food.Accordingly,
thechild's'mothers'(MB and MZ) who receiveprestations
s
ZCh'
own
their
which
externalizes
eat
back
his/her
i.e.,
bodyis their
self-identity,
ZCh,
body
ownbody..Andvice versa,bygivingfood,clothes,andvaluablesto theZCh, theyenable
in his/her
to manifest
him/her
(further
expressed
self-identity
bodytheirown (intra-bodily)
in endearment
names).So byvicariously
eatingthebodyoftheotherone eatsoneself.This
is also theadditionalsphereof activitywhich,withsex, is subjectedto theinterdiction
constitutive
oftheirsociality.
foodandvaluables,wouldprecludesociality,forone
To eat directly
oneself,through
- theselfwhois
thesolutionis to eat onselfindirectly
wouldclose upononeself.Therefore,
one stepremovedfromoneself,so to speak.And in thiswaythecircleofsocialitycentered
into
him/her
upononeself,is at onceopenedup towardsanotherselfin orderto incorporate
oneselfas oneself,andclosedin andupononeself.Butwe observeherethatin themodeof
'eating',i.e., exchange,theIqwaye do exactlythatwhichtheycannotdo in themodeof
his or hersibling,
frommarrying
'planting'(copulation).Althougha personis prohibited
'
own
its
a
like
be
a
for
would
or
that
penis', nothing,
doglicking
self-copulation,
parent, child,
'
on theotherhand,precludesthepersonswithintheinnercircleofkinshipto eat' eachother.
thatis themovingforceof kinship- itsmodusvivendi.Without'eating'
On thecontrary,
obviatinof
thereis no sociality.So in factIqwayegiftexchangeis trulythemetaphoric
Obviationis
its
affirmation.
but
as
denial
its
as
incestuous,
i.e.,autosexualdesire,thoughnot
its
closest
oftherealthingby
substitution
theaffirmation
equivalent.
bydetour,through
of the
Thatthisis so is clearlybroughtoutby theIqwaye view of theconsumption
'
If
he
were
is notsupposedto eat' them.
cowrieshells(ungye).The bride's father
bride-price
theIqwayewouldsaythatsucha man'would eat
to use themforbuyingporkorwhatever,
whichis to saythathe woulddrinkhisownsemen.The shellsarethe
hisownnose-mucus',
The forceof this
of his inneridentity.
who is theembodiment
paymentforhis daughter
be incestous
would
such
that
notion
from
the
derives
consumption
proscription
thebride's
his
for
but
him
to
eat
for
not
are
shells
the
son,
since
bride-price
(self-copulatory)
hisown
eaten
has
father
the
that
on
the
rests
The proscription
brother.
already
presupposition
butto
himself
to
not
his
andaccordingly daughter's
sister'sbride-price,
belongs
bride-price
:
hissonforwhomhissisteris theexactotherself.
linkswithintheIqwaye circleof
This exampleindicateshow thevariousstructural
'
modesof' planting'and eating'. Here
kinshipareenvisagedintermsofthetwoconstitutive
D andS (i.e.,B
F andFZ andtheprogeny
is mediatedbycross-sexsiblingship.
patrifiliation
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The IncestPassions

and Z) havethesame insideidentity,

theirbones.These twopairsof cross-sexsiblingsin
are
connected
common
seminal(i.e.,bone)identity.
adjacentgenerations
By theirbodily
by
maternal
are
bear
different
the
same.
But
their
interiority
they
bodilyenvelopes
respective
identities
whichmakethemdifferent
persons.
(bones):F=FZ=D=S(B =Z)
patrifiliation
matrifiliation
(flesh):F=FZ^D=S(B =Z)
F andFZ arenotmirrored
theirM and
byD andS (i.e.,B andZ) in thewaytheymirror
MB ('mothers').In matrifiliation
mirrors
theprogenitors'
theprogeny'sexternalidentity
(M
andMB) intra-bodily
Thus:
identity.
matrifiliation:
M, MB : Ch,ZCH :: inside:outside
F, FZ: Ch,BCh :: inside:inside
patrifiliation:

ly^

/<

Y-'T\\
- \

INSIE

oufside

\^3m

'I

>'

Figure2.
to
Thesestructures
oftheIqwaye'atomofkinship'(Levi-Strauss,
1963) or,as I prefer
' innercircleof
call itmoreiconically
in
the
the
are
,
,
mythopoeicimagery
kinship'
grounded
of the cosmogoniecreationin whichsexualityand nurtureare completelyfused The
to
father-mother
It corresponds
is theonlysexualconnection.
(husband- wife)connection
oralself-conjuction.
primordial
Beingat theinceptionofthecircleof kinshiptheconjugal
createstheinterior
familialspace,an intra-bodily
conjunction
spaceso tospeak,inwhichall
arethatof' eating'. Anditcannotbe otherwise,
sincetheconjugalconjunction
relationships
effects
thesexualconsummation
whichthensetsinmotion' eating'(exchange).Itis precisely
becausethegenitor'soutsidehas beenconjoinedwiththegenetrix'sinsidethatprocreation
ensues.In everyprocreation
intotheinside
man'sphallicpatri-identity
becomestransferred
ofthebodiesoftheprogenyin theinterior
own
ofthegenetrix'swomb.Andthegenetrix's
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Mimica

This
of theprogeny.
becomestransferred
to thebodilyexterior
inside,phallicpatri-identity
of bodilyidentities
transmission
and transmutation
is possiblesolelybecausetheconjugal
formsa realbodilyclosureanditthereafter
remainstheconcretedetermination
conjunction
theIqwaye
To thateffect
of
oftheensuingstructures
inner
circle
ofsociality,
the
i.e.,
kinship.
' atomof
to
self
to
extended
has
be
as
an
autogenetic byanalogy Omalyce' s
kinship'
envisaged
self-closure.3
In thisconfiguration
linkis markedly
thepatrifilial
penilebecausethegenitor'plants'
'
because
s bride-price
in
hisdaughter'
eat'
himself hischildren.
Thatis whythefather
cannot
continue
to
and
thus
a wifeforhimself,
hewouldthendeprivehissonofthemeansforgetting
In thisregard,thefather
with'planting'to perpetuate
theircommonpatii-(endo-)identity.
the
facilitate
whoserole is to continuously
fortheIqwaye is theforemost
giver-provider
His affinalexchangewithhisWB, i.e.,hischildren's
andwell-being
ofhischildren.
growth
'mothers'(maternal
unclesandaunts)is themainwayofdoingit.
since theaccentis on exchange
linkis markedly
oral-cannibalistic
The matrifilial
theinnercircleof
constitute
matrifiliation
But
and
both
equally
patrifiliation
('eating').
their
motivate
whose
of
as
an
closure
passions
relationships
interpersonal
kinship
autogenetic
mutualinterests:
thepossessionandsharingofcommonsubstantial
bodilyidentities.
is founded
ofIqwayekinship
structure
Theentire
interrelationships
uponthemetaphoric
modesof the
thetwocorrelative
and sexuality,
and difference
betweennurture
of identity
nowcome
we
have
But
most
and
life-sustenance.
of
importantly,
singleprocess procreation
in
construction
the
function
of
thegenuinely
to understand
activity
metaphoric
mythopoeic
and generalizedthe
of kinshiprelatedness.
of thestructures
Mythopoeiahas transfigured
intoa configuration
child
the
and
mother
the
between
of
human
relatedness
matrix
primordial
has
of interpersonal
Omalyce'sprimordial
Therebyhumansociality replicated
autogenesis.
self-creation.
makesevidentthedual
thecase ofthebride-price
In regardtothecross-sexsiblingship,
becausethesister's
ofthatrelationship,
specifically
'consumptive'and'planting'character
to acquirea wifeforhimself.
bridepricemakespossibleforherbrother
So, totheextentthat
thebrother
cannothave sex withhis sister,he can do so in themodeof 'eating',i.e., get
'
andsisterthusmakea
a wifeforhissister's shellsandthusbeginto plant'. Brother
himself
andoutside.But
inside
same
the
are
since
of
unity self-identity they exactly
complementary
lacks
brother
the
and
as suchtheyareeachother'slack.The sisterlackstheexternal
phallus
his ownbody.This reciprocallacknot
a child,i.e., himselfthrough
theabilityto procreate
of thecross-sexsiblingsbutof menand womenin
thecomplementarity
only constitutes
self-sameunityof the insideand outside,then,is
the
at
once
desire
to
be
general.The
and woman.And althoughthecross-sexsiblings,
man
theunionof
attainable
onlythrough
likeotherclose relativescannotachievetheirunityin thesexualmode,as we alreadysaw,
mode.To thateffectincestin themodeof'eating'articulates
theydo so in theconsumptive
as anextended
innerunity,
i.e.,theclosureofthekinshipsphereintothesharedgroupidentity
But as such incestis operativenotthroughnegation
self(thegroup'sendo-dimension).
of innerkinshipsphere.In thisperspective,
affirmation
but as a positive,constructive
thereis no
thatwithoutincestinterdictions
true
it
is
not
as
it
mayappear,
paradoxical
cannotbe
there
incest
of
affirmation
the
without
but
on
the
positive
contrary:
kinship,
kinship.
of the
character
Giventhisarchetypal
autogenic(autosexualand auto-cannibalistic)
' atomof
here
of
the
on
its
is
immediate
the
affinity,
practice
bearing
problem
kinship'
Iqwaye
but
in
Levi-Strauss'
contained
notas a formal-analytical
concept, as
understood
component
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The IncestPassions

a concretestructure
in theIqwayelife-worldMarriageis a conjunction,
a closure.But in
orderto come intobeingtherehas to be a *rupture',
an openingin thesphereof kinship,
PDG
A manhastomarry
a womanfromanother
connections.
namelyinthelineofpatrifilial
matrilateral
becausehe can only'eat' his agnatically
women
and
his
related
classificatory
comefromthesamePDG as hisown.
sisters,
i.e.,thosewomeninotherPDGs whosemothers
Buthe cannothave sex withthemforthatwouldbe a self-copulation.
How does marriage
in
As we alreadysaw, everymarriage
operate relationto theexigenciesof self-creation?
effects
theself-reproduction
Genitor
ofthegenitors
inthebodiesofprogeny.
inside,genetrix
outside.Butthisis theself-reproduction
Whatabout
ofeachparent.
ofthehalfpatri-identity
the self-reproduction
ofthewholebodilybeingwhichis whatOmalyce'sautogenesis
truly
is? Let me examinea mode of preferential
marriagewhichin theIqwaye systemfulfills
desire.It thusnotonlyshowsthepracticeof marriageas a positive
exactlythisprimordial
affirmation
ofincest,butitfullyarticulates
intopatrifiliation
of affinity
tie transformation
whichis whateveryIqwayemarriageis all alongexceptthatit yieldssolelya halfof the
withina string
ofpatrifilial
links.
person'spatri-identity
5. Marriage with the Classificatory FM (ate) and the Structuring of Affinity
and
Patrifiliation

Fora mantheIqwayemodeofpreferential
is toone's classificatory
FM; or,interms
marriage
ofgenealogically
follows
to a FMBSD orFMBSSD. Itssystematicity
specifiedrelatedness,
thestructures
of thenamingsystemand thebodilyperson,its intentionality
is thatof the
such a marriageis notthegenealogically
Iqwayemythopoeic
passions.Whatdetermines
relation
butthesociocentric
ofthewomanclassifiedas ate (GM), whois
specifiable
identity
FM. If a manis to marry
a classificatory
ate thenshe shouldbe fromthesame
specifically
FM will
as histrueFM. Foronlyon thatcondition
theclassificatory
patrilineal
growpQatice)
havethesamenameas thetruepaternalancestress.
nameidentity
Anditis thesociocentric
thatmatters
totheIqwayein thiscontext.
Giventheaxiomaticstructure
of thenamingsystem,if sucha unionproducesa male
childthenthefather
ofthemanwhomarried
hisclassificatory
FM, andhisson,willhavethe
samename,i.e.,theequivalentpatii-andmatri-name
combination
(Fig. 3). Thisis thenthe
sociocentric
in
between
alternate
the
two
men
complete
(a manandhis
identity
generations
because
are
also
both
same
PDG.
matrifiliates
of
the
SS),
they
Theyclassifyeach otheras
+
elder
brother
and
brothers,specifically
(tate; B)
youngerbrother(ungwale; -B).
this
name
concordance
affects
theusage ofthekin-term
Furthermore,
byall
niqwa (father)
threemen in question.Thus, the ego calls his own son father because the son is
father'callstheego,
identicaltotheego's ownfather.
theson-4
sociocentrically
Reciprocally,
thesame
thegenitor.
father,forthelatteris hisfather,
Now,inthefirst
ascendinggeneration
callshim(i.e.,hisownson) father,becausethelatterhasmarried
usageobtains.Ego' s father
theformer's
FM. Andreciprocally,
ego calls
mother,
i.e.,ego's classificatory
classificatory
hisfather
fatherbecausethelatteris histruefather,
Similarusagealso applies
thegenitor.
toego's daughter
whothereby
he is herfather.4
becomeshisFZ and,reciprocally,
Thus,the
effect
ofthemarriage
a
for
withsociocentrically
FM
kin-term
the
is
that
father,
appropriate
becomesself-reciprocal.
as thegenitorand
The threemenrelatedpatrifilially
term,
primary
theprogeny
arefathers
to eachother.Whatoneselfis to another,
thatotheris to oneself.
The ate marriageis literallythe culminationof the logical (i.e., imaginative)
oftheIqwayesystemofsocialandkinclassification.
at
Itactuallyaccomplishes
possibilities
thelevelofsocialpracticetheoriginary
that
of
namely
cosmogoniesignificance procreation,
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Mimica

malebeing,theIqwaye
thebirth
another
ofmanis hisself-birth
as a wholebeing.Bybegetting
his son
mangivesbirthto themanwho in turncan givebirthto himself,
or,in procreating
is
the
themanhasprocreated
hisownfather.
The Iqwayepreferential
onlypossible
marriage
An egocentric
obviationof incestwhichpurports
to be exactlyits closestapproximation.
formulation
makesmoreexplicitwhatI meanby this:insteadof myself,
myown son can
At
to
birth
and
as
such
he
can
) mother,
myself. thelevelofkinmarry
my(classificatory
give
in
father
its
selfthe
kin-term
classification,
reciprocalusage designatesexactlythe
thelink
and thusredescribes
maleness
as
self-creation
sense
of
cosmogonie(i.e.,ontological)
interrelated
but
distinct
of
the
three
ofpatrifiliation.
Theterminological
patrifilially
merging
in thesinglekinshiprelationof
individualsexpressestheirunityin theirconsubstantiality
The twoare
andofprogeny.
fatherhood
whichas suchincludesboththebeingofthegenitor
The
into
oneness.
it is thethreepersonsthatare bound
one, and in an empiricalsituation
as
reproduced
mythopoeic
conceptionof theoriginalall-malecreationis thusrigorously
assimilateaffinity
can maximally
socialreality.In Iqwayepraxispatrifiliation
wherebythe
ofautogenetic
twobecometransfigured
intothestructure
kinship.

