The Trobriand Islands

The Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea have been a key site of anthropological study for over a century. Trobrianders were first made famous by Bronislaw Malinowski in the early twentieth century, and were studied further by anthropologists such as Annette Weiner. Katherine Lepani’s ethnography, Islands of Love, Islands of Risk: Culture and HIV in the Trobriands, provides a modern analysis of HIV in the cultural context of the Trobriand Islands. Lepani sought to display HIV in the Trobriands as both a physical illness and a symbolic epidemic of meaning. She set out to inform fellow anthropologists and laypersons about the ways in which cultural knowledge informs meaning. However, in attempting to prove this, Lepani overemphasized her Trobriand
However, this would change as HIV/AIDS reached the islands in the late twentieth century and was spread amongst the Trobriand people. Lepani saw a unique opportunity to document the ways in which Trobriands understood and dealt with HIV in their own cultural context. On the purpose of her ethnography, Lepani notes, “I [sought to] consider how cultural knowledge is used to make sense of this novel and transforming phenomenon [HIV]” (Lepani, 10). Essentially, through a case study of HIV in the Trobriands, Lepani hoped to inform anthropologists and laypersons alike as to the ways in which culture informs knowledge. Lepani attempted to achieve this informative and analytical purpose through a study of Trobriand sexual practices. The Trobriand life stage of kubukwabuya refers to the “autonomy to act on desire, to attract the desire of others, and to engage freely in sexual liaisons in the question for a compatible marriage partner” (Lepani, 102). Indeed, Trobriands were widely known for their open sexual practices, as adolescents would often have upwards of twenty sexual partners before marrying (Lepani). In order to attract mates, Trobriand boys would use kaimwasila, attraction magic, and kwaiwaga, love magic. Trobrianders were aware of two kinds of sexually transmitted diseases, pokesa and sovasova (Lepani).
In fact, Lepani consistently utilized quotes from Trobriand men and women to prove a certain point. These “group discussions” provide the most consistent examples of the ways in which Lepani’s bias negatively affected her work. Rather than bolstering her authorial voice, these group discussions further emphasized Lepani’s place as an outsider. For example, when questioning a group of women on Trobriand sexual practices, Lepani was met with giggles and discomfort as one woman introduced kwaiwaga, or love magic, to Lepani (Lepani, 108). The group was clearly hesitant to share with Lepani, whether it was because of her status as a chief’s wife or as an Australian outsider. In fact, despite the sexual freedom of Trobriand adolescents, sex was rarely openly discussed in Trobriand society (Weiner, 65-66). Still, Lepani would use interactions such as the aforementioned and proceed to write pages of conclusive analysis. These conclusions are clearly biased, as the men and women in her group discussions may not have felt comfortable sharing their culture with Lepani due to her status, sex, and position as an outsider. While there would be no way for Lepani to remove these implicit biases, she does little to recognize their existence. As a result, Lepani’s ethnography must be read with extreme care, as the definitions she