Deck 36: Oceania Before 1980

Question 1

The Asmat see the human body as a tree, the feet are the roots, and the arms are the branches. Based on this information, what would the human head symbolize?

A) vines
B) fruit
C) rain
D) earth

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Bisj poles serve as pledges to avenge a relative's death; many of the animal representations that decorate the poles are related to headhunting. Which of the following animals might be represented?

A) shark
B) dog
C) flying fox
D) cat

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Abelam culture of Papua New Guinea revolves around which of the following?

A) pigs
B) head-hunting
C) the sea
D) yams

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Aside from serving as instruments of communication, what other function did the Iatmul slit-gongs have?

A) They represented light musical presentations.
B) They represented women's instrument used in their rituals in the men's ceremonial house.
C) They represented voices of the ancestral spirits.
D) They represented voices of the gods.

Question 5

New Guinea is made up of which of the following countries?

A) Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea
B) Bismarck Archipelago and Irian Jaya
C) New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea
D) Vanuatu and Irian Jaya

Question 6

Women in Oceanic societies were active in creating which of the following?

A) masks
B) pottery
C) relief carvings
D) canoe prows

Question 7

Malanggan refers both to the festivals to honor the deceased and which of the following?

A) yam masks
B) storyboards
C) objects and carvings produced for these festivals
D) ceremony of initiation

Question 8

How was information transmitted from one generation to next in Pacific Island societies?

A) verbally
B) written manuscripts
C) calligraphy carved on boards
D) stone carvings

Question 9

The ceremonial men's house of the Iatmul in Papua New Guinea is associated with which of the following?

A) praying mantis
B) headhunting
C) female ancestor
D) yam cultivation

Question 10

The shell-like abstract patterns found on the men's ceremonial houses of Belau refer to which of the following?

A) the rooster
B) the sun
C) the gods
D) shell money

Question 11

Which of the following groups would not allow women entry into the ceremonial men's house?

A) Iatmul, Papua New Guinea
B) Belau, Micronesia
C) Maori, New Zealand
D) Hawaiians, Hawaii

Question 12

The Dilukai figure found on the bais of Belau serve as a reminder to women to conduct themselves decorously. It also symbolizes another aspect of female power. Which of the following is that female power?

A) wantonness
B) procreation
C) protection
D) civility

Question 13

The Trobriand Islanders show great skill in carving. Which of the following illustrates that skill?

A) canoes
B) ceremonial men's houses
C) yam masks
D) door lintels

Question 14

In the Iatmul ceremonial men's house, the reenactment of the life and death cycle was performed in the second story of the house. Which of the following describes the reenactment?

A) ritual dance performed in the second story
B) clan members enter and exit the second story
C) uninitiated girls enter and exit through the front entry
D) first wives enter and exit through the front entry

Question 15

In Oceanic societies, men derived political authority by excluding women from participating in rituals and certain object-making endeavors. Women were rarely allowed to produce images that had religious or spiritual powers or that conferred status on their users. Which of the following would account for this exclusion?

A) Men perceived the difference in the innate power of women.
B) Traditional oral history disallowed women.
C) The oral tradition prohibited women from participating.
D) Only men were strong enough to work with the hard materials.

Question 16

Which of the following also describes the relatively unstratified Melanesian groups?

A) Power is vested in groups of elder men.
B) Power is vested in groups of warriors.
C) Power is vested in hereditary leaders.
D) Power is vested in hereditary persons of rank.

Question 17

In Asmat society, Irian Jaya, personal energy and spiritual power can be acquired through which of the following activities?

A) ceremonial rituals performed in the men's house
B) wearing Tatanua masks
C) yam cultivation
D) head-hunting

Question 18

The Asmat have a rich visual vocabulary for symbols. They consider the female praying mantis to represent which the following meanings in their art?

A) fertility
B) female power
C) family
D) head-hunting/cannibalism

Question 19

Colonization of the Pacific Islands reached its zenith during which century?

A) 20th century
B) 16th century
C) 19th century
D) 18th century

Question 20

What pottery making culture settled in western Polynesia inc. 1000 BCE?

A) Goleta
B) Arnhem
C) Lapita
D) Sepik

Question 21

The moai serve as silent sentinels on stone platforms, which were burial sites or were used for religious ceremonies. Based on this, which of the following would the moai depict?

A) sacred earth
B) the gods
C) ancestral chiefs
D) disembarkation sites of the ancestors

Question 22

The word tattoo is of what origin?

A) Polynesian
B) Melanesian
C) Micronesian
D) Australian

Question 23

Which of the following is a control mechanism used on Belau (Pelau) warning women to stay away from the ocean and the bai?

A) Blellek
B) Dilukai
C) Kuka'ilimoku
D) Kamehameha

Question 24

What is one possible explanation for the eradication of tattooing in Polynesia?

A) practice lost favor when metal needles were introduced
B) designs became stale
C) practice lost favor when European sailors wanted tattoos
D) missionary zeal worked to eradicate tattooing

Question 25

Tatanua masks are part of the Malanggan mortuary ceremonies. Which of the following describes the function of Tatanua masks?

A) They represent spirits of the Great Ancestors.
B) They represent spirits of Malanggan.
C) They represent spirits of specific deceased people.
D) They represent spirits of clan elders.

