Ann Chowning Papers, 1957-1994 (MSS 242)

Extent: 2.4 Linear feet (6 archives boxes)

Papers of Ann Chowning, American anthropologist, related to her fieldwork in Papua New Guinea among the Molima people of Milne Bay Province on Fergusson Island in 1957-1958 and 1975-1976, the Sengseng people of West New Britain Province in 1962-1966 and 1980-1981, and the Kove people of West New Britain Province in 1966-1968 and 1975-1976. Included are typescripts of field notes organized according to George Murdock's Human Relations Area Files arrangement, language notes largely comprising Sengseng vocabulary lists, essays by Chowning, and 35mm color slides documenting daily life, customs, song performances, and dance of people in West New Britain Province. The slides are complimentary to those found in Jane Goodale Papers (MSS 643) and cover those times when Chowning conducted joint fieldwork with her friend and co-fieldworker Jane Goodale in 1963-1964.

Ann Chowning, American anthropologist, received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral thesis was based on her 1954-1956 fieldwork with the Lakalai people of West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. She retired as professor of anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Earlier she taught at Bryn Mawr and Barnard Colleges in Pennsylvania and at the University of Papua New Guinea, and was a senior research fellow at the Australian National University. She carried out long-term fieldwork in four distinct Papua New Guinea societies from 1954 through 1992. Studied groups included the Lakalai of West New Britain Province, the Molima of Milne Bay Province on Fergusson Island, the Sengseng of West New Britain Province, and the Kove of West New Britain Province. She studied economic and religious organization, beliefs, practices and relations. Chowning especially focused on Austronesian languages and their comparative aspects, on folklore and religion, and on patterns of insanity.

The Ann Chowning papers relate to some of Chowning's work in Papua New Guinea. The files included with this accession mainly pertain to her fieldwork among the Molima (Milne Bay Province, Fergusson Island, 1957-1958 and 1975-1976), the Sengseng (West New Britain, 1962-1966, and 1980-1981), and the Kove (West New Britain, 1966-1968 and 1975-1976) peoples. Materials contain Murdock's human relations area files, language notes, essays, and slides. The writings by Chowning are based on her long-term fieldwork conducted in West New Britain Province from 1954 through 1992. A significant part of this collection is slide materials from nearly 240 rolls taken while in West New Britain in 1963-1964. The slides cover those occasions when Chowning was doing joint fieldwork with Jane Goodale, her friend and co-fieldworker, who was working at that time among the Kaulong people in Umbi of West New Britain.

The collection is arranged in four series: 1) HUMAN RELATIONS AREA FILES, 2) LANGUAGE NOTES, 3) WRITINGS BY CHOWNING, and 4) SLIDES.

This collection has additional unprocessed materials not described in this finding aid. See the UC San Diego Library catalog record to view the acquisition dates and extent of unprocessed additions.

Container List

HUMAN RELATIONS AREA FILES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 1) HUMAN RELATIONS AREA FILES: Contains typescript notes and photocopies of typescript notes extracted from field notes and compiled by Chowning according to subject categories described in George Murdock's classification system for cultural anthropology. Chowning brought together all pages dealing with a particular aspect of culture and compiled them preserving the chronological order in which they appear in her field notes. Compiled notes are extracted from field notes written while Chowning was among the Molima people of Milne Bay Province in 1957-1958 and 1975-1976, the Sengseng people in West New Britain Province in 1962-1966 and 1980-1981, and the Kove people of West New Britain in 1966-1968 and 1975-1976. The files are arranged in three subseries: A) Molima Materials, B) Sengseng Materials, and C) Kove Materials. Each subseries is arranged in numerical order according to numbers assigned to subject categories used in Murdock's classification system.

Molima Materials

Molima. Fergusson Island. Milne Bay Province

Box 1 Folder 1
Subjects 103 through 512 (Photocopies), 1957 - 1958
Box 1 Folder 2
Subjects 522 through 597 (Photocopies), 1957 - 1958
Box 1 Folder 3
Subjects 600 through 750 (Photocopies), 1957 - 1975
Box 1 Folder 4
Subjects 760 through 789 (Photocopies), 1957 - 1975
Box 1 Folder 5
Subjects 792 through 886 (Photocopies), 1957 - 1958

