This is a preliminary report on research that I conducted
among the Iwam of the May River area, East Sepik Province,
Papua New Guinea, in 1984. It focuses on agriculture from the
perspective of folk classification. The Iwam group consists of
about 3,000 persons, whose subsistence depends heavily on the
swamp cultivation of sago palm, taro, bananas, sugar cane,
breadfruits and pandanus, complemented by hunting and fishing.
In this paper, I discuss, a) The status of cultivated plants in
Iwam folk classification of plants and folk taxonomies of varieties
of each cultivated plant; b) Folk classification of land, and the
cultivation methods of the main crops; and c) Cooking methods
and cognition of taste.
Cultivated plants are often discussed in a connection with
a general classification of plants, and the general principles of
folk classification were presented by Berlin et al [1973]. Although
the Iwam vaguely recognize the domain of plants, cultivated
plants may be better understood as a subset of food rather than
as a subset of plants, because the interest of the Iwam focuses on
whether these plants are edible or not. Morphological classification
in terms of growth habit is seen under the taxon of cultivated
plants, and the food classificatory system without animal
food corresponds to that of cultivated plants.
The Iwam recognize several varieties of cultivated plants:
There are 9 varieties of sago palm, 9 of pandanus, 13 of sugar
cane, 18 of taro, 6 of sweet potato, 5 of yam, 51 of bananas, and
1 of breadfruits. Apart from bananas and taro, folk taxonomies
of these cultivated plants are depicted each with classificatory
characters (Fig. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12). Although general information
on bananas and taro was collected, their classifications
are not yet fully analyzed. This is because information regarding
them is retained mainly by the women, with whom it was difficult
to communicate. These topics remain for future research.
The Iwam agricultural system is discussed in terms of the
folk classification of land, method of obtaining sago starch, the
cultivation of breadfruits, garden-making and the relationship
between seasonal cognition and cultivation.
Iwam cooking methods are simple. The method used mainly
is wrapping food in leaves and then roasting. This is classified
as steaming. Stone-steaming is a variant. Another category is
roasting. Stone boiling is used only for sago starch, the cooking
of which is the most complex food handling techniques (Fig. 23).
Iwam cognition of taste is interesting when compared with
that of other groups since their terms for describing taste are
differentiated. This may be a sample of one of the most simple
cognition patterns of taste.
パプアニューギニア，イワム族の農耕に関する民俗分類の予備的報告
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