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How Does Male Ritual Behavior Vary Across the Lifespan?

An Examination of Fijian Kava Ceremonies

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Abstract

Ritual behaviors of some form exist in every society known to anthropologists. Despite this universality, we have little understanding of how ritual behavior varies within populations or across the lifespan, nor the determinants of this variation. Here we test hypotheses derived from life history theory by using behavioral observations and oral interview data concerning participant variation in Fijian kava-drinking ceremonies. We predicted that substantial variation in the frequency and duration of participation would result from (1) trade-offs with reproduction and (2) the intrinsic status differences between ritual participants. We demonstrate that when controlling for household composition, men with young offspring participated less frequently and exhibited greater variance in their time spent at ceremonies than men without young children. However, men with a larger number of total dependents in their household participated more frequently than those with fewer. Moreover, we found that men’s ascribed rank, level of education, and reliance on wage labor all significantly predict their frequency of attendance. We also found that the number of dependents a man has in his household is positively correlated with total food production, and the amount of kava he cultivates. In general, these results suggest that ritual participation is part of an important strategy employed by Fijian men for both achieving status and developing social alliances. Variation in participation in kava ceremonies by Fijian men therefore reflects the constraints of their current life history condition and their inherited rank.

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Notes

  1. Both Nayacakalou (1955) and France (1969) note that this idealized structure was imposed upon the peoples of Fiji by the British colonial administration in order to rationalize and record land ownership. Prior to the arrival of colonial officials, social structure was highly variable across Fiji, and although some regional variation exists, the system described by Nayacakalou mirrors informant descriptions from the current study population.

  2. There is likely an optimal level of kanikani signaling. If a man has high levels of kanikani but largely shirks his work and/or family responsibilities, he will not realize these cooperative benefits. Rather, men with kanikani must also work hard and invest in their family in order to realize these benefits.

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Acknowledgments

We thank and acknowledge support from the University of Connecticut Department of Anthropology, Oxford University’s Cognition, Religion and Theology Project which was funded by the Templeton Foundation, National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant # 1023456, Center of Theological Inquiry Fellowship on Evolution and Human Nature, and European Social Science Research Council Large Grant (REF RES-060-25-0085) entitled “Ritual, Community, and Conflict.” We thank Candace Alcorta, Phil Glauberman, Jordan Kiper, Ben Purzycki, and anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and Talatala Taniela Vakacegu and Ironi Vunisea for their generosity, kindness, support, and friendship.

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  1. Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Jaselska 199/16, Brno, Czech Republic

    John H. Shaver

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269-2176, USA

    Richard Sosis

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Correspondence to John H. Shaver.

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Shaver, J.H., Sosis, R. How Does Male Ritual Behavior Vary Across the Lifespan?. Hum Nat 25, 136–160 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-014-9191-6

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