LAW IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETY

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LAW IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETY

• The Ifugao Province
• The Trobriand Islands

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Location and History of the Ifugao

• Ifugao is a province of the Philippines in Luzon.
• Its capital is Lagwe.
• It is named from the term i-pugo which means
  people of the earth.
• The ifugao live in the mountains of
  Luzon and they are known as an independent
  agricultural society.

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Location of Ifugao
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Pictures of the Ifugao
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History and Location of the Trobriand Islands

• The Trobriand Islands are a group or collection
  of several low-lying coral Islands situated to
  the Northwest of New Guinea.
• The Trobrianders engage in fishing and farming.
• They are known for their famous system of
  Primitive Exchange.
• They have been subject to intense anthropological
  studies.

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Location
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Pictures of Trobrianders
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More Pictures
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Law and Culture

• According to E. Adamson Hoebel, author of the
  Primitive Law of Man (1954), magic,
  supernaturalism, and religion are sources of law
  in Primitive societies.
• The Ifugao society is known for their rice fields
  and the use of magic to protect and grow their
  rice and to protect themselves.
• On the other hand, the Trobriand society is known
  for their fishing and exchange system, and the
  use of sorcery to punish and deter persons from
  committing crime.

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Law in these societies

• The Ifugao had written law that had to be
  followed by members of the community.
• Examples of these laws include Postulate III of
  the Ifugao Code Supernatural forces control most
  activities and the actions of human beings either
  compatible or incompatible with the predilections
  of the supernaturals (Hoebel, 1954).
• Postulate III, Corollary 3 the taking of the
  enemys head is religiously and magically
  necessary (Hoebel, 1954).
• Also magic is necessary for the growth of rice
  fields.

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The Bu-lul Protector the Ifugao use these to
protect their rice fields.
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Law in these societies continued.

• In the Trobriand community, the law was enforced
  through magic or sorcery.
• Bronislaw Malinowski, the author of A New
  Instrument to the Study of Law-Especially in
  Primitive Societies (1942), and Crime and Custom
  in Primitive societies argues that law was
  enforced on the Island through magic and
  religion.
• Thus members of society were coerced and
  compelled to obey the law for fear of punishment.
• Examples of their laws include incest is evil
  and offensive to the ancestral spirits (Trobriand
  Code, Postulate V). A man must provide for his
  sisters family (Postulate VII, Corollary 1),
  also magic is necessary to the success of all
  major activities, and all serious diseases are
  the work of sorcerers or punishment for certain
  sins (Postulate XI, Corollary 1, and Postulate
  XII).
• Also sexual rights between a husband and a wife
  are not exclusive. Thus a man can have sexual
  intercourse with his brothers wives against
  their wish.
• However, the wives cannot have sexual intercourse
  with whomever they please outside the marriage.

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Sanctions for Breach of Law

• The sanctions for breach of law in these
  societies include death, banishment, sickness,
  the infliction of open sores by magic, or even
  involuntary suicide.
• Malinowski, gave examples or scenarios in his
  book of how persons who committed incest (Kamais
  Story) in the Trobriand society leapt to their
  deaths (from palm trees) to avoid the wrath of
  the gods.
• According to William Seagle author of Primitive
  Law and Professor Malinowski (1937) sanctions for
  breach of law in the Ifugao community also
  include sickness (which is punishment from the
  gods) and banishment.

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Magic and Sorcery

• The authors argue that these communities turn to
  magic, supernaturalism, or religion to enforce
  social order.
• They also differentiate between the use of
  sorcery and magic.
• Magic is used to punish the offender and to
  better the society economically and politically.
• However sorcery is a tool used by men to do harm
  to innocent persons.
• Thus is magic a legitimate means for law
  enforcement and for the achievement of social
  order.

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• Thank you