7f\
/ fI

a\

\ r

M
Figure3.
tothelinkagesinvolvedThespousesthemselves,
thisinreference
Letmebriefly
amplify
FM (wife)and SS (husband),
as classificatory
related
in
are
although thesamegeneration,
betweentheFF andSS.
to
the
relation
on
a
in
andtherefore
are thealternate
generations par
withFF-SS thelinkis
that
is
two
these
between
The difference,
pairs just
formally
speaking,
link.Andthatis
matrifilial
a
and
whereasFM-SS combinesa patrifilial
directly
patrifilial,
*
of
It is thematrifilial
inthistypeofmarriage.
the stuffofaffinity
identity the(flesh)ofthe
ofthesonwhoin thatregardis thesame
father
(bones)identity
conjoinedwiththepatrifilial
assimilateaffinity.
can maximally
as hisfather.
Hence,patrifiliation
Anotherfeaturethatadds to the ontologicalvalencyof the generalmeaningsof
of
in Iqwayepatrilineal
andmasculinity
component
fatherhood
kinshipis themorphological
to
the
in relation
itis alwaysformed
thelexemeniqwa (father).
Since,likeall kinshipterms,
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The IncestPassions

'
insucha waythatthefemalegender
inmostspeakersis inflected
person,theformmyfather'
marker
is
suffixed
thus
-pu
yielding ngalyeimqwepu(ornnqwopu).Thelexemeitselfconsists
is ngalye
inflection
of the root tin-and the madegendermarker-qwa-. An alternative
in
This
which
the
male
is
marker
lingualusage
tmqwoqwa
reduplicated.
gender
qwa
articulates
thetacitidea of male sex as theunityof themale and female( alwaysto be
intheIqwaye phallicsenseofthesetwosexes)whichas suchis also theautogenic
understood
oneness.In thissensefatherhood
is theexpressionof theontologicaldesirethatyearnsfor
a
oneness,a unity
self-completion;desiretorendermanin relationtowomantheprimordial
untoand in itself.This can be said to be at thecore of thepassionsof incest.However,it
In the
shouldbe observedthattheate marriage
is theobverseof thecosmogoniesituation.
via
theall-maletotalunityof samenessis theconditionfromwhichthedifferentiae
latter,
sexualdisjunctionissue.In ate marriage,
theconjunctionof
on theotherhand,itis through
thetwosexesthatmaleself-unity
is brought
intobeing.
function
We havethuscometosee oneconcrete
ofthenegating
instanceoftheoperation
ofincest)whereby
andself-creation
itreinstitutes
thesenseofautosexuality
(theinterdiction
in theverybosomofallo,specifically
andthecreationoftheother.The ate
heterosexuality
of incestin the contextof patrifiliation
typeof marriageis an obviativeaffirmation
('eating').
('planting').Let us nowconsideritsequivalentin^he contextofmatrifiliation
6. The Structuring
of Matrifiliation
Thearticulation
form.I shallgive
of' eating'(exchange)withmatrifiliation
hasthefollowing
hereonlythemostskeletaloutlineandwillelaborateon theprestations
marsupial
involving
meat,leavingoutoftheaccounttheexchangesof saltandtapaclothes.At thebirthofeach
childthefather
has to providemarsupialmeatwhichis distributed
amongandeatenby the
neonate's mother,
. Boththeneonateandthe
itsmother'
s ' mothers'
s ' mothers'
, anditsfather'
mother
are explicitly
identified
withthemarsupial(Mimica,1981:112-13)and,as already
In short,
thechildalso embodiesitsmother'
s andfather'
s substantial
explained,
self-identity.
The
other.
theconsumption
ofthechild-birth
of
self
the
is
auto-cannibalisim
qua
marsupial
her
mother'eats', i.e., incorporates
her own progenyand, likewise,she herself,through
mothers
as
the
her
is
and
thus
classificatory
progeny
marsupialmeat, eaten,
by
incorporated
their
intotheirbodies.Andalso, thefather'sclassificatory
eat andthusincorporate
mothers
sister'ssonandhischild
Nowthereasonwhyonlytheparents'classificatory
butnotalso theirtruemothers
(MM
andFM) eat thechild-birth
alwayseat marsupialmeatat the
marsupialis thattruemothers
birthof theirchildrenwhiletheirsisters( actualand classificatory)
cannot.The mother's
sisterscometoeatthechild-birth
marsupialonlyas grandmothers.
In thisshiftfromtheadjacentto thealternate
thereoccursa corresponding
generations
in
the
betweenpersonsin direct
on
the
one
hand
change
consumptive
practiceobtaining
In
matrifiliates.
matrifilial
relationand,on theother,betweenco-lateralsand classificatory
her
thedirectmatrifilial
eats
mother
direct
is
sequenceeating,i.e.,incorporation,always
andother
Butin alternate
progeny
directly.
generations
eatingis takenup bytheco-laterals
mothers
the
mother's
and
father'
s
relatives,
i.e,
classificatory
(eg. MMZ>FMZ>
classificatory
fortheirZCh.
etc)whoeattheirZChChas thesubstitute
The practiceof child-birth
whatate
does formatrifiliation
marsupialconsumption
does
for
the
direct
and
marriage
self-reciprocal
patrifiliation
bymeansofthenamingsystem
intothepatrifilial
theaffinal(conjugal)linkis assimilated
usageofthekin-term
father.There,
intheformofthefullbodilyidentity
relation
betweentheFF andSS, i.e.,twopersonsin the
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Mimica

with
effectofthisis thattogether
connected
The further
alternate
patrilineally
generations.
assimilated
linkintheadjacentgeneration
or
themediating
three
become
all
synthesized
(ego)
thewomenrelatedin
intoa singlerelationship,
fatherhood.
consumption,
Through
marsupial
as GM-GChbecome
in
as
mother
and
and
alternate
child,
adjacentgenerations
generations
is not merely
This
identified
into
a
of
mutually
singleunity genetrix-progeny. identity
of the
the
actual
indicatedthrough
namesbut also, and primarily,
incorporation
through
vicariousbody- themarsupial
meatwhichis thebodyofthechildandthemother.

\vf/
Figure4.

To conclude:whileate marriage
('planting')aspectof
amplifiesthesexual-copulative
and therefore
of patrifiliation,
the primordialself-closurein the articulation
produces
thenurturing
maximum
('eating')aspectof
amplifies
consumption
endo-identity,
marsupial
unlike
creationat thelevel of kinshiprelations.But in this,matrifiliation,
theprimordial
and
outside
who
is
women
it
because
constellated
is allocentrically
marry
patrifiliation,
is
the
flesh
matrifiliation
PDGs.
crosstheboundariesof the
therefore
Hence,
qua bodily
of
mirror
the
the
of exo-identity
articulation
which,being
genetrix'sphallicendo-identity,
selves.Matrifiliation
alwaysremainson theoutsideof thebodies of theothers,themirror
be finallyachieved
can
which
but
remainsalwaysa processon theway to theself-closure
body is finally'consumed'by the maternal
onlywhena persondies. Only thenhis/her
is in thecontinuous
Whilealive,a personqua matrifiliation
relatives.
processof eatingand
beingeatenalive,whichis howIqwayeoftenfeelaboutthesocialityofexchange.
has
matrifiliation
as thepracticeofactualincorporation,
articulated
Therefore,
although
the
whichcharacterizes
in kinshipexpression
notthatkindofmomentous
unityandfinality
when it, followingthe ate marriage,becomes a total
of patrifiliation
transfiguration
three
fatherhood
generationsinto one. This also affirmsthe irreducible
synthesizing
is simply
towhichmotherhood
inrelation
as self-creation,
of
fatherhood
primacy
cosmogonie
- the
mother
male
the
into
assimilated
is
motherhood
And
as
such
itsinstrumental
aspect.
is
unclewho is thefather'skinshipcomplement.
maternal
Finally,because matrifiliation
of
others
creation
the
on
draws
its
cosmogonie
constellated, mythopoeia
allocentrically
womb,has
(allogenesis).There,theRed Man whowas bornoutofthecassowary-woman's
social
In
the
eaten.
killed
and
realitythe
firstappearedas a marsupial.Bothwere
partly
substitute
the
as
meat
the
eat
andtheparental
marsupial
classificatory
grandmothers
genetrix
fortheneonateanditsgenitors.
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The IncestPassions

6.1 Matrifiliation
and MortuaryPayments:The Final Consumption
I shallnotoutlinesuchIqwayekinshipexchangesas theprestations
of porkto thechild's
maternalrelatives(tuakle),marsupialconsumptionand prestationsin the initiation
ofmarsupial
andmarriage
outlinetheconsumption
ceremonies,
exchanges.I willonlybriefly
of betel-nut
meatat thethetermination
the
of themourning
period,omitting resumption
which
follows
it.
chewing
The deathmarsupial,
is exclusivelyconsumedby the
unlikethechild-birth
marsupial,
deceased person's'mothers',bothmale and female(MZ> MB, and otherclassificatory
occursonlywhenthedeceasedis a child
mothers).
Usually,mortuary
marsupial
consumption
The meatis noteatenby thedeceased's truemothersince,as I explainedabove,she has
herchildalreadyat birth.At death,however,as on otheroccasions,other
re-incorporated
'mothers'(male and female)keep on takingback theirownidentity
embodiedin theZCh.
WhileZCh is alive they,of course,also continueimbuinghim/her
withtheirown identity
offoodandclothes.
through
prestations
Withconsumption
of themarsupialat deathand upon receptionof the mortuary
thematrifilial
payments
by themothers,
exchangeis fullyclosed. The progeny'sfleshis
locus in
withoutresiduesintothestomachsof themothers,
theprimordial
reincorporated
whichthechildcameintobeing.Correlative
tothis,whentheIqwayeusedtosmokecorpses
andfullypracticedoubleburial,thedeceased's bodyusedtodecomposeon thesoilofhis/her
mother5
s PDG' s territory
whichis thesourceandtheequivalentofthebody.Theboneswere
inthedeceased'sownPDG soil,
(andoccasionallystillarenowadays)collectedandinterred
whichis theirtruesubstantial
closure
is
the
Thus
equivalent.
complete.In deaththedialectics
of incestnegationand affirmation
and allo orientations
of
the
auto
the
mergein
,
interplay
the final affirmationof the primordialpassion for self-closure.Through bodily
a humanbeingis 'eaten' backby itssource,theearth,whichis thebodyof
decomposition,
realm
thecosmos.Inthissense,humandeathis theultimate
ofthetranscendent
self-fulfilment
Deathas
oftheworldwhich,beingthecosmicmanOmalyce,is also thesourceofhimself.
thehumanloss oftheselfis bythesamestrokethehumanrecovery
oftheselfas thecosmos.
7. Cross-sex Siblingshipand the Passions of Death
whichis
The foregoing
of matrifiliation
examination
bringsus to thecross-sexsiblingship
'
also constituted
cross-sex
the
of
the
This
of
.
siblingship
through process eating'
significance
thecorpse
was mostacutelyexpressedin one contextofthemortuary
specifically
practices,
This
and
the
the
of
which
emanate
from
practice
smoking
corpse.
consumption putridfluids
from
no longerexistsdue to itssuppression
colonialgoverment,
virtually
by theAustralian
itsfirstarrivalin theMenyamyaareaintheearlyfifties.
AmongtheIqwayecorpsesmoking
and relatedpracticeshad persisteduntilthe mid- sixtieswhen theywere irrevocably
abandoned
The consumption
ofthecadaverousfluids(ingaalye)was as follows.Whilethecorpse
was beingsmokedfluidswerecopiouslydripping
fromitsporesandorifices,
especiallythe
mouth.Throughout,
andespeciallyinthecase
thecorpsewas attended
tobyfemalerelatives,
of a man,by his sister.Amongotheractivitiesshe scoopedthegelatinousfluidswiththe
bunchesof a speciesof thegreenleafyvegetable(OnantheaJavanica)untiltheybecame
saturatedThentheywererolledandinserted
intoa bambootube,andcookedin
thoroughly
thefire.Havingbeensteamed,theanointedvegetableswereeatenby thedeceased'ssister
andhersmallchildren,
I emphasize
as wellas otherfemalerelativesandtheirsmallchildren.
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Mimica

