Book

Native land tenure in New Guinea

Australian Medical Publishing CompanySydney • Published In 1940 • Pages:

By: Hogbin, Herbert Ian.

Abstract
This is a descriptive and analytical study of the Wogeo land tenure system. The author demonstrates that private right to land exists on the island, and is regulated by a common code of inheritance based upon kin relationship, sanctioned by religious beliefs, and perpetuated by a deeply felt sentimental attachment to the soil. Among other topics discussed in this article are: the usage of uncultivated lands, rights to building sites, settlement pattern, community structure, dwelling types, allotment of cultivation sites, transference of land rights through marriage, alienation of cultivation rights to strangers, rights and privileges of the clan headman, and the supernatural beings who are responsible for the creation of the physical world and the innovation of cultural institutions.
Subjects
Tillage
Settlement patterns
Real property
Inheritance
Localized kin groups
Mythology
Spirits and gods
culture
Wogeo
HRAF PubDate
2014
Region
Oceania
Sub Region
Melanesia
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Robert Lee ; 1959
Field Date
1934
Coverage Date
1934
Coverage Place
Vokeo Island, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Notes
By H. Ian Hogbin
Reprinted from OCEANIA, December 1939, Vol. 10, no. 2
LCSH
Vokeo Island (Papua New Guinea)