Notes on the Ownership and Utilization of Sago, and on Social Change, among the Moveave‐Toaripi of the Papuan Gulf

Abstract

Between September and October, 1977, I conducted an ethnobotanical survey at two different places in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea. The first was Moveave village situated near the confluence of the Tauri and Lakekamu rivers, East Kerema, and the second Mapaio village located at the fringes of the lower Purari Delta.1 The aim of my research was to locate an ecological area where sago (poi) swamps were of considerable importance in the people's socioeconomic life. Hence, I concentrated, first, on the people's actual knowledge and perception of their own taxonomic system, and also their vernacular nomenclature of sago palms, and, second, on patterns of behaviour related to the division of labour and ownership of sago palms, and on the technology of exploitation and methods of utilization of the sago swamps. The relationship between these aspects and the use of cash raises an issue of some interest.