article
Modern and traditional administration of justice in New Guinea
Journal of legal pluralism and unofficial law • (19) • Published In 1981 • Pages: 93-116
By: Pospisil, Leopold J..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study describes the change in the Kapauku political and legal system under colonial administration. Prior to contact, the Kapauku political system was based on kinship organization, contractual agreements and achieved status. The Kapauku headman gained authority through his wealth and generosity, creating a retinue of dependents. Turnover was common as younger and more hard working men came to prominence. The headman was also a legal authority, adjuticating cases based on Kapauku legal codes and precendent. The Dutch imposed a territorial-based political system selecting for each village permanent headmen who had no traditional support. They also imposed a legalistic system of justice in which cases were judged only according to legal codes and imprisonment replaced traditional forms of economic sanctions. Pospisil argues that the 'civilization' of the Kapauku contradicts the expected theoretical cultural transformation from one of status to contract and from punitive law to restitution.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Community heads
- Territorial hierarchy
- Administrative agencies
- Legal norms
- Judicial authority
- Trial procedure
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kapauku
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Melanesia
- 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
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1954-1955, 1959, 1962, 1975, 1979
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1954-1979
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Kamu Valley, central Highlands, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Leopold Pospisil
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 82643292
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kapauku (New Guinea people)