Sengseng Materials

Box 1 Folder 6
Place Names (103) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1968
Box 1 Folder 7
Acculturation (177) - Contains typescript, 1963 - 1966
Box 1 Folder 8
Language (19) - Contains photocopy, 1980 - 1981
Box 1 Folder 9
Food Quest (22) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1964
Box 1 Folder 10
Domesticated Animals (231) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1964
Box 1 Folder 11
Tillage (241) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1964
Box 1 Folder 12
Adornment (30) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 1 Folder 13
Property (42) - Contains typescript, 1958 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 1
Literary Texts (539) - Contains typescript, 1964 - 1968
Box 2 Folder 2
Ingroup Antagonisms (578) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 3
Marriage (58) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 4
Residence (591) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 5
Kinship (60) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 6
Headmen (622) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 7
War (72) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 8
Sickness (75) - Contains typescript, 1957 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 9
Sorcery (754) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 10
Death (76) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 11
Religious Beliefs (77) - Contains typescript, 1963 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 12
Mythology (773) - Contains typescript, 1963
Box 2 Folder 13
Spirits and Gods (776) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 14
Religious Practices (78) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1966
Box 2 Folder 15
Avoidance and Taboo (784) - Contains typescript, 1980 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 16
Time (805) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1963
Box 2 Folder 17
Ethnozoology (825) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1963
Box 2 Folder 18
Sex (83) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1981
Box 2 Folder 19
Childbirth (844) - Contains typescript, 1963 - 1964
Box 2 Folder 20
Infancy and Childhood (85) - Contains typescript, 1962 - 1965

Kove Materials

Kove. West New Britain

Box 2 Folder 21
Subjects 103 through 591 (Photocopies), 1966 - 1976
Box 2 Folder 22
Subjects 600 through 760 (Photocopies), 1966 - 1976
Box 2 Folder 23
Subjects 772 through 844 (Photocopies), 1966 - 1976

LANGUAGE NOTES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 2)LANGUAGE NOTES: Documents Chowning's study of Sengseng language in the field and contains handwritten and typewritten notes with vocabulary lists extracted from notebooks. The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 3 Folder 1
Miu - Language Notes, collected by Jane Goodale - Contains typescript

Sengseng - Language Notes

Box 3 Folder 2
Contains photocopy and handwritten notes
Box 3 Folder 3
Contains typescript
Box 3 Folder 4
Some Examples of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Reflexes in Sengseng - Contains typescript

WRITINGS BY CHOWNING

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 3) WRITINGS BY CHOWNING: Contains published and unpublished writings arranged in two subseries: A) General Writings and B) Grant Reports. The General Writings subseries contains typescripts and reprints of articles on various aspects of Melanesian culture, as well as typescripts of papers given at various conferences and meetings. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by title. The Grant Reports subseries consists of progress reports written to various granting agencies, including the National Science Foundation, and is arranged chronologically.

General Writings

Box 3 Folder 5
List of publications relating to Chowning's work in Melanesia - Contains typescript
Box 3 Folder 6
Acculturation and the Role of Spirits in the Passismanua. American Anthropological Association meeting paper, 1964
Box 3 Folder 7
Adolescence in Four Papua New Guinea Societies, 1994
Box 3 Folder 8
Antagonistic Siblings and Wandering Creators, undated
Box 3 Folder 9
Austranesian Languages of New Britain - Contains typescript, 1969
Box 3 Folder 10
Changes in Staple Crops in West New Britain, undated
Box 3 Folder 11
Changes in West New Britain Trading Systems in the 20th Century. Published in Mankind, Vol. 11, No. 3. Contains typescript, 1978
Box 3 Folder 12
Choice of Kin Roles in Lakalai, 1966
Box 3 Folder 13
The Contaminating Woman. Written with Jane C. Goodale, undated
Box 3 Folder 14
Culture and Biology Among the Sengseng of New Britain - Contains typescript, undated
Box 3 Folder 15
The Elections in Kombe, West Britain, undated
Box 3 Folder 16
Family Fertility Among the Kove. Published in Reproductive Decision Making and the Value of Children. Contains typescript, 1988
Box 3 Folder 17
Honoring the Firstborn: Changes in the Nature and Focus of Ceremonies in Two West Britain Societies, 1987
Box 3 Folder 18
Introduction to the Peoples and Cultures of Melanesia. Published in Addison-Wesley Module in Anthropology, No. 38. Contains a copy of the publication, 1973
Box 3 Folder 19
Journey of the Soul: Dreams, Divination, and Dying. Conference paper, undated
Box 3 Folder 20
'A Kept Woman of the Administration': A Personal View of Relations Between One Ethnographer and Administration Personnel, 1954-1975. Assocation for Social Anthropology in Oceania meeting paper, undated
Box 3 Folder 21
Kove Political Organization, conference paper, 1970
Box 3 Folder 22
Lakalai Kinship. Published in Anthropological Forum, Vol. 1, No. 3-4. Contains reprint, 1965 - 1966
Box 3 Folder 23
Lakalai Religion and World View and the Concept of "Seaboard Religion." Australian National University seminar, ca. 1970
Box 3 Folder 24
Leadership in Melanesia. Published in The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 14, Part 1 and 2. Contains reprint, 1979
Box 3 Folder 25
Living with the Dead, undated
Box 3 Folder 26
The Massim as a Culture Area. First International Kula Conference paper, ca. 1978
Box 3 Folder 27
Maturing as a Lakalai Woman, 1954-1992. Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania meeting paper, 1994
Box 3 Folder 28
The Molima of Fergusson Island, 1958
Box 3 Folder 29
Pleasures, Pains, and Surprises of Returns to the Field. Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania meeting paper, undated
Box 3 Folder 30
Rapid Lexical Change and Aberrant Melanesian Languages: Sengseng and Its Neighbours. Published in Pacific Linguistics, C-88. Contains typescript, 1985
Box 3 Folder 31
Real Melanesia: An Appraisal of Parsonson's Theories. December. Published in Mankind, Vol. 6, No. 12. Contains reprint, 1968
Box 3 Folder 32
Recent Grandparenting in Three PNG Societies. Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania meeting paper, undated
Box 4 Folder 1
The Sengseng of New Britain, undated
Box 4 Folder 2
Tradition and Change in One Woman's Life: Biato of Lakalai. American Anthropological Association meeting paper, undated
Box 4 Folder 3
Witchcraft Among the Molima of Fergusson Island. Philadelphia Anthropological Society meeting, ca. 1959