no man
thatthiswas practised
Accordingtoinformants,
onlybywomenandsmallchildren.
wouldpartakeofthismeal.
I mightadd that,together
withthesubjectof cannibalism(whichtheIqwaye denied
ever
having
practised,
although
theyimputedittotheirnon-Yagwoiaspeakingneighbours),
theconsumption
of cadaverousfluidswas themostsensitivesubjectI inquiredintoduring
thecorpsesmokingno longerexists,theprolongedhandling
myentirefieldwork.
Although
of corpses has remainedquite intactin the currentsituation(my researchspanned
1977-1986), and as such thepresenceof deathin the formof thespectacleof corpse
inthemidstandzestofquotidianlifehaslostverylittleofitsformer
intensity
decomposition
andsplendour,
a veritablecelebration
oftheIqwayewayofbeing-in-the-world
forthecross-sexsiblingship,
I shallnowinterpret
thispracticeintermsofitssignificance
first
explanations.
bywayofreflections
uponsomeofmychiefinformant's
mother'ssisters)
He said thatwerehe to die, thenall his mothers(i.e., classificatory
s
couldbemoanthelossofaalye(fluid)thatwouldbe gonewithhisbody.Forhisbodyis their'
wouldbe vigorously
whereby,
especiallyif he were stilla youngman,theirrelationship
sustained
severelydeprive
through
exchangefora longtimetocome.Deathwouldcertainly
relativesofthevaluetheirZCh embodies.In thisview,thedeath
all,especiallythematernal,
is theprimary
identification
Andthisprimordial
ofa personbereavesrelatives
ofthemselves.
ofoneself.
loss
mourns
the
one
a
relative
of
the
loss
motivation
formourning.
By mourning
to
hissisters,
in
reference
of
further
this
informant
mourning
My
developed explanation
a
and
different
his
half-sister
classificatory
mothers)
father,
(same
specifically patrilateral
He emphasizedthat
half-brother's
daughter.
agnaticsister,namelyhis father'spatrilateral
. Taqalyce,my
them'
'behind
all
have
no
are
'one
because
they
youngersiblings
they
piece'
ofhissisters.He statedthathe
brother
has further
himselfas a dutiful
informant
constructed
does in general:he sendsporkto his sisters,i.e., maintains
does whatthebrother
through
with
hissisters'husbands.Porkandotherfooditems,as I emphasized
themaffinal
exchange
One's stomachdoesn'tgetfullifone onlyhears: 'Oh,
before,arethefuelofall relatedness.
is insubstantial.
. Such relatedness
I amyournoye(ZCh),brother,
orsister,ormother'
Only
And amongthese,porkas well as
substantial.
giftsoffoodandvaluablesmakerelatedness
thebody.
thepandanusdrykernelsarethemainsourceoffluidwhichreplenishes
As forthecross-sexsiblings,brother's
giftof thesetwoitemsto his sisteris themost
ofhisloveandcare.Thisis why,whenIqwayespeakofthesister's sorrow
appositeexpression
forherdeceasedbrother,
theysaythatshewillcry:'Who'll givemepandanus(kernels)and
will sharepandanuskernels
two
Indeed,
emphasizedthatbrother
younginformants
pork?'
andporkmoreoftenwithhissisterthanwithhiswife.Furthermore,
theysaid thatit is not
ofrelatedness
valorization
material
wife.This
the
with
much
food
or
to
share
too
money
good
a personshallhave
andattitudes
lifearethebasis ofexperiences
anditsrealityin everyday
in anycontext
deathnotwithstanding.
ofsociality,
loss.
thedeathofa cross-sexsiblingas a mostdevastating
and
Iqwayetypify experience
motivated
is
Sister's
continues.
The twoyounginformants'
by
grief
account,quotedabove,
deceased
the
the
Unlike
all
about.
is
brother
which
a
value
thelossofthematerial
sister,
having
detached(especiallyifa younger
as beingemotionally
woman),
man's widowis stereotyped
s agnatic
succession- herhusband'
another
becauseshewillmarry
man,oftenintheleviratic
rubbish
'One
will
The wife(widow)
brother.
or matrilateral
say (i.e., think):
classificatory
will
she
and
shellvaluables,pigs,andmoney)is dead',
man (i.e.,manwithout
happilygo to
and
anotherman.But sisterwill grieve:'Who is goingto give me pandanus pork?'She is
liable(butalso otherclose maleand femalerelativesas I witnessedon manyoccasions)to
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The IncestPassions

withoras a
cutherforehead,
andshemayevenlop offone ortwofingers.
Butin conjuction
informants
substitute
forthis,thesistercouldseverherbrother's
the
two
or
toe
and,
finger
so intense.
eat
is
it
raw.
brother
her
said
that
her
for
this
is
so
because
said,
They
grief
precisely
to
said
if
brother
that
the
other
brother
was
'one
Furthermore,
replacehim),
they
piece' (no
his sistercould commitsuicidein thefirstoutburst
of anguish.In thecontextof corpse
thesisteroftenholds the brother'scorpseand kissesit. The
handlingduringmourning,
informants'
of thisis notonlysymptomatic
of theirview butalso of thetypified
phrasing
*
Iqwaye viewofthepassionswhichrelatethesistertoherdeceasedbrother:Sisterkissesyour
entirebody;sheclingstoit;shedoesn't(worryto) choosewhereshekisseshim- itwillbe
faceorpenisorshoulders'
.
Aftertheburial' sisterdoesn'tknowwhatrestis', and she continues
to grieveforher
brother.
s deathshewillstopeatingandmaydo so fora week
Immediately
uponherbrother'
ortwo' untilherstomachis shrunk
likea smallball(and)hereyesareredandswollenbecause
ofweeping'.The sisterwill also continueto attendto thebrother's
corpseaftertheburial.5
and otherrelatedwomenandchildren
And,as said earlier,thesisteras well as herchildren,
also usedto eatthebrother'
s fluidandsmeariton theirfacesandbodies.
The brother'sgriefforhis deceasedsister,the informants
said, althoughextremely
is different.
did
fluid.
he
not
eat
her
intense,
Nowadays,as before,he can
Previously
putrid
valuables
such
as
in
cowrie-shells
extreme
cases,burndownhisown
destroy
(andmoney)or,
house.
withwhomI haverechecked
theaboveaccounthas also confirmed
My chiefinformant
thecoretypification.
He said:' IfI weretodie,thetwoPalycipu(hissisters)wouldbe stricken
bygrief.My sister- oh,shecan bitemycheeks,nose,kissmypenisandtesticles;bitemy
andfingers.
Itis herbody.All thisshedoesbecauseshethinks
ofthemeatsheatefrom
thighs
me.She willthink:
is dead?' The
Whowillgivemepandanusandmeatnowwhenmybrother
brother
toocan smearhisownfacewithhisdeceasedsister's ingaalye(putridfluid),biteher
nose,and cheeks.On theotherhand,a manwould notdo it forhis ownbrother.
fingers,
Thereis notmuchto it.Your
is a manlikeyourself.
Taqalycesaid 'He ( a man'sbrother)
brother
dies,you will weep,butyou'll thinkaboutgettinghis wife' (becausetheIqwaye
evaluatethebrother's
wifeas beingone's ownwife).*
Otherformsofthecorpsetreatment
can be severed,smoked
are:thedeceased'sfinger
a tooth,
andthenattached
toa necklace.Or,as I haveseenduringmyfieldwork,
a finger-nail,
or, followingcomplete decomposition,finger-bonescan be taken and retainedas
I was also toldabouta widowfromtheVailalaheadwaters
memorabilia.
area,nowlongdead,
whohadcutandsmokedherdeceased'shusbands'
s penisandkeptitin hernet-bag.Andif
mencameto enticeherto marry
them,she used to producefromthenet-bagherhusband's
and
tell
them:
'Whose
stick
do I carry,yoursor whose?I worryaboutmymanand I
penis
look at thisbodyof his (thepenis-shaft)'.
and livedwithherson till
She neverremarried
death.
Fromthisoutlineofthecross-sexsiblingship
in thecontextofdeathitcan be seenthat
themetaphoric
intoactualpractice.
cannibalistic
characterof therelationis transformed
the
since all exchangeis virtually
Furthermore,
incestuous,i.e., self-eating-qua-the-other,
sister'sincorporation
of the brother'sputridbodilyfluidsbecomesequivalent,or more
theclosestapproximation
to theircompletebodilyunity.Thisunityis negatedin
accurately,
thesexual,butis carriedout in theoral mode as an alimentary
practice.In thisway the
unionof brother
and sisterachievesa completeclosurein thebodyof the
complementary
sister.Whatis outside(brother'
intoitsown
s fleshyenvelope)dissolvesthrough
putrefaction
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Mimica

. So inthisdomain
intosister's interiority
(fluids)andis consumedandassimilated
interiority
womanin thepersonof a
oftheactualconsummation
ofthecross-sexsiblingrelationship,
s bodilysubstance- semen.
sistercomestotheclosestpointofinteriorizing
herownbrother'
fromitsgeneric(class)
fluids
derives
this
tacit
of
the
cadaverous
For,vicariously,
identity
substancesaresemen
salient
with
whose
the
entire
class
of
fluids
equivalence
bodily
(aalye)
andblood.In thisregarditis significant
thatthetwoyounginformants
equatedthe
expressly
whomhe
woman
an
old
also
told
fluids
with
the
s
of
them
was
blood.
One
by
putrid
corpse'
were
nevertheless
smell
is
askedaboutthispractice,
fluids'
thatthoughthe
they
offputting,
verypalatablebecausetheytastedlikesalt.
The incestuousself-eating
betweenthecross-sexsiblingshas to be further
interpreted
in termsofitsstructural
relationwiththeexclusivelymalefellatiopractice,whichtogether
a coordinate
constitute
withthepreviously
discussedmodesofconsumptive-sexual
practices
of cosmogonie
innerarchitecture
of theIqwayefieldof socialityas thesocial articulation
of
an outlineofthevicissitudes
discussthisdomainincluding
passions.We shallnowbriefly
itshistory
amongtheIqwayeandotherYagwoia.
8. Institutionalized
Male Homosexualityand Male Initiations:The Historical
VicissitudesofAll-MaleSociality
tension.The
In Iqwayesocietytherelations
betweenthethreesexualmodesareina twofold
between
calibration
firsttension,as we saw so far,is ontological,
existingas thedialectical
ofIqwayeandotherYagwoia's social
. Itis thevitalmovement
andallosexuality
autosexuality
itself.In thisspherebothhomosexuality
Thesecondtensionis withinallosexuality
existence.
relationsinfusedwithever fluctuating
are based upon interpersonal
and heterosexuality
tensions,themselvesan expressionof dynamicsof internalrelationsbetweenmen,and
betweenjuniorand seniorbachelors
are specifically
betweenmenandwomen.The former
the practiceof
and marriedmen as a whole. These relationshistoricallydetermined
wereandare
conflicts
violent
and
tensions
men
women
and
married
homosexuality.
Among
in
other's
each
have
men
that
sexual
interests
wives, and
continuously
generatedby
is actively
and
abounds
husbands.
in
each
other's
have
women
that
Adultery
reciprocally,
women.
men
and
pursuedbymany
ofthreesexualmodes,
Although
Iqwayesocietyis based upontheinstitutionalization
theothertwo,
of
actual
mode
the
is
one
of
procreation;
them,heterosexuality,truly
only
thecase with
be
to
was
shown
This
in
fact
are
contingent.
despitetheircosmogonieprimacy,
in boththe
central
was
which
male homosexuality
thepracticeof institutionalized
(IMH),
for
a
IMH
is
no
andthebachelors'life.
firstinitiation
reality,
longer functioning
ceremony
from
secret
men
and
to
thefollowingreasons.The practicewas confinedexclusively
kept
women.Allegedly,no womanever knewwhatwas the greatestsecretof the initiation
ceremonies
andthebachelors'life.ThoseIqwayemenwithwhomI discussedtheirsexuality,
deniedthata manwouldhave allowedhiswife(or anywoman)to fellate
and
present,
past
a practiceof andamongmen.Theirpositionon cross-sexfellatio
him.Thiswas exclusively
withmale outrageoverany suggestionthata manwould attendorallyto a
is concordant
woman'sgenitals.To whatextentthe exclusivinessof male fellatiowas adheredto by
it has to be acceptedas a definite
As a prescription
individualmencannotbe determined.
withtheprovisothatin theactualerotic
facetoftheIqwayemen'sview of theirsexuality,
practiceoralsex with
practicesbetweenmenandwomensomemenprobablydid privately
if
not
in
have
fact
did
masturbatory
men
some
as
straight
manusturbatory
women,just
adolescence.
during
experience
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The IncestPassions

8.1. HistoricalVagaries ofInstitutionalized

Male Homosexuality
The IqwayeabandonedIMH becausemenfeltthatwomenmightlearnofthepractice.This
in themidto
fearwas entirely
in theIqwayeterritory
conditioned
by thepoliticalsituation
late forties,
and priorto thearrivalof Australian
Administration
November,
1950) and
(9
Australian
Lutheran
Mission(early1951).The entirecentralandNW Anganregionwas still
intactand' uncontrolled'
. The IqwayeweretheonlyYagwoiagroupwhichhadalliancewith
a Menya-speaking
Angans,do not
groupcalledPataye.The Pataye,like all othersouthern
haveIMH nordoesitfeature
intheirinitiations
section
Mimica
1981:
2.3.1).TheIqwaye
(see
wereandstillareexchanging
womenwiththeirallies.Quitea fewofthemwereresidingin
theIqwayesettlements.
intheinitiation
Menfrombothgroupsusedtoparticipate
ceremonies,
butPatayeregarded
IMH
as
weird
and
Iqwaye
repulsive.Iqwayemenlikewisequalifiedthe
Patayeinitiationceremoniesbecause theysmearedsemenon the body of the initiates.
thiswas a potential
ofeachother,
tolerant
bothgroupswereovertly
Although
pointofstrife,
oftheirrespective
customsbehindtheback.However, therewas a
despitemutualmockery
number
ofIqwayeboyswhosematernal
uncleswerePataye.TheygrewupinPatayevillages
andwereinitiated
butcouldnot
there.Subsequently
theymovedbacktotheIqwayeterritory
acquiesceinthepracticeoftheirmalepeers.Inthissituation
Iqwayemenbecameincreasingly
to sharein theirownpractice.
uneasybecauseamongthemwerethosemenunwilling
an incident
ofadultery
thewifeofone ofthemenopposed
Finally,following
involving
tothelocal custom,
thegeneraluneasinessandtensionexplodedintoviolence.In hisragethe
cuckoldedhusbandcondemnedhis wife'spartner,
all Iqwayemen.He loudly
and further,
themfortheir' crooked'ways,whichwas allegedlyheardbybothmenandwomen.
castigated
Informants
toldmehe shoutedthatIqwayemen' eatsugarcanebackward'
. Sugarcanerefers
to semen.'Backward'meansthatinsteadofsemengoingfrommanto woman,itgoes from
mantoman.Thisprovokeda fight,
buthesurvivedbecausehisaffine(ZH), a mostnotorious
warriorin thearea, protected
him.As a consequenceof thisincidentand theincreasing
ofthemalepopulation,
heterogenization
Iqwayemendecidedtogiveup IMH whosesecrecy
was jeopardizedInitiations
continued
untilthepresentday,butsinceIMH is missing,they
do notentirely
fulfiltheircosmogoniepurpose.Subsequentgenerations
ofIqwayemengrew
inYalqwaalye village
fromthedeepestmalesecret.Forinstance,
up experientially
estranged
between1977-1979, of 259 initiated
men(age rangingfrom11-80), therewere44(17%:
ofhomosexuality.
age 40-80) whohadauthentic
experiences
Eghteen(7%; age 38-44) had
no directexperiencebutknewabouttheold custom.The remaining
197(76%; age 11-37)
hadvirtually
no knowledgeat all ofwhatusedto be theultimate
secretof theceremonies.
The knowledgeof thattradition
nowadaysdependson privatechannelsof communication,
andis imparted
in thesamewayas thesecretesotericmyths.
IMH amongmostmaleIqwayeis nowadaysan aspectoftheawarenessoftheirtradition.
In recentyears some Iqwaye men have independently
learnedabout and personally
homosexual
New
Guineansand whiteswhile
intercourse
from
other
experienced
Papua
in
and
on
to
thatolderIqwaye
coastal
It
is
working townships
plantations. important mention
menregardanal sexualcontactwithutterrepulsion,
fortherectalpassageis justforfaeces,
notintercourse.
It seems a generalcharacteristic
of Melanesiansocietiesin whichIMH
thatthetwo modesof contact(anal and oral) are mutuallyexclusive.Younger
exists/ed
oftraditional
fellatiobutwholearnedofmaleintercourse
Iqwayemenwhohadnoexperience
inothercontexts
seemalso tostigmatize
ofthesenewencounters
analcontact.The
vicissitudes
cannotbe discussedhere.However,many
youngmen,especiallythose aged 11-20 are
offellatio.Butas I haveshownintheprevioussections,thelivedsocial
completely
ignorant
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Mimica

