Argonauts of the Western Pacific

as a native among the natives for many months together, watching them daily at work and at play, conversing with them in their own tongue, and deriving all his information from the surest sources---personal observation and statements made to him directly by the natives . . . without the intervention of an interpreter. . . . He has accumulated a mass of materials, of high scientific value, bearing on the social, religion, and economic . . . life of the Trobriand Islanders (vii-viii).

The current volume is meant to be a preliminary work focusing on the exchange system---primarily but not exclusively economic---of the natives on their own land and with other nearby islanders.

What makes Malinowski's book both fascinating and complete is that "he takes full account of the complexity of human nature. . . . He remembers that man is a creature of emotion at least as much as of reason" (ix). Malinowski does not ignore the human element for the sake of the scientific element, or, more accurately and meaningfully, he recognizes that the emotional element is a significant part of the scientifi

. . .
. All economic activities have their magic; love, welfare of babies, talents and crafts, beauty and agility---all can be fostered or frustrated by magic. In dealing with the Kula---a pursuit of immense importance to the natives, and playing on almost all their social passions and ambitions, we . . . meet with another system of magic (73). Malinowski is adept at showing the social purposes behind the activities of the people. He never merely describes those activities without explaining and demonstrating how they help bring the people together in a more tightly-knit organization and order. In this regard, he writes that the essence of the economic system of exchange which focuses on the Kula is "an extremely big and complex institution, both in its geographical extent, and in the manifoldness of its component pursuits." The Kula "welds together a considerable number of tribes, and . . . embraces a vast complex of activities, interconnected, . . . so as to form one organic whole" (83). Malinowski certainly does have his inevitable biases, however. He studies the "natives" with complete fascination and compassion, and would probably draw back in horror if it were suggested that he sees his own race and culture as being innately
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Trobriand Islanders, Reading Malinowski's, James Frazer, Jewish Christian, Jews Christians, Western Pacific, human nature, exchange system, power words, life malinowski, Illinois Waveland, accompanied elaborate magical, Argonauts Western, elaborate magical ritual, emphasis power words, traditional rules, rules conventions, elaborate magical, magical ritual, accompanied elaborate, magical ritual public, ritual public ceremonies, civilized white,
Approximate Word count = 1758
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)