Reference Information
Title: Coming of Age in Samoa
Author: Margaret Mead
Editors: Williams Morrow and Company (1928)
Chapter 6: The Girl in Her Community (12 pages)
As the chapter title would indicate, Mead focused on the role girls play within the community. The Aualuma is the organization of young girls, wives of untitled men and widows. Conversely, the organization of young men is called the Aumaga. The Aumaga do a lot of the heavy work within the village and participate in social discourse between villages. The Aualuma don't do as much work. Their main function is to be hostesses and ceremonial helpers at meetings for the wives of matais.
Discussion
Everyone in the village has very defined roles. I wonder what role was given to Mead while she was in Samoa. There seem to be a lot of taboos and complex relationships; how did Mead learn all of them and avoid offending people?
No comments:
Post a Comment