reality,being a historicalproductof humanexperienceand praxis, is saturatedwith

homosexualand autosexualsignifications,
althoughtheymayno longerresonatein thelife
of
withthedeathofthosewhohavelived
males.
And
experiences youngIqwaye
eventually,
in
theIqwayelife-world
in itsfullinternal
coherencewherecosmologywas trulygrounded
will
of Iqwayeintersubjectivity
thelivedexperienceof existence,theobjectified
structures
becomethefullysedimented
oftheoriginary
past.
meaning-structures
The contemporary
socio-culturaland historicalsituationof Iqwaye polymorphic
in
cannotbe easilycomprehended
dimensionof thelife-world
sexualityas a fundamental
via the
thosefiltered
termsofmodern
Western
rationality
sensibilities,
byscientific
including
The Iqwaye
and psychoanalysis.
receivedwisdomandingrained
moralismofanthropology
can be adequatelyunderstood
situation
andthepositionofIMH therein
solelyas a synthesis
is constituted
Theinternal
horizonoftheirtemporality
ofitsownpast,present,
andfuture.
by
ofits
recurrence
theirexistenceas thearchetypal
theircosmologicaldesignwhichcalibrated
has no powerto pre-determine
of temporality
owngenesis.Butthisinternal
determination
of
the
token
thefuture
it
absolute
as
an
past.Indeed,therewas no
originary
byreproducing
ofalliance
theformation
have
which
could
on
internal
prevented
pre-determinati
cosmological
betweenthe Iqwaye and Pataye,and one of its consequences- the demiseof IMH.
And accordingly,
Cosmologicalmat it is, Iqwaye existenceis not freeof contingency.
of
structure
the
within
contained
was
the
ontological
although originary
Iqwayetemporality
veritable
a
as
social
of
organization
existence,whichaccountsforthestructures Iqwaye
to fullyassimilateintoand thus
was not sufficient
ontologicalproject,thatcontainment
withthepast.This showsthat
thehorizonof future
(subtended
by contingency)
synthesize
is so solelyin relationto itspasthorizon.The
eventhemostcontainedhumantemporalty
therecurrence
liableto modify
is alwaysthehorizonofradicalexteriority
horizonoffuture
ofthepastfromwithin.
IMH had onlya conditional
It can be said thatthoughcosmologicallydetermined,
men.It was derivedfromthe
in thedevelopment
of mature,sexuallyprocreative
function
cosmogoniesituationof the creationof the firstmen. In thatsituation,autosexuality,
was
and incestwere an absolutenecessity.This is why homosexuality
homosexuality,
themselves
not
do
did
if
ancestor
the
for
the
that
it,
they
(thecreator)
instituted,
Iqwayesay
as a conditionalnecessity.However,
would not have practisedit. IMH thusfunctioned
that
kind
of
even
necessityproveddispensablesinceIMH was abandonedand
historically,
anda
menhavebeenlivingforthepastforty
yearswithoutit,althoughnotwithoutregrets
other
and
The
themselves.
of
sense
theeldermen's
Iqwaye
pathosofloss whichcharacterize
effected
a striking
case of internalhistoricaltransformations
by the
Yagwoia exemplify
of
In
the
of social existence.
choicesin concretesituations
hindsight
indigenousexistential
source
thevery
theirhistoricity,
theIqwayeandotherYagwoia havemadetheircosmogony,
oftheirnecessity
andbeing,appearas a contingency.
has takena moreradicalturnin everyaspectever
Iqwaye existencequa temporality
at theend of 1950, followedby the
of thecolonialadministration
sincetheestablishment
effected
transformations
Economic
1975.
in
PNG
state
of
nation
by
September
independent
in 1981when
inthemidsixtiesbecamefullyconsummated
ofcashcropping
theintroduction
Whenin 1983
linkwiththeoutsidetownships.
a permanent
road established
an all-weather
ofexchange
structure
the
to
theIqwayeabandonedtheuseofcowrieshells,altogether
integral
and
final
their
made
libidinal
to
as
a
unwitting
whichhas be understood
economy,they
intothe
invested
and
thus
become
totheoutsideworld.Having
upon
dependant
capitulation
are
desires
and
bodies
their
world
controlled
nationalcurrency
market,
by thestateand the
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The IncestPassions

nowgrounded
in an altogether
diferent
sphereofdetermining
powersoverwhichtheyhave
no control.
are
now
marketeconomy,yetthey
world
into
the
They
effectively
incorporated
stilllive withtheconviction
In this
thattheirexistenceis generatedfromtheirinteriority.
sensetheyclingtotheprimordial
the
of
their
life-world
they, peopleofthe
premiss
whereby
centreof theuniverseand thecelestialpast,are inalienablythemastersof theirworldand
theirdestiny.
Fromanother
world-centre
(Lae, PortMoresby,Sydney,London,New York,
another
thatis obviouslyno longerso.
Paris,...)and
perspective,
In twootherYagwoia territorial
groupsIMH probablypersisteduntilthelatefifties.
With'pacification',
communication
and peoplecouldtraveleasilyto
becameunrestricted,
othergroups.In effect,
atall,were
whohadnohomosexualexperience
youngIqwayeinitiates
tothe
as a threat
territories
probably
perceived
bymeninIwola-MalyceandHyaqwang-Ilyce
ofthepracticeinthesamewayas themenwhogrewup inPataye villages.Thus,
persistence
thepractice
offellatiointhesetwogroupsalso ceasedbecausemenprobably
bythelatefifties,
fearedthatitcouldnotbe keptsecret,giventhefactthattherewas increasing
communication
betweenthelocal initiates
andtheIqwaye.In theperiodafterpacificationoneIqwayeman
tookhissonto theIwola-Malyceareatohavehimre-initiated
in
thereandthusinseminated,
orderto experience
andgrowup accordingto theold custom.Similarly,
I heardofone man
fromthatareawho,around1976tookhissontotheSimbariarea(orS ambiaas theyarecalled
therebecausefellatiois stillpractised
byHerdt)to havehiminitiated
amongtheSimbari.In
1983 in a villageon theborderbetweenSimbariand theIwola-Malyce,threegroupsof
forabout4
intheold waythrough
fellatio.It persisted
Iwola-Malycenoviceswereinitiated
monthswhenall the inseminators
than
men
rather
married
whom
were
of
(most
young
bachelors;see below)wenttoworkonthecoast.Duringmylastfieldwork
(1984 1986),the
practicewas notin evidence,and quitelikelywill notbe resumed.This briefrevivalhad
manamong
provokedmixedfeelingsamongtheIwola-Malycemen.The mostinfluential
themwas againstit. As muchas he cherishesit as his own authentic
and
practice strength
ofIwola-Malyceinitiates
whowereshownit),he regardsita
(he was in thelastgeneration
thingofthepast.
Thisprofound
ofallosexuality
was entirely
endogenous.
changeinthehomodimension
It was notinducedby missionaries
who triedwithoutsuccessto makethepeopleabandon
initiation
ceremonies
without
Theceremonies
arestillgoingon,maintaining
IMH,
altogether.
theirfundamental
a deepcosmologicalconviction
cosmologicalsignificance.
Theyarticulate
in theIqwayeintersubjectivity.
It is thenotionthatmenarethesourceoffertility
ingrained
whichthrough
cohabitation
withwomenis generated
in theworld,andthecosmosat large.
This convictionshouldbe seen in relationto the humanontologicalambivalencewhich
underscores
Iqwayeno less thananyotherhumansocial existence.For thisreasonit is an
ofthesimultaneous
oftheIqwaye
andinferiority
coexistence
ofbothomnipotence
expression
malepsyche,understood,
in
its
and
therefore
constitution,
including
though,
intersubjective
thefemalepsyche.Powerandviolenceareinternal
andsecrecycanbe
to thisconstellation,
interpreted
adequatelyin termsof theintersubjective
dynamicsof themalecomplexof the
self.
This
I
as
out
Iqwaye
earlier,mustnot be assimilatedinto such
complex,
pointed
theoretical
constructs
as theOedipuscomplex.Rather,it has to be understood
in termsof
culture
which
I
articulates
it
a
into
existential
Iqwaye
project. call it the
genuine
So
even
IMH
without
a meaningful
nevertheless
theIqwayeinitiations
are
Omalyce-project.
of
the
order
of
life.
part
general

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Mimica

8*2.The InitiationCeremonies
ceremonies'the customof thecreationof man' (hiuwyekwole
Iqwaye call theinitiation
thecosmogoniecreationofmen.Everyboy,bybeinginitiated,
intaknialana).
Theyreproduce
whichreproducecosmogonie
a
series
of
ordeals
and ritualperformances
passes through
events.In thiswayhe enactsthestagesofprimordial
creationofthefirstmen,andbecomes
childintoa potent
himselftransformed.
He is recreated
(reborn)froma weak,woman-like
in
a phasein maledevelopment
andvirileman.Each ceremony
initiates
and'orcoarticulates
Yet each
to autocreation.
termsofcosmogoniemovements
butin reverse fromallocreation
In thefirstinitiation
of autocreation.
is internally
structured
as thereproduction
ceremony
to allogenesis.WhenIMH was
ceremony
boysenterthemodeofbeingwhichcorresponds
stillin existencenoviceswouldbe inductedintothispracticein thiscontext.Withthefifth
a manis
withhomosexuality,
whichinformer
timesalso markedthefinalrupture
ceremony,
thetrue
become
has
He
therefore
first
child.
married
and
has
his
finally
already
procreated
his
own
himself
he
has
because
of
the
ce,
self-creator,
procreated
precisely
equivalent Omaly
of
the
was
the
he
in
first
initiation
whereas
as
a
novice
the
equivalent
child,
ceremony
young
ce.
first
mud-men
createdandinseminated
byOmaly
itemistotally
Eithera preexisting
Aftereach ceremony
theinitiates'attireismodified.
is
of
attire
new
and
a
discarded(as inthenose-piercing
adopted,ornew
wholly type
ceremony)
ofthemen'snosesinwhich
elementsareadded.Attireas wellas theanatomicalmodification
ofthemen's bodilybeingandnotsimply,
thetransformation
nose-sticks
areinserted,articulate
ifneedbe each
status.Currently,
their
social
have
as therationalistic
it,
conceptionwould
if
formfora singleindividual,
canbe stagedina truncated
usually he is olderand
ceremony
is
uncle preparedtofinanceit.
andifhisfather
wantstogetmarried,
and/ormaternal
It
thefirstone is thelongestand themostimportant.
ceremonies
Of thefiveinitiation
situation
is thenose-piercing
ceremony
duringwhichyoungboys(6-15 years;inthepresent
Fortwoweeks
intotheforest.
aretakenawayfromtheirmothers
somemaybe evenmarried)
orlongertheyliveinseclusionata ceremonial
lodgeespeciallyerectedforthatoccasion.The
closedspaceofcosmogony.
theprimordial,
Theyare
lodge,andall otherritualsitesrepresent
and
then
the
inside
lit
fire
a
heat
from
extreme
to
cold,
lodge,
thirst,
huge
subjected
hunger,
in
are
who
men
married
few
and
a
bachelors
senior
inflicted
them
younger
by
pain
upon
but
ritualized
observe
also
of
the
affair.
The
novices
whole
performances,
cosmogonie
charge
theseare notaccompaniedby any lengthymythicalexegeses.Rather,theharanguesand
areabout
madebytheseniorinitiates
comments
occasionallyindicatethattheperformances
of
darkness.
time
the
at
in
world
the
wife
were
his
and
when
the
ancestor-creator
events
to as ImacoqwaandImacipu,meaningliterally
referred
Usuallythetwoareeuphemistically
4the
greatman' and the'greatwoman'.In thisway male childrencome to experiencethe
butas ritualsfullofsurprise
secretimageryofcosmologynotas an objectofcontemplation
whichperplextheirconsciousness.Indeed,theseritualsare thrilling,
and bewilderment
as well
thenovicesandtheguardians,
awesome,andinpartsveryfunny.
present,
Everybody
whichhas
ofthecommonprimordial
as theentirecommunity,
aretheactiverecreators
reality
havenotjustcreated
a senseof' matter
offactness'. Everything
appearsas iftheparticipants
areseasoned
activities
the
Inside
them.
butthatithassurfaced
theritualsituation
lodge
among
foradultery
desire
deleterious
the
withfear,pain,and moralinjunctions,
especiallyagainst
toldthattheordealstheyundergowill enhancetheir
in adultlife.Thenovicesareconstantly
andthatwhatever
theyareshownandtaughtis themen's secretwhichmust
bodilystrength,
children.
towomenanduninitiated
notbe imparted
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The IncestPassions

