The Etoro, or Edolo, are a tribe and ethnic group of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. Their territory comprises the southern slopes of
Mt. Sisa, along the southern edge of the central mountain range of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
, near the
Papuan Plateau
The Great Papuan Plateau is a karst plateau in the Southern Highlands, Hela and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea. It is bordered the upper stretches of the Kikori River and the Strickland River on the east and west, respectively, and the ...
. They are well known among
anthropologists
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
because of ritual acts practiced between the young boys and men of the tribe. The Etoro believe that young males must
ingest the semen of their elders to achieve adult male status and to properly mature and grow strong.
In 2009, the
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...
reported an estimate that there were fewer than 1668 speakers of the Etoro/
Edolo language
Edolo (Etoro) is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea, spoken by the Etoro people
The Etoro, or Edolo, are a tribe and ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. Their territory comprises the southern slopes of Mt. Sisa, along the southern edge of the ...
.
Marriage
O'Neil and Kottak agree that most men marry and have heterosexual relations with their wives. The fear that heterosexual sex causes them to die earlier and the belief that homosexual sex prolongs life means that heterosexual relations are focused towards reproduction.
See also
*
Baruya people
The Baruya are a tribe in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. They have been studied since 1967 by anthropologist Maurice Godelier
Maurice Godelier (born February 28, 1934) is a French anthropologist who works as a Director of Studies at the Scho ...
*
Pedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...
*
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisat ...
*
Edolo language
Edolo (Etoro) is a Papuan language of Papua New Guinea, spoken by the Etoro people
The Etoro, or Edolo, are a tribe and ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. Their territory comprises the southern slopes of Mt. Sisa, along the southern edge of the ...
*
Sambia people
The Simbari people (also known as the Simbari Anga, called Sambia by Herdt) are a tribe of mountain-dwelling, hunting and horticultural people who inhabit the fringes of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, and are extensively descr ...
*
Kaluli people
The Kaluli are a clan of illiterate how to talk" begins, and thus talk begins to be directed directly at the child. This does not exist in middle-class Anglo cultures, where infants are addressed somewhat like intentioned competent individuals f ...
*
LGBT rights in Papua New Guinea
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Papua New Guinea face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal, punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment, but the law is not enf ...
References
* Knauft, Bruce M
''What Ever Happened to Ritualized Homosexuality? Modern Sexual Subjects in Melanesia and Elsewhere'' Annual Review of Sex Research, 2003. (Accessed Nov. 5, 2006)
* Kottak, Conrad Phillip. ''Cultural Anthropology, 12th Ed.'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
* O'Neil, Dennis
Behavioral Sciences Department website, Palomar College, San Marcos, California (Accessed Mar. 21, 2021)
* Kelly, Raymond, ''Witchcraft and Sexual Relations'', In P. Brown, and G. Buchbinder (eds.), ''Man and Woman in the New Guinea Highlands'', 1976 (no electronic version available)
{{authority control
Ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea
Tribes of Oceania