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Featured: Pukapukans, Ra’Ivavae, French
Polynesia [Marquesans, Cook
Islands [Tahiti, Aitutaki, Mangaia], Samoa, Tonga Isl.]; Santa Cruz Isl.
Martin[1]
speaks of early betrothal. According to Morton (1996)[2],
rough play between boys and older males “often involves an element of sexual
joking- grabbing roughly at boy’s genitals or making jokes about their
uncircumcised state. Other jokes about uncleanliness and scatological and
sexual jokes are also very common. Boys are given more freedom to go naked as
babies and toddlers, and people will touch or make joking reference to their
genitals”, and these parts are also touched (p105-6). In girls, “sexual
joking” includes “shaming rather than tacit approval”, in tune with a strict
modesty code (p106, 134). “As the child grows up, she soon realises that her
genital area is forbidden […]. As soon as a child is seen with her hands in
this forbidden area, she is soundly smacked and threatened with worse
punishment if she is caught doing it again […]. [T]he Tongan woman emerges
confused, ignorant and very shy about this important part of her anatomy […]”
(Ikahihifo and Panuve, 1983:p40)[3]. Although earlier observers
mentioned that Tongan children learn about sex at an early age, because the
one-room houses offered little privacy (Lovett, 1958[4]:p35; Spillius, 1958:p62)[5], most modern houses now have
separate bedrooms, and “children are unlikely to observe [parental] sexual
behavior” (p83, 107). Rather, “many now see naked bodies and some sexual
behavior on videos”. Videos may be fast-forwarded, but there is “generally no
attempt to prevent children from watching these videos, nor is any
explanation given to them about what they are seeing”. In general, sexual
matters are not discussed (p46), except perhaps on the occasion of menarche
or boy’s circumcision (p114).
Janssen,
D. F., Growing Up Sexually. VolumeI. World Reference Atlas. 0.2 ed. 2004. Berlin:
Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology, Berlin
Last
revised: Sept 2004
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