The paramount
ritualparaphernalia
disclosedto thenovicesarethebone,withwhich
theirnasal septaare pierced,and bullroarers.
in cosmogonyfromthe
The bone originated
of
the
first
but
the
are
told
thatit is a cassowary
novices
are
deceived.
body
woman,
They
bone . Manymenprobably
believethatthisis so. The nose-piercing
boneis believedto be
thesourceofprocreative
powerwhich,oncethenovices'septaarepierced,speedsup their
Without
this
theIqwayemenbelieve,boyswouldnotgrowup into
bodilygrowth.
operation,
virile
men.
tothevillage
return
the
strong,
Following periodofseclusion,thenewlyinitiated
until
the
few
whereupon,
remaining
earlyeighties,manyof themoftenspentnightsat the
bachelors'houses.Formerly
theyweresupposedtoavoidanycontactwithwomen,including
theirmothers
andsisters.The bachelors'houseswerethentheirpermanent
homes.Butover
theyearssinceIMH disappeared
to their
return
thisis no longerthecase, andmostinitiates
homesshortly
aftertheceremony.
Thesecondandthird
ofcosmogonie
ceremonies
area further
andexpression
articulation
creationof the man's being.Again,no mythsare communicated
to theinitiates.In the
condition
totheprimordial
speecheswhichtheoldermenmake,onlyobscurereferences
may
and fifth
ceremoniesinvolvea smallernumberof initiates,
occasionallyoccur.The fourth
Atthe
whenhegetsmarried.
thefourth
usuallytwotothree.A manpassesthrough
ceremony
timeIMH was stillinexistenceitmarkedthecriticaltransition
tomarital
frombachelorhood
a manwouldbecomereoriented
fromhomosexuality
toheterosexuality.
status,whereby
Thefifth
s statusas a virile
follows
man'
the
affirms
birth
of
the
first
child
and
ceremony
of
realization
He
has
a
this
is
the
most
become
and
beingcapable procreating.
father,
important
ofman'sbeing.Thismakeshimequivalentto Omalyce.
In former
timeswhenwarfarewas an integraldimensionof Iqwayesocial existence,
another
ofman'sbeingwas thepracticeofviolence.By becominga
equallyvitalrealization
a
killer
of
human
warrior,
beings,man paradoxicallyachievedhis completehumanness.
the
itis at
has a twofoldontologicalsignificance:
Among Iqwaye,then,humanprocreation
once a bodilycreationand destruction.
a
creation
Violenceis an actionof thesame order:
destruction.
determination.
andkillinghaveautogenic
through
Likewise,boththeprocreation
s bodilybeingandidentity.
ofthegenitor'sandgenetrix'
Everybirthis theself-reproduction
Everykilling,beingenvisagedas thesexualfusionof thekillerand thevictim,is an actof
heads
self-destruction
their
thevictim.Thosewarriors
whokilledpeoplebyshattering
through
withstone-clubs
had to undergoa purification
ritualin orderto be divestedof thevictims'
blood,i.e.,theirbodilyidentity.
Thereare no femaleinitiation
whichmarksthe
ceremonies,
onlya specialceremony
birthofthewoman's first
initiation
child Thisceremony
withthemalefifth
is synchronized
andarticulates
a man
thecosmogoniesignificance
oftheconjugalcouplewhereby
ceremony
his wifeis renderedequivalentto the androgynous
the
through
Among
Omalyce.
being
the
whichconjugalunionis effected,
Iqwaye,regardlessof thetypeof marriagethrough
the
truth
of
because
child-birth
of
the
is
father
that
'the
child
is
the
man',
cosmogonie
every
birthofthechildis theman's( andgenetically,
-birth.
self
human)
8.3. InitiationGrades and theCo-InitiatesLines
The fiveinitiation
ceremonies
differentiate
gradesor phases
youngmenintofiveinitiation
whichdefinetheiridentities
untiltheybecomefullygrown,i.e, begettheirownfirstchild
The firstthreeareall juniorbachelors;thefourth
arenewlymarried
men;5this theonsetof
completemanhoodButthesefivegradesdo notformpermanent
age grades.Theyareonly
thephasesofman-making
The nose-piercing
whichis thegeneralsignificance
ofinitiations.
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Mimica

and global age-relatedsystemof differentiation

however,createsa permanent
ceremony,
The vernacular
whichI, following
theIqwayeusage,call 'co-initiates
row/line'.
egocentric
in
'wan
nus'
termndoqwa(myco-initiate)
Tok
Pisin
(one nose),appliesto all men
glossed
inthesameceremony
whowerenose-pierced
as oneself.Itfurther
appliestoall menwhowere
the
ataboutthesametime(as ego)inother
i.e,during
groups,
villagesandterritorial
nose-pierced
in
the
same
who
were
Of course,forthosemen
same'wave' ofthefirst
initiation
ceremonies.
whokneltintheverysamerow(line),whosenoseswerepiercedbyoneandthe
nose-piercing,
and who
same bone,who thusfeltthesame pain and whose blood was mixedtogether,
line'
thesameordealsin thesameceremonial
underwent
lodge,the'co-initiates
subsequently
buttherealbondof unityin painand
entailsnotjustthesenseofthecommonfirstinitiation
intomanhoodSuchmenfeelverycloseto eachotherand
whichmarkedtheirentry
suffering
line'forlife.
the'co-initiates
alone.Theyremain
whichis theirs
sharethesenseoftogetherness
dead and alive,andwill
all his co-initiates,
EveryIqwayemanwill readilyenumerate
linesforma clear
knowmanymorein othervillagesandterritorial
groups.The co-initiates
Butthesearenotto
inthemalepopulation.
cutjunior/senior,
i.e.,relativeage,differentiation
the
be confusedwiththeinitiation
gradeswhichdefinethepassage to manhoodthrough
which
after
initiation
five
all
man
initiation
ceremonies.
grades
passesthrough
Clearly,every
linefortherestofhis
man.Butheremainsa memberofa co-initiates
he is a fullyconstituted
in
a pointof reference
of co-initiates
life.Each suchlineor generation
by itselfrepresents
most
senior
is
the
there
time
At
or
senior.
relation
towhichall otherlinesareeither
any
junior
theinitiates
theeldestmen,andthemostjunior,comprising
of co-initiates,
suchgeneration
initiation
or
second
thefirst
ofthefirst
ceremony).
grade(thosewhohaveonlypassedthrough
by
(1977-1979) therewere17 lines.The oldestwas represented
Duringmyfirstfieldwork
died.The nextlinejuniortohis,represented
bytwo
onlyonemansinceall ofhisco-initiates
ofco-initiates.
menonly,was separatedbyabouttwoextinctlinesorgenerations
thana givenego,a manmaystatethatso
Whendiscussing
theselines,olderoryounger
andso v/ereyupatnye
(1stinitiation
grade)whencertainothermenwerealreadykatace(4th
and
he
was
initiation
(2nd initiation
grade),whilesomebodyelse was
hyainaninye
grade),
With
children.
wife
and
with
a
man
lines,he can
regardto theco-initiates
already complete
afterhimor
were
further
elaborateandsaythatthosein the1stinitiation
nose-pierced
grade
thatthereweretwolinesbetweenhimandsomeothermen,and so on.
distinctionsbetween the co-initiateslines, derived fromthe
The junior/senior
Buttheinitiation
and clear-cut.
aredefinite
gradesarenotforthis
ceremony,
nose-piercing
intoall subsequent
initiated
ofa singlelinebe collectively
wouldrequirethatall co-initiates
in
the
past,thefathers
grades.Thisis seldomlythecase, one reasonbeingthatnowadaysas
able norall equallywillingto
thesameage,areneither
unclesofboysroughly
andmaternal
atthesametime.In consequencemanyco-initiates
financetheirsons' andnephews'initiation
theinitiation
are neitherof thesame age whenfirstinitiatednordo theyadvancethrough
1983were
in
novices
several
For
the
time.
at
same
September,
nose-pierced
instance,
grades
were between7 and 13. It meansthat,afterthenose-piercing
marriedwhile a majority
in orderto
threeotherceremonies
theeldestonessoonafterwereto pass through
ceremony
Andwhile
mensoontobecomefathers.
accordwiththeirde factostateofbeing,as married
initiation
all
have
would
and
fathers
have
become
1987
grades
through
passed
theymay
by
have
initiates
cotheir
only
andthecorresponding
through
passed
might
ceremonies, younger
factual
the
and
initiation
different
their
twoorthreeceremonies.
grades
Nevertheless,
despite
stillintheprocessofbecomingmen)theyall remain
vs younginitiates
stateofbeing(fathers
linebecausetheywerenose-pierced
ofthesameco-initiates
ofthemembers
together.
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The IncestPassions

since
Another
all theceremonies
menhadpassedthrough
example:twoyoungmarried
initiation
were
in
in
In
second
a
1973.
1977
they
nose-pierced
grade
theyparticipated
The boyswerenow passingthrough
ceremony
stagedfortheirmuchyoungerco-initiates.
this ceremonyfor the firsttime afterwhich theybecame the second grade initiates
The co-initiates
wereextensively
beatenbyall menpresent,
Qtyarnaniye).
exceptforthetwo
menbecausetheywereco-initiates.
As suchtheyarebondedforlifedespite
youngmarried
theirage and initiation
The co-initiates
lines,then,are age gradesborne
gradedifferences.
outofthenose-piercing
andnotdetermined
ceremony
byactualage.Theyarethegenerations
ofmencreatedbymen.
in
The relationship
betweenthejuniorand seniorinitiatedmen was and is rendered
termsofkinshipas thesame-sexsiblingship,
butdifferentiated
byrelativeage. So a juniorto
seniorinitiate
between-B
orjuniortoa seniorco-initiates
lineis thesameas therelationship
to +B. Nowadays,due to thecessationof IMH, bachelorhood
is verymucha dilutedand
ofmen
shortperiodofmen's lifeso thatthesignificance
oftheglobalbrotherhood
relatively
is notas pronounced
as it used to be. For thisreasonI shalloutlinethemainfeaturesof
bachelorhood
as itexistedin theperiodwhenIMH was stillpractised.
First,thesignificance
ofinsemination
skillsin
ofwarfare
fellatio
since
the
with
this,
through
development
together
raidson enemyvillages,was thecoreofbachelorhood.
8.4. Insemination
and theStructuring
of Bachelorhood
IMH
Semenis a life-giving,
andenablesphysicalgrowth.
substance.Itfertilizes
procreative
insemination
to facilitatethe physicalgrowthof youngboys,to make them,
purported
into physicallystrong,and sexuallyattractive
men: husbands,
and procreative
literally,
fearlesswarriors.
fathers,
However,theIqwayedid
rapaciousphalliclovers,andaggressive,
notbelieveas in someotherAngan(Herdt1981,1987)andNew Guineasocieties(Williams
neededsemenbecausetheydid
1936;Kelly1976; Herdted.,1984) thatyoungmalechildren
nothave it congenitally.
In factall bodilysubstancesand fluidsare equallyreplenishable
andis therefore
thebonemarrow
through
eating.Semen,likethemilkinwomen,derivesfrom
For
the
the
from
the
of
insemination
followed
congenital.
cosmogonie
Iqwaye
practice
of thefirstmen.Men subsequently
ancestralactivity
continuedtheoriginary
procreation
whichwas a partof thecontinuum
said thatwhilestilla
ofthelife-process.
One informant
babea boyisbreast-fed
milk
his
was
mother.
When
then
replacedbysemen.
by
nose-pierced,
Mother'smilkfeedstheindividual
thentheelder
whenheis a child Whenheis nose-pierced
brother's
the
semen
him
This
stresses
wouldgive
(seniorgradeinitiate)
nourishing
strength.
In thisregardthere
aspectofinsemination
whereby
boysweremadeto growup physically.
is a generalconsensusamongtraditionalists
of Iqwayemen(and
thatyoungergenerations
with
weakerand somewhatdegenerate
Yagwoia in general)are physically
by comparison
thosewho have experiencedand stillcherishthevalue of men's secretstrength
(yeki'nye
fellatiowas a practicethatused to createand sustainerotic
pi'nye). But simultaneously
thusmakingbachelorhood
ofman's sexual
a vitalcontextof thedevelopment
experiences,
ofIMH
ithas tobe pointedoutthatthecharacterization
beingandidentity.
Parenthetically,
in recentliterature
is misleading.
(Herdt1981, 1984, 1987) as 'ritualized'homosexuality
AmongtheIqwaye,someotherAngansandNew Guineapeoples,itwas a practiceofyoung
men'severyday
lifewhichlastedformanyyears.The strictly
ritualcontextoftheinitiation
ceremonies
was onlyshortlived,andcommonly,
in itnovicesweresolelyinductedintothe
life of IMH was outsidethe narowritualcontext(forfurther
practice.The mainstream
see
Mimica
commentaries,
1982). However,I shallnotdeal witheroticandotheraspectsof
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Mimica

