The ways in which a society organises itself are often centred around one anthropological theory which forms a basis for all that is done within that society, e. g. rituals, ceremonies etc… This essay will examine one anthropological theory; functionalism, and the way in which it has influenced and shaped the culture and society of the Trobrianders of Papa New Guinea, the people on whom the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski wrote an ethnography. The theory of functionalism is the idea that all features of a culture, such as roles, norms, institutions etc. , have a positive and vital function, and are performed in order to fulfil all the needs of the individuals within that society.
Malinowski lived with the Trobrianders for a total period of 26 months between 1914 and 1918, and by living in a tent among the people, learning to speak the language quickly, participating as much as possible with the different members of society, observing the activities that occurred around him and by learning about the beliefs and customs of the community (this process of long-term, intense interaction with society is known as Participant Observation), he came to the conclusion that the theory that formed the basis for all that was done within the society was functionalism. The process of participant observation was what provided Malinowski with great and detailed insight on the reasons for which the Trobrianders behaved as they did, and was what enabled him to write an ethnography on them. Malinowski realised that the Trobrianders had a different way of looking at life than he did, and believed that, as an “einsider’i, he could learn more about what the behaviour meant to the people themselves, and that he could able to gain the trust and respect of the people by becoming less of a stranger and allowing them to feel more relaxed and confident about talking to and confiding in him. Soon after he began living with the Trobrianders in 1914, Malinowski began to notice that many of the rituals, customs, ideas etc. of the members of the community all served to fulfil their biological and psychological needs, as well as any other needs that they had. After learning more about the culture, he also began to observe that many rituals which at first seemed time-consuming and pointless, were also done for this purpose.
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One of these rituals was the “e kula ring’i, a recurrent exchange of valuable gifts between the different people of the various Trobriand islands chain. This ritual involved members of the society making dangerous voyages across the seas in canoes in order to frequently exchange these gifts. Although from an outsider ” is point of view this process would have seemed pointless, Malinowski learned that it did fit into the idea of functionalism as this ritual was considered very important, worthwhile and sacred because it fulfilled the islanders’i social and psychological needs- it allowed them to feel a sense of power and prestige. There were many rituals that were performed before the canoes left the islands, and these also served to control various emotions and psychological needs, such as anxiety, which the islanders faced before setting off on such journeys.
As the Trobrianders were relatively behind the Western World in terms of technology, rituals such as the ones performed before the kula served to bring about a sense of security and power, thus helping to overcome feelings of powerlessness and tension. Another example of functionalism in this society was the tradition that involved the chief of the Trobrianders receiving very large amounts of foods and other tribute from the villagers who lived in the area under his reign. The chief was also the sub-owner of many of the agricultural foodstuffs that these villagers owned, and claimed many supplies of these which he was obliged, by custom, to re-distribute at a later stage in the form of payments for various public services performed by the villagers at his command. This meant that the villagers were in fact consuming the products of their own labour, except this was done after the wealth went through the chief and thus emphasised and reinforced his control and made his wealth an instrument of political power in their society. Although there were hundreds more rituals, customs, rules etc. that could have demonstrated the application of functionalism to this particular society, the few traditions examined in this essay illustrate the complexity of what would, from an outsider ” is point of view, have seemed so backward and perhaps even pointless.
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Virtually everything involved in the Trobrianders ” is culture and behaviour is related to the basic idea that everything done within that society should serve a purpose. What can be concluded from this essay is that cultures such as that of the Trobrianders consist of different elements which either work independently or fit together to form a sort of system. This system is what keeps the society together, and is what allows it to maintain long-term survival for its members by providing it with its demands.
