. The chiefs were also the beneficiaries of strictly enforced sumptuary restrictions (which included both body and house decorations) and food taboos. The taboos kept chiefs "separated from foods thought to be physically debilitating" while the sumptuary rules determined that chiefs would be "physically attractive" and their possessions would be distinguished from those of others (Weiner 101). The combination of health and beauty was guarded by these rules to ensure the chiefs' influence. The rules varied according to the a chief's lineage, however, and were more elaborate depending on the length of time since his ancestors had arrived--the principal mark of status on which distinctions among the various chiefs depended.
The importance of ancestors is paramount in Trobriand society. The ancestors of each matrilineage, usually a brother and sister, founded the lines when they arrived in the vicinity, bringing the sumptuary rules and social rankings with them. The Trobrianders do not conceive of these ancestor stories as myth or as having taken place in primeval times, and the influence of the stories on Trobriand social organization is certainly far more direct than that of most systems of myth.
The ancestors brought their rules with them and these strictures, combined with date of arrival, determine the relative social status of each lineage. The brothers and sisters who established the dominant lineages were accompanied by others whose subject status has been retained since that time. In the case of lineages that arrived in two parts, despite being identical the first to arrive always occupy a higher rank than those who came later. An important exception to the rule of chronology clarifies the importance of the number of restrictions each arriving matrilineage possessed. In the case of the Tabalu lineage, the group "brought more food taboos and body and house decorations than anyone else" (Weiner 101). Thus their dom...