The Gender of Crops in the Papua New Guinea Highlands

Abstract

An intriguing aspect of crop cultivation among the Wola highlanders of Papua New Guinea is their division of these plants into male and female categories. For them there are some crops which only men may plant and tend, and there are others which only women can cultivate, plus a third category which members of either sex may cultivate. This gender division of crops is found in other Highland New Guinea societies too; it occurs, for instance, among the Melpa (Powell, et gzl. I975:I4), the Maring (Rappaport I968:43, Clarke I97I:I24), the Kapauku (Pospisil I963:I46), and the Enga (Waddell I972:5I). It is noteworthy that these people tend to put the same crops into their male and female categories; such that sugar cane, bananas, and yams are male, while sweet potato, cucurbits, and certain greens are female. The pattern is not entirely consistent, however. Sometimes the same crop is classified as male by some and female by others; for example, taro is a male crop for the Melpa but a female one for the Kapauku. Why do the Wola, and by extension other people throughout the Highlands of New Guinea, categorize their crops in this way? When asked this question the Wola themselves are unable to give an answer. They simply say that this is the way their ancestors did things and so tradition dictates that they should do it. This kind of reply is all too familiar to anthropologists. Is it possible for us to go further and suggest a deeper explanation?