a historical reconsideration of female dominance among the Chambrl of Papua New Guinea

My focus is the sociohistorical referents of a transformation that occurred in intersexual relations between the time the late Margaret Mead studied the Chambri (Tchambuli) in 1933 and my own field research there. The Tchambuli people of Papua New Guinea are famous in the literature of women's studies because Mead describes them as having significant and dominant roles within their villages. During my fieldwork with the Chambri, I decided to eschew the ontological concept of role and adopt a more systemic approach. Instead of labeling Chambri women as dominant, or submissive, I seek an underlying pattern of relationships that persists through time in a range of social situations.