Question 26

The Hevehe cycle of the Elema from Papua New Guinea reinforces the cultural and economic relations and social structure of the community. Which of the following would be the dominant authority in the society?

A) warrior caste
B) elder males
C) elder females
D) chieftains

Question 27

Where is Arnhem Land?

A) central Australia
B) Hawaii
C) Irian Jaya
D) northern Australia

Question 28

The Maori meetinghouse is filled with ancestors who are a very potent force. Which of the following describes the conceptualization of the meetinghouse itself?

A) It is the Great Goddess.
B) It is the First Ancestor.
C) It is body of an ancestor.
D) It is the Great Maori.

Question 29

Which date range have researchers assigned to the earliest Australian sites?

A) 3,000 or more years
B) 40,000 or more years
C) 100,00 or more years
D) 500,000 or more years

Question 30

What does an Asmat bisj pole represent?

Question 31

What is mana?

A) shell money
B) women's power
C) spiritual power
D) men's power

Question 32

What was the purpose of tattoo?

Question 33

The concept of "Dream Time" is associated with the natives of which country?

A) New Guinea
B) Australia
C) New Ireland
D) Irian Jaya
E) Polynesia

Question 34

For the Asmat head-hunting was a way of maintaining a balance of which of the following?

A) political power
B) family power
C) jurisdiction
D) spiritual power

Question 35

Malanggan rites are mortuary festivals. Which of the following explains the purpose of these rites?

A) To facilitate the soul's transition from the world of the living to the realm of the dead
B) To celebrate the birth of the chief's first son
C) To facilitate the construction of the men's house
D) To facilitate the first hunt of the season

Question 36

The last islands of Oceania to be colonized (Pre-European Contact) were which of the following?

A) Melanesia
B) Polynesia
C) Micronesia
D) Australia

Question 37

Figure carvings on a Maori meetinghouse represent which of the following?

A) navigation charts
B) real and mythological ancestors
C) landscapes
D) events

Question 38

Dynamic forms covered with intricate curvilinear designs are most typical of which of the following peoples?

A) Maori
B) Hawaiians
C) Arnhem Land aborigines
D) Rapa Nui people

Question 39

Which of the following Polynesian groups is primarily responsible for the major art form of barkcloth making and decorating?

A) uninitiated boys
B) women
C) uninitiated teenagers
D) men

Question 40

Storyboards (Belau) relate to which of the following?

A) important events
B) wars
C) religious practices
D) songs

Question 41

How does the Hawaiian war god, Kuka'ilimoku, reflect the political and social environment of Hawaii?

Question 42

Explain the concept of the life force in Oceanic cultures and how it affects the art forms. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 43

What are storyboards and how do they relate to Belau art?

Question 44

How does Dilukai (Belau, Caroline Islands) celebrate woman's power?

Question 45

How do the feather cloaks of Hawaii reflect its hierarchical society?

Question 46

Briefly describe Polynesian societies.

Question 47

What is x-ray style and who uses it?

Question 48

Briefly describe the people of Micronesia.

Question 49

What is the meaning of the Maori door lintel?

Question 50

How does the yam of the Abelam people reflect Abelam identity?

Question 51

Briefly describe Melanesian societies.

Question 52

What did "Dream Time" mean for the Australian aborigines, and what effect did it have on their art?

Question 53

Who is a "Big Man" in Melanesian society?

Question 54

How did the Iatmul men's house control the society?

Question 55

The Iatmul men's house represents what function to the community?

Question 56

How did the Hevehe cycle assist the Elema in their society?

Question 57

How does the praying mantis reflect Asmat figural symbolism?

Question 58

Why is the Tatanua mask important to the Malanggan mortuary ceremonies?

Question 59

Who is Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urbville and how does he affect the study of Oceania?

Question 60

What is kula?

Question 61

What was the purpose of these figures?

Question 62

How did these images represent their cultures?

Question 63

What do these images signify?

Question 64

How do these images differ in functionality?

Question 65

How do these images represent status?

Question 66

What does this feather head god have in common with the Hawaiian full-length wooden gods?

Question 67

Compare the thematic relevance of this statue with that of the Rarotonga staff god .

Question 68

Describe the Asmat universe. How do their depictions reflect their respective society and philosophy? How has it changed in the last half of the twentieth century? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 69

How are these works of art related?

Question 70

How do these works identify their respective cultures?

Question 71

Contrast the art of tattoo as a symbol designating status and rank in the Polynesian groups of the Marquesas and the Maori. Use specific examples to support your essay.

Question 72

How do these images represent power within their respective communities and cultures?

Question 73

Contrast Micronesian life and art imagery with Polynesian life and art imagery. How do they reflect their respective environments and societies? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 74

What is the mystery behind this unexpected discovery?

Question 75

Describe the development of Oceanic art in the twentieth century. How has it evolved? What effect did the function of the objects have on the form? How do they differ from group to group, and how are they similar? Use specific examples to support your essay.

Question 76

Compare and contrast the Malanggan rites with the Asmat ancestor pole rites. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 77

How did the landscape of Australia affect the creative universe of the Aborigine? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 78

How do Maori door lintels express their life views? Include the political and social interchange in your essay.

Question 79

Compare and contrast Asmat society with Maori society. Consider the social order within each group. How did the visual imagery of each group reflect that social order? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 80

Contrast these two images; what do they represent?