thedevelopment
of themasculineselfin relationto IMH. Whatconcernsme hereare the
in relationto the
ofbachelorhood
generalmeaningsof fellatioin regardto thestructuring
ofIqwayesociality.
globalorganization
8.4.1 The FirstInsemination
towardstheendoftheseclusion
inthefirst
initiation
Insemination
was introduced
ceremony,
was also intendedas a vicarious
in the forestlodge. In thisritualcontextinsemination
were
withtheirfathers
uncleswho,together
ofthesemenofthenovices'maternal
reception
inseminators
The
act.
of theoriginary
thespectators
at theritualrecapitulation
procreative
wereprimarily
themostseniorbachelors(3rdgrade),butalso somemarried
men,
(younger)
thatis thosewhojustpassedthe4thgrade,andpossiblya few5thgraders.Outsidethisritual
withjunior
fromhavinghomosexualrelations
4thand5thgrademenwereprohibited
context
in
the
enunciated
was
also
This
initiates.For thembachelorhoodwas over.
sleeping
initiates'place
insidethebachelors'housewherethe4thgrade(newlymarried)
arrangements
on theway outofthatmodeof existence.
was nextto thedoor,becausetheywereliterally
Theywere to resumesexual relationswithwomenwhichas such made themdangerous
whoseexclusivecontactwas withmenonly.
thejuniorinitiates
(polluting)to
whatwas instore
Thenoviceshadnoinkling
wasverydramatic.
Theactofinsemination
intothelodgepackedwithmenfromnearandafar,all grave
forthemwhentheywerebrought
facesand dead silent.Alreadyemaciatedand intimidated
by severalweeksof excruciating
thatthesituation
admitted
All
informants
were
ordeals,they
understandably
apprehensive.
so thattheywerelying
was eerieandthattheywerescarednumb.The noviceswerearranged
and holdinga
coveredwithbark-capes,
withtheirkneesundertheirstomachs,completely
This
hands.
with
both
their
heads
in
their
of
front
of
positionrepresented
piece sugar-cane
thecape beingat once theenvelopingwomband theclosed
theirintra-uterine
situation,
whichbindsthefoetusto
theumbilicalcord/penis
cosmicabode,thesugar-cane
representing
the
ritual
thewomb,and the sky to earth.In this
imagery, equationof allogenesisand
ofthecovered
in front
wouldthenseatthemselves
is explicit.The inseminators
autogenesis
theirtongues,
with
noise
withtheirlegssetapart.Next,theywouldmakea clicking
initiates
baredmasculinepride.
andsoonafteruncoverthenoviceswhothusfacedtheinseminators'
The noviceswere told then:' Watch it! Don't breakyour maternaluncle's eggs (i.e.,
'the mother'sbrother'seggs were
commented,
testicles)!'But,as one of myinformants
to him' (whentheboy is nosedue
is
a
that's
and
broken,
why hugepayment
inevitably
the
'Hold
was:
The
next
marsupial(a specificspecies)!', upon
pronouncement
pierced).
which the novices were orallypenetratedand vigorouslyinseminatedMy informants
describedthisactionto havevariedinforce,vigour,violence,as didthenovices'resistance,
but
frompersonto person.It seemsthatmostnovicessubmitted
willinglyto insemination,
a
was
it
and
violence.
and
force
heavy,
somehad to be treatedwithconsiderable
large
By
andtraumatic
experience.
humiliating,
I shall deal withthedetailsof Iqwaye fellatioexperiencein all its modalities,from
to emphasizethatas an actionof
traumato pleasure,in anotherpaper.Here it is important
in thepresenceof all
of thenovicesby theseniorinitiates,
sexuallymediatedsubjugation
in termsof
hadtheheavinessofrape.It was a ritualsubjugation
men,thefirstinsemination
andheroic
is theexistential
a totalexerciseofpower.Whathastobe graspedinthissituation
ofwhichtheyall areacutelyaware.For
sado-masochistic
qualityofIqwayemaleexperience
a factwhicheveiyIqwaye
tobecomea manis noteasy!It takesa lotof painandsuffering,
The noviceswerefurther
fellatio.7
of
the
without
with
or
initiated
experience
boy knows,
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The IncestPassions

toensurethatthenovices
subjectedtoharangues
bymenintheaudience.Thesewereintended
swallowedthesemen.Theyweretoldthatthiswas thematernal
uncle's sementheywere
it was
drinking.
Theyshouldnotthinkthattheygrewup on mother'smilk.Still further
inculcated
intothemthatthispracticewas thewaytheancestor(creator)didit.An informant
' You
recounted:
(novices)shouldnotthinkthatmencopulatewithwomenonly.No! Mendo
so amongthemselves,
as didtheancestor.At thecostofyourlivesyoumustnotimpartthe
'
men's secrettowomenoruninitiated
severebeatingnotof
boys! Thenensueda particularly
'
thenovicesbutoftheirelderbrothers'
inthe2ndand3rd
i.e.,theseniorlinesofco-initiates
initiation
said theyweptbitterly
as seniormenbelabouredthese2ndand
grades.Informants
3rdgradeco-initiates.
weretoldthatthey
initiates
Manyofthembled.Thentheflagellated
shouldnotblamethemenfortheirbeating,butthenoviceswho wereliable to betraythe
for
secretoftheinitiations.
Withthisemotional
blackmailthenovicesweremaderesponsible
thewretchedness
oftheirelderbrothers,
thosewhohadjustgiventhemsemen,andwhowere
of
to do so in thefuture.
of initiateswas set intoa relationship
Therebytheregimentation
subordination
anddomination.
ontheiraccountby
Thejuniors'burdenwas thepainsuffered
theseniors,at thehandsofthegrownmen.The successionoftheco-initiates
lineswas thus
structured
on thebasis ofpain,hardfeelingsandguilt.
Hard feelingswere and still are producedand channelledby violenceon a more
inSeptember,
individual
basis.Forinstance,
oneafternoon
initiation
thefirst
ceremony
during
meninchargeofthenovicesattherituallodge,tooka break.
1983,a groupofyoungmarried
One ofthemsaid thatthefather
ofa novicenowin thelodgewas particularly
nastyto him
whenhe was nose-pierced
howthisman,thenexactlyin the
someyearsago. He recounted
samepositionas he was now,beratedhimonenightatthelodgeforbeingdazedandlooking
tired,as he indeedwas. Theywereexposedto a hugefiresupposedto drytheirnosesand
maketheirbodiesstrong
anddry.His tormentor
gavehimsucha heavyblowontheheadwith
a stickthathe almostfainted.So manyyearslaterhe was thinking
he shouldeven
whether
thescorebybelabouring
thatman'ssonwhowas nowat hismercy.Some ofhisco-initiates
himtodo exactlythat,fortheceremonial
encouraged
lodgeis theplacetogetevenforall the
and
andyoungmen
humiliation
thatonehas suffered
in thepast.Indeed,mostinitiates
pain
to
their
enjoy
positionof powervis-a-visthenovices,and copiouslyuse theopportunities
makeup forthesubjugation
Thisparticular
suffered.
youngman,however,
theythemselves
saidthathewas a goodmanandthathefeltsorryforthewretched
noviceinthelodge,despite
thefactthathisfather
tomakeup
was beastlytohim.So he chosenottouse theopportunity
forthepastpain.Nevertheless
andvicious
we can see thatmuchtaunting
and humiliation,
sustained
aregenerated
beatingsexercisedin theinitiations
bythesamekindofexperiences
but theywill
of novices.They are humiliatedand theysuffer,
by everynew generation
be able to makeup foritbysubjecting
to thesameordeals.
newgenerations
eventually
Theritualrealization
othermeanings
ofthecosmogoniecreation
into
brings prominence
ofthemalecreation.
totheopeningup
The crushing
uncles'' eggs' corresponds
ofmaternal
oftheprimordial
closedbody,andin thecurrent
to thepainthateverywomanbears
reality,
in labour,butwhichbelongsto manin hispositionofthematernal
uncle.Thisis yetanother
in
of
the
idea
of
the
of
the
union
cross-sex
expression
bodily
siblings.Whatthesistersuffers
In
the
brother
in
the
of
constituted
'labours' cosmogonieparturition.
reality,
acquires
ritually
thisway thehomodimensionof allosexuality
modeof
is one stepcloserto theoriginary
autosexualbeingfromwhichthecircleofkinshiphasemerged.Letus nowhavea closerlook
intotheregulation
ofhomosexualrelations.

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Mimica

8.5. The RegulationofHomosexualRelations

The membersof thesame
The practiceof homosexuality
was exo-sexualand hierarchical.
a
co-initiates
line could notfellateeach othernorcould a juniorgradeinitiateinseminate
had
once
informant
chief
seniorgradeinitiate.
Theflowofinsemination
was irreversible.
My
ofallogenesis.
inthemyth
tothemotifofserialinsemination
explainedthistomeinreference
..and
thensecond,thenthird,.
Theresemen,viafellatio,proceedsfromOmalyceto thefirst,
in
woman,
first
the
who
endsin thebodyofthefifth,
became
mud-man
likewise,
penis-less
fromseniorstojuniors,neverin reverse.
thepracticeofIMH semenwas transmitted
made
whichformerly
Membersof thesame co-initiates
line sharean endo-indentity
the
toward
act
a
ritual
themclosedto mutualsexualintercourse.
performed
Nowadaystoo,
initiates
The
senior
end of theirstayat theforestlodge ratifiesthisendo-identity.
(elder
in chargeof thenovicescatchyeqwoce lizardswhose eggs and tailssymbolize
brothers)
tails
areroastedinan openfire,thentheircharred
humantesticlesandpenis.Thesecreatures
with
areseveredandsmearedontothenovices'noses.Each noviceeatshislizardtogether a
handfulof a steamedforestvegetable.This endsthetabooon speakingwhichthenovices
and
havehadtoobeyeversincetheirnoseswerepierced.Theycan nowspeaktoeachother,
as
other
each
address
should
initiates
that
are instructed
the
senior
('my
ndoqwa
they
by
TokPisin- 'wan nus'), becausethatis whattheyaretoeachother.Thissmallrite
co-initiate'
thenovices'owngenitals,thevitalfociof
has thefollowing
meaning.The lizardsrepresent
theirbodilyselves.Withthetailsmearedontohisnoseanda lizardeaten,eachnovicecomes
tosymbolically
incorporatehisowngenitalsandthusis definedas a closedbody,inthestate
In thatsense he is in thestateof theautosexualincest,and as such
of sexualself-closure.
ofeachnovice
The incestuousmodeofbeing(self-closure)
relatestohisfellowco-initiates.
and completeequivalence,and precludessexual
definestheircommonendo-identity
betweenthem.Theyarebodilyclosed offfromeachother.
relationship
in relationto each othera class of
line constitute
Thus,themembersof a co-initiates
withhimself.
ofeachmember
relation
defined
allo-relations
bytheiropposite,theautosexual
in ordernot
is achieveddialectically:
oftheirmutualallosexuality
The symbolicprevention
tohimself.
in
relation
witheachother,eachofthembecomesso vicariously
tobe incestuous
be
can
himself
In formaltermsthissymbolicautosexuallinkofeach novicewith
expressed
madeequivalentto each
All co-initiates
arethereby
as A=A. It is thecompleteself-identity.
oftheiractualbodilyidentities
otherregardless
which,of course,areof a motleyplurality,
tovariousPDGs. Butin thecontextofthe
sinceall ofthemhavedifferent
belonging
parents
Whatbindsandunifiesthenovices,
into
the
this
recedes
background
ceremony,
nose-piercing
itselfa
of nose-piercing,
is
the
sociocentric
different
their
identities,
operation
very
despite
the
and
the
beween
connection
the
which
to
genitals
cosmogonie
penileactivity
corresponds
mouth.
of theco-initiates'bodilybeingtallieswiththe
The symbolicautosexualdefinition
a personis
forin termsof theestablishedbodilyself-closure,
inhibition
of masturbation,
that
indication
some
I
have
his
co-initiate.
is
to
himself
as
to
he
closed
However,
sexually
to
data
I
no
concrete
have
but
didexplorethemselves
developa
someinitiates
autoerotically
I know,
as
far
as
of
Inhibition
in
masturbation,
moredetailedpictureofthissituation thepast.
was
The
attitude
orthreats.
by
was notaccomplished
neatlyexpressed
byexplicitdeterrence
whosaidthat' mypenisbelongstosomebodyelse,andsomebodyelse's
oneofmyinformants
penisbelongstome'.
was sexuallyopen,as thereceiverofsemen,tothesenior,and,
Each lineofco-initiates
as thegiverof semen,to thejuniorlines.Initiatesengagedin homosexualrelationsdidnot
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The IncestPassions

