One of the most important functions of “bordering” is the creation of a narrative of unity and homogeneity within the territory, while at the same time portraying the people beyond the border as different, a concept known as “othering.”
The raison d’etre for the existence of the marriage payments, and the underlying assumptions about the value of women differ considerably in societies where bridewealth payments are made upon marriage, as opposed to those where a dowry payment is the custom.
Materialistic Anthropology, based on Marxist theory, focuses on human practices that result from the material conditions in which the society exists. This meant that there finally was a strong appreciation of the fact that historical transformations resulting from changes in material conditions are of critical importance to understand the underpinnings of a society
In the early twentieth century the Trobriand people were the subject of an in-depth ethnographic study by Bronislaw Malinowski. The anthropologist lived on Mailu Island for several years. He learnt their language and interacted with the islanders daily. His stated aim was to understand the “imponderabilia of everyday life” in the tribe.
