Grade-taking is a term used in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

for

social systems In sociology, a social system is the patterned network of relationships constituting a coherent whole that exist between individuals, groups, and institutions. It is the formal Social structure, structure of role and status that can form in a smal ...

under which individuals rise in

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ** Status c ...

and authority by performing a series of ceremonies. Grade-taking was the system of leadership in pre-colonial societies of northern

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, typically involving the killing of valuable pigs; it is still actively practiced in some areas. With each grade, a participant acquires a named rank, and the right to display certain insignia or perform certain rituals. The specifics vary between cultures. Lower grades are typically taken in one's youth and involve the killing of only one or a few low-value pigs. However, at the highest grades hundreds of pigs may be killed, including valuable 'tusker boars'. Although there is a clear hierarchy of grades, they do not necessarily need to be taken in strict sequence, and individuals with sufficient resources may occasionally skip grades and move directly to higher levels. Grade-taking is primarily a male activity, but in some areas there are parallel grade-taking systems practiced by women.

Grade-taking and chiefdom

The concept of a "

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

" - an individual with specific authority over a community, rather than a ranked assortment of men with varying degrees of power and influence, was introduced to northern Vanuatu following contact with Europeans. Having a high rank in the grade-taking system is not technically the same as being a chief, though the two concepts are widely conflated, and chiefs tend to be individuals of high rank in the grade-taking system. Individuals of high rank in grade-taking societies generally wield authority only within their own local communities. Although some may sit as representatives on national and regional Councils of Chiefs, there is no traditional concept of a "paramount chief" with authority over an entire region.

Grade-taking by area

Torres and Banks Islands

In the languages of the

Torres Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname * Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott ** ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas * Torres, Colorado, an unincorporated ...

and

Banks Islands The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba Province, Torba. The island group lies about north of Maew ...

, the grade-taking system is known under various names, all descended from a same root *''suᵐbʷe''.See p.234-235 of . The spelling ''suqe'' suk͡pʷeis more frequent in the literature, due to the special attention given to the

Mota language Mota is an Oceanic language spoken by about 750 people on Mota island, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. It is the most conservative Torres–Banks language, and the only one to keep its inherited five-vowel system intact while also preservin ...

since works by Codrington.

Malekula

On the island of

Malekula Malakula, also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, in Melanesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean. Location Malakula is separated from the islands of Espiritu Santo and Malo by the B ...

the grade-taking system is known as ''nimangki'', and in some areas it is extremely elaborate, with up to 35 grades.

Pentecost Island

Grade-taking is actively practised in

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

areas on

Pentecost Island Pentecost is one of the 83 islands that make up the Oceania, South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost is known as in French language, French and in Bislama. The island was known in its native lan ...

, and in traditional ''kastom'' villages, although it has been suppressed in areas dominated by the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...

. On Pentecost the practice has no special name, but is referred to simply by terms such as "pig business". In North and Central Pentecost, the titles of the main grades are ''Tari'', ''Mol'' or ''Moli'', ''Liwus'' or ''Livusi'', and ''Vii'' or ''Vira''. There are multiple steps within some of these grades. Each grade is conferred at a ceremony in which the grade is 'bought' from an individual who already holds that rank. With each grade, a man acquires an additional name (known in

Raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

as ''ihan boe'' "pig name"), which reflects his rank. For example, a man who has taken the ''Mol'' grade may be given a name such as Molbaga, Moltoo or Molbwet. Depending on the grade, he may also acquire the right to wear certain insignia and the right to dance to certain drumbeats. A ''Vii'' or ''Vira'' is a man of significant authority - loosely, a "chief" - who has the right to impose fines on others. In Central Pentecost those who reach the very top level of the graded society are referred to as ''Tanmwonok'' (literally "ground finishing"); those who do so with resources still to spare are known as ''Mwariak'' ("remaining"). In addition, there is parallel grade-taking hierarchy for women, culminating in the rank of ''Motaa'' or ''Motari''. The system in South Pentecost is broadly similar although the details of the grades differ.

Notes

References

* Jolly, Margaret. "Gifts, commodities and corporeality: Food and gender in South Pentecost, Vanuatu." ''Canberra Anthropology'' 14.1 (1991): 45-66. * Taylor, J P. ''Ways of the land tree'' * Tryon, Darrell. "Identity and power in Vanuatu." ''The New Pacific Review'' (1999): 32. * Winch-Dummett, Carlene. ''Pigs, Tusks and Precious Red Mats'' Culture of Vanuatu Rites of passage Pigs