Working Mothers and the Work of Culture in a Papua New Guinea Society

Abstract

Issues of mothering and work, though often spoken about in practical terms, express deeper concerns about the transmission and acquisition of cultural values and the part mothering plays in the creation of the self in society. Based on a case study of the Murik of Papua New Guinea and recent insights into intersubjectivity and recognition of the motherchild relationship, I argue that Murik mothers deploy their capacity for subject‐subject interaction in ways that teach children crucial cultural schemas related to work, food, and recognition. In negotiating intersubjectivity, mother and child establish the broad outlines of a competent self in a cultural world.

The Practice of Mothering: An Introduction

“…Hrdy's argument that mothering activities have long been shared, flexible, and improvisational, is consistent with the findings of sociocultural anthropologists who have documented that, for contemporary humans, mothering is often dispersed among female kin and others (Ainsworth 1967;Le-Vine 1994;Mead 1939;Seymour 1983;Tronick et al 1987;Werner 1984), including fathers (Hewlett 1991), siblings (Ochs 1988), grandmothers, sisters and friends (Seymour 1999;Stack 1974), hired nannies and babysitters (Gathorne-Hardy 1972). In some cultures, all women are assumed to be mothers by obligation, if not biology (Barlow 2000), while in others there is concern that the biological mother may not be the best social mother (Azu 1974;Etienne 1979). From exclusive, biological motherhood as it is privileged in U.S. culture (Hays 1996;Margolis 1984)Fbut now undergoing important changes (see Lewin 1993; Pelka this issue; Ragone 2001)Fto multiple mothering (Barlow this issue; Pelka this issue; Seymour 2004), and even to cross-gendered mothers (Middleton 2000), the concept and personnel of mothering vary considerably.…”

“…Elsewhere, or at other times, distinctions are carefully managed to produce specific developmental outcomes and orientations (e.g., Ben-Ari 1996; Tobin et al 1989). In some cultures, all women are assumed to be mothers by obligation, if not biology (Barlow 2000), while in others there is concern that the biological mother may not be the best social mother (Azu 1974;Etienne 1979). Mothers and maternal kin may involve complex categories differentiated by seniority, generation, or affinal status (e.g., Barlow this issue;Seymour 1983Seymour , 1999; Zhu this issue).…”

Multiple Caretaking of Infants and Young Children: An Area in Critical Need of a Feminist Psychological Anthropology

“…These and other studies indicate that multiple child care is a common strategy when family and kinship structures allow for it and that infants readily adapt to having a variety of caretakers. Kathleen Barlow's (2001) recent study of how Murik women of New Guinea combine work and child care provides yet further support for this argument. According to Barlow (2001:101), unlike the case of contemporary U.S. cultural attitudes, "[the] Murik do not assume that work is a choice that compromises or endangers mothering."…”

Sharing Food, Sharing Values: Mothering and Empathy in Murik Society

“…Those who have worked to support their household or to provide food for an event at which food is served are given higher priority to eat if there is not enough food to fully satisfy everyone 2 . Those who have done work are entitled and expect to receive food (Barlow 2001:87). Women, as mothers to children and to households, are expected to set aside food for workers who may be absent when the food is cooked and served.…”

“…In the second, a teenage boy fails to perform expected work, then punishes himself for the lapse. The first case has been briefly presented in an earlier discussion as an example of mothering and recognition (Barlow 2001:89). Here I explain in more detail the complicated dispersal of mothering functions in K.'s kin network and emphasize the dynamic distribution of discipline and support among the group of kin involved in extended mothering.…”