Etoro
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The Etoro are a tribe in Papua New Guinea. Their territory comprises the southern slopes of Mt. Sisa, along the southern edge of the central mountain range of New Guinea, near the Papuan Plateau. They have gained notoriety among anthropologists because of the ritual homosexuality practiced between young boys and men of the tribe. The Etoro believe that young boys must ingest semen of their of elders to achieve adult male status and to properly mature and grow strong. All Etoro contain a certain amount of life force, the highest concentrations of which is contained in semen. This life force is passed between members of the group through sexual relations. As mentioned when young, males have it passed to them through sex. Women are seen to waste the life force if they do not get pregnant through sex. As people get older and their bodies weaken this is attributed to a depletion of their life force. Homosexual behavior, particularly oral sex, is encouraged throughout youth for males, with different sexual roles fulfilled by adolescents of different ages. Heterosexuality is permitted only during a distinct time period of the year (about 100 days).
[edit] External Links
- 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)
- Wood, Peter, Sex & Consequences: An anthropologist vindicates the traditional family., The American Conservative, July 28, 2003. (Accessed Nov. 5, 2006)
- O'Neil, Dennis, SEX AND MARRIAGE: An Introduction to The Cultural Rules Regulating Sexual Access and Marriage, Behavioral Sciences Department website, Palomar College, San Marcos, California (Accessed Nov. 5, 2006)
- 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)
