article

Qualifications of Adulthood: Tiwi invoke the power of a yam

Natural HistoryLXXII (4)Published In 1963 • Pages: 10-17

By: Goodale, Jane C. (Jane Carter).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article discusses the three-day Kulama ceremony of the Tiwi - a formal initiation into adulthood centering around the ritual preparation of a toxic yam. There is no set age for initiation. The instruction lasts six years and the initiates must participate in six Kulama rituals. An important feature of the ritual is the composition of songs and several examples are given.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Ceremonial during infancy and childhood
Puberty and initiation
Majority
Food preparation
Music
Dance
Ethnobotany
Fire
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tiwi
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Australia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Joan Steffens ; 1963
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1954, 1962
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1900-1962
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia
NotesAdditional notes
Jane C. Goodale
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
20020046
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tiwi (Australian people)