Grant Reports

Box 4 Folder 4
National Science Foundation progress report, 1958
Box 4 Folder 5
National Science Foundation - The Ethnography of New Britain. Two reports, written with Jane C. Goodale, 1964, 1965
Box 4 Folder 6
Report on research in Sengseng, West Britain, Papua New Guinea, November 1980-February 1981, ca. 1981
Box 4 Folder 7
Victoria University of Wellington research grant, ca. 1987

SLIDES

Box 4 Folder 8
Roll YB-1, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 9
Roll Y-YA-YB-2, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 10
Roll Y-YA-YB-3, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 11
Roll Y-YA-YB-4, July-September 1963
Box 4 Folder 12
Roll Y-YA-YB-5, July-September 1963
Box 4 Folder 13
Roll YA-YB-8, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 14
Roll YB-9, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 15
Roll Y-12, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 16
Roll Y-13, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 17
Roll Y-15-16, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 18
Roll Y-17, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 19
Roll Y-18, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 20
Roll Y-19, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 21
Roll Y-YA-20, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 22
Roll Y-21, September 1963
Box 4 Folder 23
Roll Y-22, October 1963
Box 4 Folder 24
Roll Y-23, November 1963
Box 4 Folder 25
Roll Y-24, October-November 1963
Box 4 Folder 26
Roll Y-25, November 1963
Box 4 Folder 27
Roll Y-26, October 1963
Box 4 Folder 28
Roll Y-27, November 1963
Box 4 Folder 29
Roll Y-28, November 1963
Box 4 Folder 30
Roll Y-29, October 1963
Box 4 Folder 31
Roll Y-30, November 1963
Box 4 Folder 32
Roll Y31 - Y35, October-November 1963
Box 4 Folder 33
Roll Y36 - Y40, October-December 1963
Box 4 Folder 34
Roll Y41 - Y45, December 1963
Box 4 Folder 35
Roll Y46 - Y47, December 1963
Box 4 Folder 36
Roll Y50 - Y56, December 1963
Box 4 Folder 37
Roll Y57 - Y60, December 1963
Box 4 Folder 38
Roll Y61 - Y65, December-January 1963 - 1964
Box 4 Folder 39
Roll Y66 - Y69, January 1964
Box 4 Folder 40
Roll 72 - 75, January-February 1964
Box 5 Folder 1
Roll 77 - 80, February 1964
Box 5 Folder 2
Roll 81 - 85, February-March 1964
Box 5 Folder 3
Roll 78 - 89, February-April 1964
Box 5 Folder 4
Roll 90 - 98, March 1964
Box 5 Folder 5
Roll 99 - 104, March-April 1964
Box 5 Folder 6
Roll 105 - 110, March-April 1964
Box 5 Folder 7
Roll 111 - 115, April 1964
Box 5 Folder 8
Roll 116 - 120, April 1964
Box 5 Folder 9
Roll 121 - 126, April 1964
Box 5 Folder 10
Roll 127 - 130, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 11
Roll 131 - 136, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 12
Roll 137 - 141, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 13
Roll 142 - 146, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 14
Roll 147 - 150, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 15
Roll 151 - 154, June 1964
Box 5 Folder 16
Roll 155 - 157, July 1964
Box 5 Folder 17
Roll 158 - 161, July 1964
Box 5 Folder 18
Roll 162 - 165, July 1964
Box 5 Folder 19
Roll 166 - 169, July 1964
Box 5 Folder 20
Roll 170 - 174, July 1964
Box 5 Folder 21
Roll 176 - 180, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 1
Roll 181 - 184, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 2
Roll 185 - 186, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 3
Roll 187 - 190, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 4
Roll 191 - 195, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 5
Roll 196 - 199, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 6
Roll 200 - 203, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 7
Roll 204 - 207, July 1964
Box 6 Folder 8
Roll 208 - 210, July-August 1964
Box 6 Folder 9
Roll 211 - 215, August 1964
Box 6 Folder 10
Roll 216 - 221, August 1964
Box 6 Folder 11
Roll 222 - 225, August 1964
Box 6 Folder 12
Roll 226 - 230, August 1964
Box 6 Folder 13
Roll 231 - 235, August 1964
Box 6 Folder 14
Roll 237 - 240, August 1964