HIGH AND LOW ENEBGY SYSTEMS: COMPETITION AND BALANCE

Apr
07
2009

Posted by: admin in Categories: Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction.
Using Tags: Men’s Health

Anthropological reports document exaggerated emphases on sexuality in certain societies, primarily in Polynesia, Melanesia, and native South America. “Sex, in the modern Marquesas, is something of a national sport,” is one such statement (Suggs). Another ethnographer reports that Marquesans of both sexes name parts of the body, “honorably” naming the genitals (Linton). Marquesans have sacred songs with erotic lyrics believed to stimulate the sexual passions of the gods, thus promoting fertility (Suggs). On the Polynesian island of Mangaia it is said that “copulation is a principal concern of Mangaians of either sex” (Marshall). Adolescent boys will “race” with each other in a contest to see which age-mate can copulate with the most women, providing the most sexual pleasure for the females (Marshall). Inquisitive about the local Catholic priest, the islanders asked, “Are his privates sewn up?” Similarly, Mead reports that the concept of celibacy is “absolutely meaningless” to Samoans. Closer to home Dougherty finds that among rural black southerners, “sexual feelings are human nature and cannot be totally controlled”.

At the other end of the ethnographic spectrum one finds communities like Inis Beag (Messenger), an island of the Irish Gaeltacht. Messenger was amazed at the minimal attention to and knowledge about sexual matters: “Lack of sexual knowledge and misconceptions about sex among adults combine to brand Inis Beag as one of the most sexually naive of the world’s societies”. When Messenger asked one woman to compare the sexual proclivities of Inis Beag men and women, she responded, “Men can wait a long time for ‘it,’ but we can wait a lot longer”.

The extreme cases of Polynesian islanders and Irish peasants are difficult to explain. In an exceptionally provocative paper in this regard, Heider argues that the level of sexual energy is culturally determined, not innately fixed as the Freudians have it. The Dani of New Guinea invest an extraordinarily low amount of energy in sexual pursuits. In fact, Heider finds that the Dani do not invest much energy in anything. They engage in intercourse just frequently enough to maintain the population.

Coincident with this low interest in sexuality, Heider finds low intellectuality, impoverished art, and low levels of affect, for example, in their casual attitude towards death. Heider finds five lines of evidence:

1. Sexual abstinence four to six years postpartum. The Dani told Heider that parents should refrain from sex from the time of birth to the time the child is five years old (approximately, since the Dani do not reckon time in years). Whatever the actual period is, it contrasts notably with the period reported for couples in other societies, such as Tahitian parents who continue intercourse until two or three weeks before birth and commence again one or two months after birth (Levy).

2. The period of postpartum sexual abstinence is invariably observed. The Dani assert this (and Heider believes them) and furthermore, no Dani full siblings are less than five years apart in age.

3. The norm of long postpartum sexual abstinence is neither supported by powerful explanation nor enforced by strong sanctions. Heider understands the sanction as a somewhat casual, pro forma sanction. They do not abstain from sex for fear of death, ghosts, or any other moral imperative. Rather, sexual abstinence is easy; it is not an issue.

4. Most people have no other sexual outlets. Although one Dani man apparently had nine wives, only a minority had more than one (43 of 148 total males had more than one wife). Heider rejects the possibility of two wives bearing children for the same man within a few years of each other; wives tend to live in separate compounds, and men are likely to stay in the compound with the new infant for the first year or so of its life, effectively restrained from sexual visitations with other wives. Heider eliminates other possible sexual outlets for men: coitus interruptus with a wife, extramarital sexual intercourse, masturbation, homosexuality, and bestiality. According to Heider, none of these is practiced by Dani men, although they are not specifically prohibited by the regulations of postpartum sexual abstinence.

5. No one shows any signs of unhappiness or stress during the period of abstinence. Heider tried to get Dani men to talk about how they felt about celibacy. None of them reported much of a problem, and Heider could detect no anxiety or discomfort.

Considering all the data, Heider argues that Dani culture is in a steady state, lacking climax or motion, and is in a low-energy field. He contrasts it with the Balinese reported by Bateson, also in a steady state, this a high-energy one.

Heider found two possible causes for the low energy level of Dani cultural forms, including sexuality. One is ecological: Dani receive low stimulation from the environment (the Dani are rather isolated socially). The other is developmental: the infants are reared in low stress conditions. Recently Pontius has suggested a third hypothesis, this one medical. Dani subfertility, a subject Heider did not explore, may be caused by a combination of two factors: (1) tight scrotal strings which may rupture the epididymal ductus, and (2) a low protein diet.

The Ik are another group with a reportedly low interest in sexual activity. This small hunting group in East Africa is on the verge of starvation (Turnbull). In documenting the social decay of the Ik, Turnbull reports that although these “loveless people” do in fact engage in intercourse (which implies at least a degree of mutuality and cooperation), they do so somewhat as an extension of masturbatory practice, consistent with the Icean emphasis on “excessive individualism,” rather than as an interpersonal event. Turnbull suggests that sexual activity can occur without involvement; it does not need much cooperation nor much affection. Such is the sad case of the Ik, who apparently can engage in sexual intercourse without violating the “cardinal Icean maxim, which is not to love anyone”. Certainly the Ik orientation to sexual intercourse is radically divergent and lacks the considerations found in other societies, such as the Mangaian (Polynesian), in which men attempt “orgasmic timing” with their partners, having received explicit instruction in this regard (Marshall) In matters of Mangaian sexual performance it is believed that, “the man who only goes a short time does not love his wife” (Marshall).