CONFLICT BETWEEN LAW AND SEXUAL MORES ON SAN CRISTOBAL

Abstract

adultery simply a form of marital deviance ? Because of the lack of statistical information, any attempt to answer this question authoritatively is foredoomed to failure. However, in the incidence of adultery between societies there appear to be differences which are not altogether satisfactorily explained by ideas of tension stemming from matrilocal residence (Fortune, p. 49), permissiveness, sexual aggression, etc. In Melanesia, for example, there is apparently a higher incidence of adultery than in Polynesian societies with a hierarchical structure (Firth, p. 569). Prima facie, doubt can exist as to whether one society has more than its share of libido or lust. At present little work has been done in Melanesia on examination of social forces which may be responsible for variations in the incidence of adultery. The conventional approach has been to examine the legal implications, i.e. the kinds of action taken when adultery has been committed, or emotional issues, i.e. why adultery should have taken place at all. Both approaches fail to explain significant features in the context of Melanesian society generally. If adultery is simply thought of as a delict, then how can one explain the failure to enforce sanctions against weak men, a fact reported by Deacon for Malekula which can be supported by San Cristobal data (Deacon, p. 168). Secondly, it is impossible to explain why, if only compensation is involved, men did not frequently commit adultery with a woman they desired, reducing her to the level of a prostitute ? In most Melanesian societies adultery appears to have been a once-and-for-all affair, but when compensation was paid why should it not have been open season ? The thing that is preventive about law is an idea, and men usually refrain from indulging in conduct which will be painful. In dealing with adultery in Melanesia are we really dealing with a legal concept, since it was virtually inevitable in most cases that commission of adultery would be detected ? It is for these reasons that I have spoken of a conflict between law and sexual mores. Analysis of adultery in Melanesia should take into account the general nature of relationships between the sexes. Here there has been a tendency to explain male and female interaction in psychological terms (Berndt, 1962). Taking a different approach, Meggitt attempted to explain male and female relationships in the New Guinea Highlands with reference to social factors : Where there is no persisting animosity between affmally related groups, there is also little or no fear of feminine pollution or sexuality. Although outlining variations in male-female aggression,