formpermanent
were definiteaboutthis.The juniorswere
dyadicpairs.My informants
to
have
as
inseminators
as
semen,
encouraged
many
possiblein orderto acquiremaximum
relation
intense
more
into
a
Variations
did
a
could
however
and
i.e.,strength.
occur,
slip
boy
withone ortwoseniorsfora periodoftime.Some menarerenowned
forthewidecircuitof
As
bachelors'housestheyused to visitin orderto receivesemenfrommanyinseminators.
when
theIqwayesee it,theirsexualaggressiveness
intofearsomeness
was laterconverted
werenot
andinseminated
It was madesurethatinseminators
theybecameviolentwarriors.
I
but
have
recorded
three
cases
were
true
wherethey
related,
FBSs, i.e.,classificatory
agnatic
brothers.
However,thereis no notionamongtheIqwaye thattheinseminator/inseminated
forexampleaffinal
couldorshouldfollowa pre-established
social relationship,
relationship
was all by itselfand articulated
(cf.Kelly1976). The inseminator/inseminated
relationship
as theelder/younger
brother
betweenthe initiation
gradesandtheircomponent
relationship
co-initiates
lines.Onlyin thecontextofthefirstinitiation
thefirstinsemination
ceremony,
also carriedtheexplicitsignificance
oftheMB/ZSrelationship.
The co-initiates
linesweredeployedthroughout
thefirstthreeinitiation
gradeswhich
men
delimitbachelorhoodThe 4thand5thgrades,as I alreadyexplained,used to reorient
towardsthewidersocialitywhererelations
betweenmenaremediated
bywomen.Theyenter
thissocialrealmfirst
child.Evenwhen
andforgooduponthebirthofthefirst
uponmarriage
thepassagethrough
thannowadays,
theinitiatory
collective
and
was
more
grades
regimented
thereusedtooccura dispersion
ofthemembers
oftheco-initiates
lines,especiallywhenthey
reached3rdinitiation
betweenthemembers.
grade.Thiswas due tothephysicaldifferences
Some wouldmatureand growup fasterthanothers.Therefore,
such oldermembersof a
while
co-initiates
linewouldremaininthe3rdgradefora shorter
timeandwouldgetmarried,
more
in
for
a
immature
3rd
the
members
of
same
line
would
remain
the
younger,
longer
grade
time.Buttherewerecaseswherea particular
bachelorhood
bachelorwouldresistabandoning
andwouldremainin the3rdgradefora longtime,whileall hisco-initiates
and
gotmarried
begatchildren.
The relationbetweentheco-initiates
linesand theinitiation
gradeswas andis defined
as the same-sex siblingshipdifferentiated
by relativeage, hence + B/-B. The first
initiation
establishment
ofsuchrelationship
inthelifeofeveryIqwayeboyoccursinthefirst
wherea particular
seniorinitiateis appointedas theguardianofa specificnovice,
ceremony
this' elderbrother'
cleaninghisnose-wound,
washinghisface,etc.Attheendoftheceremony
receivesa payment
forhisservicefromhis'youngerbrother's'(novice)father.
The + B/-B(tate/wtgwale)
in thecontextofIMH usedtomarkthestatuses
relationship
ofthesemen-giver
andsemen-receiver.
was exclusively
The 1stinitiation
gradetyupa'nye)
thesemenreceiver,the3rdgrade(hipipice)thesemen-giver.
The exclusivesemengivers
were the 4th and the 5th grades,excepttheywere and are directedto the domainof
The 2nd grade (hyanianinye)
the semen
initiateswere simultaneously
heterosexuality.
receivers
fromthe3rdandthegiverstothe1st.However,as I emphasized
it
before, is notthe
that
define
buttheircomponent
lines.Itwas oftenthecase
co-initiates
grades
exo-sexuality
thatthereweremembers
ofmorethanonesuchlineinanyoftheinitiation
grades,especially
inthethird
from
wheresomewoulddepartearlierthanothersintotheworldofheterosexuality
andaffinity.
Due to thecentrality
of homosexuality,
has had also a fairly
the +B/-B relationship
Theinseminated
fellators
explicitgendersignificance.
(-B) wereseenas women,whereasthe
inseminators
( + B) were,by virtueof thatfact,men. The lattersexual role continued
whentheymadetransition
to heterosexuality.
unchanged
By becomingan exclusivesemen
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Mimica

givereveryyoungman was thuscomingto accomplishhimselfin his fullmasculinity,

betweenjuniorsand
crownedfinallyby thebirthofhisfirstchild.8The sexualrelationship
when
seniorswas also seenas a marital
outtomebyan oldinformant
bond.Thiswas brought
I askedhimwhya +B, a bachelor,could nothave ventured
intoa heterosexual
relation,
of suchconduct.Nowadays,no initiatematureenoughto have sex
despitetheprohibition
whicholdermenfrequently
wouldaccordmuchrespectto thepastideal of male chastity
The oldinformant
heterosexual
fortheir
appetites.
appealtowhentheyberateyounginitiates
venturecould occurbecause,he said,elder
thata heterosexual
objectedto mysuggestion
He meantbythisthatthisbond,termed
weremarried
brothers
tothem,theyounger
brothers.
between
whichdenotesthetransmission
ofsemen,was as bindingas therelation
ulapanenye
were
theman and womanin a heterosexual
relation,and moreso: forthe semen-givers
brothers.
forthephysicalgrowth
oftheiryounger
responsible

J[

1
^mm

) [_st&

=homosexualsementransmission
lines
][ co-initiates

} { initiationgrades

Figure5.
in termsof a divisionof labourstillin evidence
The relationship
was also structured
Thejuniorsused to carryout'women'swork';they
nowadaysamongtheIqwayeinitiates.
and in general
fetchedwater,firewood,and occasionallycooked fortheseniorinitiates,
assistedthemin all sortsof ways in daily life at the bachelors' house. This further
so thatthejuniorsindeedwerelike
oftheirrelationship,
thesexualdimension
complemented
andenforced
was rigidly
therelationship
women.As I havealreadyemphasized,
regimented
such
seniors
over
the
the
of
exercise
subjugation
Nowadays,
juniors.
powerby
by
frequent
lifeofthe
social
in
the
not
in
initiation
the
comesintoprominence
ceremonies,
everyday
only
are
bachelors
between
differences
the
where
initiates
minimally
grade
youngIqwaye
maintained.
Whentheinitiates'lifein thepastwas boundbytheseclusionofthebachelors'
housesandwarfarewas integralto social life,manygames(nowadaysonlyrarelyplayed)
submissionto beatingand enduranceof severe,sometimes
were focussedon voluntary
and cowardiceshownin the games used to provoke
Weakness
extreme,physicalpain.
The initiateswerealso
and
immediate
humiliation, further
physicalpunishment.
mocking,
to
introduced
as
warfare
and
trained
for
raidingoftheenemyvillages
, theygotolder,
gradually
of
This
warriors. aspect pastIqwayelifeputstherigidity
undertheguidanceofexperienced
ofIqwaye
as well as itspleasures,intoa widerperspective
ofbachelorhood,
andharshness
in
not
were
life.
to
wereintegral social
inwhichviolenceandstrife
marginal
They
sociality,
as
or
kind
of
withsome
norweretheyregarded
theflowofIqwayeexistence,
tragicpathos,
ofbachelorhood
thestructures
oftheontologicalevil.I shallnow summarize
an expression
incest
intotheglobalIqwayedynamicsofthe
andtheirorchestration
passions.
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The IncestPassions

8.6. Conclusion
in
intothebrotherhood
was a closedsocialitygloballyhomogenized
Iqwayebachelorhood
whichhomosexuality
were
andbodilynurture
ofmanbyman,brother
brother,
reproduced
by
the
as livedpraxisofthecosmogoniepassionoftheall-malecreationofmen.In cosmogony
creation
was necessarily
betweenthefather
incestuous
anditinvolvedthesexualconnection
andall fivesons-brothers
Itwas not,however,a completereplicaoftheoriginal
(mud-men).
Ifhe did,then
self-creation
becausethefifth,
thefather.
penislesssoncouldnotreinseminate
theprimordial
all-maleallogenesiswouldhavebecomea completeautosexualself-closure.
In thehistorical
was paralleled
situation
practiceofthestilllivingIqwayemen,theprimordial
thefirst
the
became
of
who
brother
homosexual
relations.
The fifth,
by structuring
penisless
of
womanis an imagoof themostjuniorinitiatesin the1stgradewho weretherecipients
elder
semenbutthemselves
the
to
did notinseminate.
The 2nd and 3rdgraderscorrespond
in allogenesis.Marriedand procreative
brothers
to Omalyce
men(4thand 5th)correspond
Withwomenthey
withwomen,theyaretrulyprocreative.
because,in conjunction
precisely
cometo unifyin themselves
boththemain'sand woman'shalfof Omalyce's self,i.e., his
thechildwhois at thesametimetheembodiment
bodiliness,andthusprocreate
primordial
ofitsprocreators.
It is therealization
ofself-creation.
In thesphereof homosexualallo-relations,
in theIqwayesenseof
incest,understood
was at onceobviatedandaffirmed
was inthepositionto
Heretoo,no initiate
autosexuality,
with
theaffirmation
but
here
too
the
was
constituted
exo-dimension
himself,
copulate
through
an
oftheautosexualclosure.Thus,in ordertobecomeopen,i.e.,sexuallyavailabletoothers,
of the
initiatehad firstto becomesymbolically
closed in uponhimselfas thesymbolism
riteshows. In thisway the symbolicself-closure
becomes a permanent
lizard-eating
of
of intra-group
man
is
for
the
constitution
and
self-identity everyIqwaye
paradigmatic
PDGs.
in
in
of
the
other
the
self-identity
domains,eg.,
(endo-identity)
structuring
This construction
of self-identity
as theautosexuallyclosedbodyalso makesIqwaye
mode
menequivalentto Omalycein his originary
thisprimordial
stateofbeing.Therefore,
ofbeingis theprimary,
human
from
the
individual
innermost
ofall Iqwaye,
beingto
identity
thesociocentric
That
cosmos.
ofthe
PDGs, andI shouldadd,to thewholeinclusivetotality
is thepurerelation
and
vivid
ofself-identity
whichone is oneself,orA=A. To use a
through
mostappropriate
in themirror
is hisownbodilyself-identity.
analogy,a person'sreflection
He(A) whois lookingintohis mirror-image
(A) is identicalwithit.Butin orderto be truly
identicalwithhimself
he has to fusehimself
withhis imageso thatthetwobecomeone. In
so thatA is
andhismirror-image
betweenhimself
logicaltermsa copulamustbe established
A (A=A). In Iqwayethought
theusage
thiscopulativerelationis literally
established
through
oftheimageof theautosexualpenilelinkbetweenthehumanbeingi.e., body,and itsvital
bodilypart.The linkis oftensynecdochal
(part=whole).By beingimaginedas a self-closure
thebodyor theentityit represents
(eg., thePDG) is establishedas a whollyself-same,
self-identical
andself-procreative
structure.
As in thesphereofsocialitygovernedbyheterosexuality,
of
theobviativeaffirmation
the
autosexuality(incest) also used to institutethe exo-relations,although between
co-initiates
lines and correlatively,
theinitiation
gradesratherthanthemen and women
incestuoussexualcontact,
deployedinthePDGs. Butin heterosexual
relations,
'planting',is
obviatedandaffirmed
areassimilated
through
eating,andvice-versa.Therebyexo-relations
intoendo-relations:
assimilatesaffinity,
mostfullyby meansofate marriage,
patrifiliation
intotheunityoffatherhood
thechildinto
Matrifiliation
qua marsupialeatingreincorporates
thebodies of themotherand parents'mothers.Matrifiliation
is thusrendereda genuine
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Mimica

sex (planting)and eatingare

intrabodily
unityof motherand child.But in homosexuality,
fusedintoone - insemination
which
renders
thesphereof bachelorhood
fellatio
through
ofwoman.
themediation
to
its
without
equivalent
primordial
imago:cosmogonieallogenesis
The homosexual(same-sex)siblingshipin the sphereof bachelorhoodmake it a virtual
in thesphere
ofthecross-sexsiblingship
andthepracticeofendo-cannibalism
mirror-image
of each
of intrafamilial
Cross-sexsiblingsare the completeembodiments
relationships.
other'scorporealidentity,
thusmoreidenticalthanthebachelorswhose real sociocentric
It is theinitiationsand the
and therefore
theirbodies,are de factodifferent.
identities,
framework
thatconferuponthemthehomogeneity
andpractices
ofbachelorhood
categorical
intends.Butthecross-sexsiblings
ofidentity
whichthebrotherhood
(same-sexsiblingship)
differ
are trulythesamein thatregard,their
by sex forrealwhilethehomosexualbrothers
theunionof
covertsex-roledifference
beingsurrealso to speak.Likewise,in insemination
twobachelors-brothers
was real,whereasthecross-sexsiblings'bodilyunionwas achieved
and in thealimentary
theeatingof thesteamedvegetables
modeonly,through
vicariously
soakedwiththedeadbrother'
s bodyfluids.Bothtypesofrelationship
, eachinitsowndistinct
of thepassionsof
realms
and
interrelated
of
different
articulate
way
sphere sociality,
yet
incest.For thecross-sexsiblingship
theincestuousunityand fusionintoa singlebodily
with
was coterminous
in thesituation
becameaccomplished
ofdeath.Incorporation
identity
death
of
the
time
same
at
the
and
were
here
the
of
incest
passions
bodilydissolution,
passions
understood,
however,as the vital expressionof the life processin its transformative
nurture
the
about
was
The
homosexual
brotherhood
(extension
bodily
modality.
devouring
ofmenbymenandas suchitspassionswerethepassionsoflifeinitsforemost
ofprocreation)
- planting.
ofcreation
malemodality
of menwas
thebrotherhood
ceremony,
Finally,in thecontextof thefirstinitiation
the
oftheMB/ZSrelationship,
ascribedtheidentity
becomingthus expression
momentarily
andhisson.Therefore
theunionofthemalemother
oftheforemost
imagoofIqwayekinship,
oftheIqwayecircleofkinship,
was a fullydevelopedtransformation
Iqwayebachelorhood
ofit,becamefusedand
constitutive
ofdifferentiation
a transformation
thestructures
whereby
condition
ofthe
whichexpressedtheprimordial
intoa practicalconfiguration
homogenised
all-malesociality.
As a generalizedcategory,brotherhoodcharacterizesnot just the Iqwaye past
butalso Iqwayemenas a societyof
or a passingphaseof man's life-cycle,
bachelorhood,
the' child
a fatherhood
men.Yetbrotherhood
was andis forthesakeoffatherhood,
whereby
is thefather
oftheman'. Childis thetemplatejustas muchofthebeingofIqwayemenas it
ofthechild,
themin themediation
is ofwomen.To understand
eitherentailsunderstanding
of
self-creation.
and
its
self
andthrough
of
their
it,
project
archetypal
9. A ConcludingReflection
intermsofthe
I haveoutlinedtheconstitutive
roleofincestpassionsinIqwayesocialreality
a mode of
as
and
culture
their
which
constitutes
history
them,
ontologicalproject
and
of
human
it
is
the
being a
becoming
praxis
Specifically,
being-in-the-world.
man
cosmic
the
the
of
the
creator,
autopoietic
primordial
totality, equivalent
self-procreated
the
circumscribes
most
which
is
self-creation
The
core
of
the
cogently
project
Omalyce.
of human
in thestructures
natureof thepassionsof incestand theirdialecticalarticulation
'
of Iqwaye sociality.Incest,thus,as a familiar'
relations,i.e., in the veryorganization
has
andmordlfascinosum
cultural
andingeneral,Western
psychoanalytical,
anthropological,
becomes
it
an
of
its
As
a
ontological project,
reality.
core-configuration
changed
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The IncestPassions

