Siwai

Oceaniaagro-pastoralists

Map
expand_more Description

The Papuan-speaking Siwai reside in South Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Siwais have long been horticulturalists, subsisting largely on taro (sweet potatoes after World War II), supplemented with a variety of other vegetables, pigs (particularly important in ceremonies), fishing, and tree crops. Cocoa was introduced in the late 1950s and has become a major cash crop. Most adult men have since been employed as plantation laborers or as copper miners in other parts of the island. Households are comprised of nuclear families. Many Siwais go on to secondary and tertiary education, and some participate in the local, regional and national democratic government. Prior to the establishment of wage labor and a cash economy, women held some sway through matrilineage control of agricultural and hunting lands, and enterprising men amassed prestige and power through organizing multi-village feasts.

Identifier
Region
  • Oceania
Subregion
  • Melanesia
Subsistence Type
  • agro-pastoralists
Samples
Countries
  • Papua New Guinea
External Links