Glossary

A
Agriculture The cultivation of plants for food or other uses.
Ancestral spirit A deceased ancestor who is thought to have had abilities comparable to those currently alive while living, but who acquired supernatural powers after death. Unlike deified ancestors, ancestral spirits have a sphere of influence and concern that is usually confined to their families, and are usually the spirits of those who lived in the recent past.
Atoll An oceanic island formed from the coral reef surrounding a sunken volcanic island, that has not been subject to tectonic uplift.
Austronesian Pertaining to the Austronesian languages, or to peoples that have historically spoken these languages.
B
Bottom-up process A process that begins with those of lower social status and spreads upwards to those of higher social status.
C
Continental island An island situated on a continental shelf.
Costly sacrifice The presentation and forfeiting of a valuable possession or resource to a supernatural agent.
Creationist creation myth A myth concerning the origin of humanity in which humans were created by a supernatural agent.
Culture The word “culture” is used in two closely related ways in this database. The first meaning (“culture”, with no article) denotes traditions (beliefs, practices and knowledge) that are transmitted by social learning (Mace & Holden, 2005). The second and more specific meaning (“a culture”) denotes the set of traditions that are characteristic of a particular group of people, or, conversely, a group of people characterised by a particular set of traditions.
Culture hero A demigod whose actions are used to explain the presence of a particular feature of the physical or social world.
D
Deified ancestor A human ancestor who acquired godlike powers after death. Unlike ancestral spirits, deified ancestors have spheres of influence and concern that usually extend beyond their families, and are usually believed to have lived in the distant past.
Demigod A being that is stated or implied to be human or partly human, but who is believed to have had godlike powers while alive.
E
Evolutionary creation myth A myth concerning the origin of humanity, in which humans arose spontaneously from some other form.
External warfare Warfare with people of a different culture.
F
Fishing The catching or harvesting both of true fish and large, motile invertebrates that live in a marine or aquatic environments.
Foreign education system An education system that is not indigenous to the culture being coded.
Foreign government systems Systems of government other than those indigenous to the culture. Need not imply political dominance by foreigners – a culture can be politically independent but have a foreign government system.
G
Gathering The collection of wild plants or invertebrate animals for food or other uses.
Genital cutting A bodily modification involving cutting of the genitals.
God A supernatural agent who was not originally a human being, is not identified with or closely tied to a particular physical manifestation, and is more powerful than most human beings can expect to be in this life or the afterlife.
H
Headhunting The practice of killing people for the purpose of obtaining their heads.
High god A high god is a being who created the universe and / or is the ultimate power in the universe (after Swanson, 1960).
Human sacrifice The ritualised killing of a human being, in a non-military context, as a sacrifice.
Hunting The killing of wild vertebrates, on land or in water but excluding fish, for food or other uses.
I
Immoral behaviour Behaviour that harms other members of society and / or is believed to harm society itself.
Impiety Behaviour that directly offends a supernatural agent.
Internal warfare Warfare between members of the same culture
J
Jurisdictional hierarchy A vertically ordered set of levels of jurisdiction, in which each level has authority over the level of authority beneath it.
K
Kinship tapu A tapu concerning relations between (biological or non-biological) relatives.
L
Language shift The adoption of a foreign language by members of an indigenous culture. Coded as low if the indigenous language continued to be the principal means of communication, high if the foreign language became the principal means of communication, and medium if the indigenous and foreign languages were used to a roughly equal extent throughout the postcontact period.
Level of jurisdiction A leader or group of leaders that has direct authority over a group of people, or over a subordinate leader or group of leaders.
Local community ”[T]he maximal group of persons who normally reside together in face-to-face association” (Murdock, 1950)
M
Mana Any cognate of the proto-Oceanic word “*mana”.
N
Nature god A supernatural agent who was not originally a human being, is identified with or closely tied to a particular feature of the natural world, and is more powerful than most human beings can expect to be in this life or the afterlife.
Nature spirit A supernatural agent who was not originally a human being, is identified with or closely tied to a particular feature of the natural world, and is not more powerful than most human beings can expect to be in this life or the afterlife.
O
Official syncretism Syncretism that is practiced, or explicitly endorsed by, a religious institution.
P
Plant / Animal tapu A tapu concerning behaviour towards plants or animals.
Political community The largest cultural group under a common jurisdiction, or if no defined leadership is present a group that makes important decisions by consensus.
Political / Religious differentiation The extent to which political and religious leaders are distinguished from each other.
Pre-Austronesian population A population that occupied a particular area prior to the settlement of Austronesian-speaking peoples there.
R
Religious influence Changes to a religious system that occur as a result of contact with another religious system.
Replacement-level immigration Large-scale migration of people from non-indigenous cultures into the ancestral territory of the culture being coded resulting in a decline in the proportion of the population that is indigenous.
Resource management tapu A tapu aimed at protecting a communally owned resource.
Rite A ritual marking an important change of personal status.
Ritual A set sequence of actions performed in a manner prescribed by tradition. The causal explanation or justification for the behaviour is opaque or involves supernatural forces.
Ritual social unit A group of people that conducts rituals together.
S
Scarification A bodily modification involving the deliberate infliction of permanent scars.
Sea port A wharf that can dock large foreign ships.
Social hierarchy tapu A tapu concerning relations or distinctions between people of differing social status.
Social stratification Marked differences in status or wealth between members of the same political community which are transmitted from one generation to another.
Supernatural practice A practice motivated in whole or in part by supernatural belief.
Syncretic religious movements Organised religious groups that integrate features of an indigenous religion with those of one or more world religions, but are not officially part of the world religion (s) in question.
Syncretism The fusion of features from different religions.
T
Tapu A restriction around a behaviour, object or relationship, violation of which carries the implied or explicit threat of supernatural punishment.
Tattooing A bodily modification involving the creation of permanent patterns on the skin that uses paint or some other permanent colouring agent.
Tectonic island A non-volcanic oceanic island formed primarily by tectonic uplift.
Time focus The point in time or period of time to which observations about a culture are applicable.
Tooth pulling Extraction of healthy teeth.
Top-down process A process that begins with those of higher social status and spreads downward to those of lower social status.
Traditional state For the purposes of this database a culture can be described as being in its traditional state if its supernatural belief system has not been influenced by world religions, or if despite having been influenced by world religions the supernatural belief system remains unique.
U
Unofficial syncretism Syncretism that occurs outside of an institutional context and is not explicitly endorsed by a religious institution.
Use of force The use of physical violence, or the threat of physical violence, to attain a desired outcome.
V
Volcanic high island An oceanic island, formed primarily by volcanism, that has not yet become an atoll.
Voluntary Refers to a decision that is made without external force or the threat of it.
W
Wage labour Work that is undertaken for payment in goods or currency.