as notjustthepassionsoftheselfvis-a-visanother,
understandable
butas thepassionsofthe
selfvis-a-visitself.I haveshownthatin theIqwayereality,
fromtheinnercircleofkinship,
tothestructures
ofsociocentric
ofthesocialfieldas a whole,
groups,totheirrepresentations
humanbeings,groups,and cosmicmanforma self-producing,
unity(Mimica
organismic
of therelationships
of individualbodily
betweena multiplicity
1981). The discontinuities
selvesis thought
ofas theparticipation
ofa singleself,that
in thedifferentiated
self-identity
ofthecreatorOmalyce.He is, then,atoncea transcendental
self
unifying ofthemultiplicity
ofconcrete
humanselves,andtheirimmanent
innerbeing.He isboththeinsideandtheoutside
determination
of Iqwaye existence,the outermostembodiment
of the cosmos and the
innermost
betweenthefoetusanditsprimordial
cosmos,thematernal
conjuction
ontogenetic
womb.He is at oncetheone andthemany.
The genitors,
theprogeny,
thesociocentric
groups,and thesocial universeas a whole
areregionsofdiscontinuities,
andmirror,
theseparated
bodilybeingswhichas suchincarnate
or moreaccurately,
refractthecontinuous
of theself-sameselfof thecreator.The
identity
of
different
identities
haveto be seen as thespecularbodilyrefractions
bodilysociocentric
the samenesswhichproducesthe otherout of itselfthroughits internalsplitting.
This
fundamental
cutin thesameis thecondition
ofthemirror-differentiations
oftheemergence
of sociality,becomes formedas an ever
wherebythe fieldof humansocial identities,
fieldof specularrefractions
All social differentiation
of theprimordial
fluctuating
identity.
is seenas thereproduction
oftheoriginary,
cut,therupture
(eg.,PDGs' fissioning)
archetypal
of Omalyce's umbilicus-penis
came into
of
differentiation
the
world
as
the
realm
whereby
the
concrete
the
of
of
the
of
the
social
being.Clearly,then, dynamics
plurality
relationships
selvescan onlybe properly
cosmicselfoutof
describedin a perspective
oftheirprimordial
whichtheIqwayesocialrealityis literally
as what?
Butone can ask: constituted
constituted.
answer
is:
as
the
the
social-culturalof
in
of
My
synthesis the imaginai theexteriority
historical
milieuwhichis theIqwayereality.
The properly
humanexteriority
simplydoesnot
existwithout
theprojection
andobjectif
The historically
icationofitsinteriority.
objectified
radicalimagination
as an
is also constitutive
of theIqwaye ecologicalmilieuunderstood
and reciprocally,as human
umwelt,i.e., as humanassimilationof the environment
in it.Situatedness
situatedness
thepraxiswhichin
heremeansthetotality
ofhumanactivity,
theincessantfluxof existenceat once createsand actualizestheinnerand outerrealities
andwrrwelt)
ofitsembodiedpassions,theprimordial
(Innenwelt
energiesofthehumansoul
(psyche).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wishto thanktheeditorsand thestaffof Oceania, and PatrickGlass fortheirthoughtful
andgeneroushelpin finalpreparation
Forall conceptualand
ofthemanuscript.
suggestions
ofthepaperI aloneam responsible.
stylistic
shortcomings
NOTES
1.

This relationship
also extendsto and encompassesthe entireinitiatedmale population. Throughthe
initiation
withseveralotherswhich
gradesall menare relatedas +B/-B and it is thisfeaturetogether
theoriginary
at theleveloftheIqwayesocialorganization.Aspects
reproduces
cosmogoniephysiognomy
of malefellatiopracticesarefurther
discussedbelow.

2.

It shouldbe mentioned
edible
thatin specificcircumstances
a mancan renderhis daughter'sbride-price
without
embarrassment
andshame. Thisbecomespressinginsucha case whena manhas no sonbutonly

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Mimica

identicalshellsas his and is willingto exchangethem.

daughters.He can finda manwho has virtually
thattheyarc
Afterdetailedevaluationofeachindividual
bothmenconvincethemselves
specimenwhereby
receivers
thebride-price
exactequivalents,
thetwosetsofshellsareexchangedThisexchangetransforms
relationto theshells. The new set thathe has now received,althoughequivalentto the former,
is,
de factoanddejuredifferent
receivedas bride-price.
fromtheonesheoriginally
nevertheless,
Theycome
thisexchangeis notshellsfor
different
froma different
manandforan ostensibly
purpose.Furthermore,
of shells
but theseshells forthoseshells. That is. theconcreteidentities
pork(directconsumption),
The
crucial
been
have
and
of
their
and
owners"
identities
exchanged.
purposes)
(comprised
previous present
thenewlyreceivedshellsbecomeedible
difference
in theshellshasbeenthusestablished
andaccordingly
transaction.This is indelibly
of thisparticular
man'sbride-price
because theydo notbear theidentity
attachedto thoseshellswhichare nowpossessedbya manotherthantheone who receivedthemas the
receiveris freeof theincestousstigmaattachedto the
shells. Hence theformer
bride-price
bride-price
father
s bride-price
consumption.In concretetemis he is eatingshellsotherthanthosereceivedas the
forhisdaughter.
bride-price
3.

The 'outer circleofthefieldofkinship,

matrilateral
theclassificatory
(CfMSb)is a subjectfor
siblingship
a separatediscussion.Briefly,
ofbreastandmilk.Itobtainsbetweenanytwopersonswhose
itis a relation
s sisters children
mothers
areofthesamePDG. One's closestclassificatory
matrilateral
siblingsaremother
fromher
and
further,
mother's
and
all
women
from
then
all
children
of
patriline.
(parallelcousins)
extension
andthePDG as a whole. The directextension
ofCfMSbis precluded
bythelimited
patrilineage.
a
of matrifiliation
withinthefamilialcontext(i.e. FW=M butFWB^MB and FWZ^MZ). Accordingly,
related
unlesstheyaremutually
siblings,
person'sCfMsiblingsarenotalso his/her
half-siblings'
patrilateral
not
as siblingsthrough
otherconnections.This is alwayspossiblesincetherangeofCfMSbis established
ties of the parentsand
but also throughthe matrilateral
only througha person'sown matrifiliation
betweenthesesiblingsandthosetowhomego is
difference
However,thereis a significant
grand-parents.
ofthenamingsystemall male CfM
relatedthrough
hisdirectmatrilateral
connections.Durtothestructure
areofthesamePDG. In thiswaytheprimary
rangeof
siblingshavethesamenamebecausetheirmothers
one's own male CfMSbs is sociocentrically
delimitedby theirnames. This does notobtainforego's
connections.The
matrilateral
parents'and grand-parents'
classificatory
siblingstracedthoughhis/her
As suchthey
flesh.
same
the
have
connections
as
their
direct
matrilateral
related
CfMSb
through
persons
tosay thatone's
andtherefore
eachother'sself. It is notan exaggeration
reflect
eachother'scorporeality,
as his/her
double(doppleganger).Indreamsthedreamer'sownCfMSb
CfMSbofthesamesex is regarded
assisteach
directmatrifiliation)
self.
i.e.
These
CfM siblings(i.e. through
own
his/her
represents
body.
relativetheyjointlycontribute
In thecase ofdeathofa maternal
otherinbride-price
andotherprestations.
thedeceased'
tomarry
a manis entitled
tohis/her
mortuary
payment.In thecase ofdeathofa CfMbrother
foraCfMSb
tothemortuary
widow.CfMSiblings
arealwaysboundbythatverybondtocontribute
payment
- thatis beingpaid for. Anditis thematernal
of
relativesincommonto themall thataretherecipients
thatpayment.For moredetailon CfMSbamongtheIqwaye.see Mimica1981:46-51. I use thephrase
afterKelly 1977. However,thisrelationamongtheYagwoia is not
matrilateral
classificatory
siblingship
articulated
in thewayKellydescribesitfortheEtoro. Fora critiqueofthatstudysee Mimica1980.
4.

said thathisson is half

Thisdoes notexcludetheotherside ofrclatcdncss.For instance,one informant
of thismode of kin-classification
son and halffather.This,perhaps,is thebestglobalcharacterization
are in thiscontexttotally
and on patrifiliation
since the relatednessbased on the socioccntricidentity
use of thekin-term
As to theself-reciprocal
intertwined.
auwya(FZ) betweena womanand herBD, I
have some doubtsbecause I neverenquiredabout it. This was partlyconditionedbythe factthatthe
informants
themselvesneveremphasizedit,whiletheself-reciprocal
usage betweenfathersand sons in
forFZ-BD
threesuccessivegenerationsutterly
captivatedme so I neverreallythoughtofitsimplication
in
does
all
such
a
slate
that
I
in
With
this
nevertheless
reservation
probability
mind,
usage
may
usage.
followthat
occurso thata womancalls herBD auwyaand viceversa. However,itdoes notimmediately
a woman'sownFZ willcall her'aunt'and viceversa,because itis onlythewoman'sbrotherwhois married
to heraunt'sclassificatory
usage.
mother,and itis hisate marriagewhichdeterminestheself-reciprocal
his sister(i.e., her own BD) followingthe
were it the case thathis FZ would reclassify
Accordingly,

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The IncestPassions

equations BS= FMBSDH = MH = F, so thatBD= FMBSDHZ= MHZ= FZ, the self-reciprocal

does
usageofthetermauwyawouldobtain. However,I am quitecertainthatthiskindofreclassification
notoccur,preciselybecause thefocallinkis man'smarriageto thewomanwhois hisfather'sand father's
sister'sclassificatory
oftheirfathers
mother.Onlyifthemanand hissisterwerethemselvestheoffspring
ownate marriage(if he contractedone), wouldtheybe as such relatedto theirtruefatherand father's
sisteras theirself-reciprocal
relations,i.e., the son and daughterwho are also one's own fatherand
father'ssister. It followsthattheconditionfortheself-reciprocal
auwya(FZ) in
usage of thekin-term
three(as opposed to two)successivegenerationsis theoccurrenceofate typeofmarriagein at leasttwo
successivegenerations,
i.e.,thatbothones fatherand oneselfhavemarriedtheirrespectiveclassificatory
father'smother.
5. Since thisis a topicof a separatestudyoftheIqwaycmortuary
practicesI willforegothedetailshere.
6.

Thereisa justlyfamouscase ofa manwhomI knowwellandwhomarriedseveralofhisdeceased brothers'

widows. For one of themhe is reputedto have alreadytakenherby the hand in the presenceof his
brother'sbody. Not surewhetherhe was alreadydead he addressedhim,yetstillholdingontohiswife's
hand:'You (the deceased), are youdead or are youjustasleep?!' This storyprovokesa riotoflaughter
whentoldin an appropriatecontext.

7.

enduredin
Despite the'softness'of theinitiations
nowadays,thedegreeof physicalpain and suffering
thefirsttwoceremoniesis difficult
formodernWesternurbansensibilities
to appreciate,be theythose
of a middleclass 'civilized'citizenwho detestsviolence or those of a punk and streetfighter,
or a
hetero/homosexual
who cultivatesbondageand submissionin his/her
eroticlife(e.g. Mains 1984). Due
tothedissolutionoftherigidly
lifeofbachelorhoodcharacterizedbythedominationofjunior
regimented
initiatesbyseniors,theexerciseofgroupcorporealviolencehas virtually
no realityin theexperienceof
ceremonies.Previouslythedisciplinarianuse of
youngerIqwayeexceptin thecontextof theinitiation
violencewas an ingredient
oftheroutinesofthebachelors'everydaylife.

8.

An informant
fromtheVailala Headwaters(Iwola'a Malyceterritorial
brought
group)once humorously
outthegenderaspectofthe -I-B/-Brelationship
betweenthegrades. He said thatone did nothavesex
withmarriedmenbecause theyarelikeold women.Onlytheyoungerbrothersare liketheyoungwomen,
withwhomone desiressex. Here femininity
is extendedto all men,marriedand bachelors,butthisdoes
notinvalidatethe 'sexual' differentiation
of the older and youngerbachelorsas male and female. To
ofsex extensionsamongtheIqwayeI wouldhaveto discussthefullrangeof
explainfullythisambiguity
sex extensionsand inversionsin Iqwayesocial usage. This is reservedfora separatework.
men
bachelors
y^N.married
n. 'old women'
'youngwomen' y\^

'-B'

'+B'

(9)

fcf)

homosexual
intercourse

N.
^v
heterosexual
intercourse

REFERENCES
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1987. Vie Sambia: Ritualand Genderin New Guinea. Holt,Rinehartand Winston:NewYork.
ed., 1982. RitualsofManhood:Male Initiations
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ofCaliforniaPress:Berkeley.
ed., 1984. RitualizedHomosexuality
in Melanesia.University
ofCaliforniaPress:Berkeley.
KF.LLEY, R.C. 1976. Witchcraft
and Sexual Relations:An Explorationin theSocial SemanticImplications
ofa StructureofBelief.In P. Brownand G. Buchbinder,(eds), Man and WomanintheNewGuinea
Highlands.AmericanAnthroooloeicalAssociation:Washington.DC.
1977. Etoro Social Structure.The University
ofMichiganPress:Ann Arbor.
LVI-STRAUSS, C. 1963. Structural
Basic Books: New York.
Anthropology.
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Mimica

MAINS, G. 1984. Urban Aboriginals:A Celebrationof Leathersexuality.Gay SunshinePress: San

Francisco.
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MIMICA, J. 1980. 'Anthropology
Structure.CanberraAnthropology
3(2):47-80.
1981. Omalyce: An Ethnographyof the Iqwaye View of the Cosmos, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
AustralianNationalUniversity:
Canberra.
1982. ReviewofHerdt,1981. Mankind 13(3):287-8.
1988. Intimationsof Infinity:The Mythopoeiaof the Iqwaye CountingSystemand Number. Berg
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WILLIAMS, F.E. 1936. Vie Papuans of Trans-Fly.Oxord University

NOTICE
Ron Brunton wishes to informany readers who may wish to obtain copies
of his papers on Coronation Hill,that he has a change of address.

It is:-

ofPublicAffairs
Institute
Ltd.,
6thFloor,83 WilliamSt.,
Victoria3000.
Melbourne,

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