Huli people

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For the language, see Huli language.

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Huli Wigman

The Huli are an indigenous people that live in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. They number over 65,000 and have been living in the area for at least 600 years. They speak Huli, Tok Pisin, and English.

1 Society
- 1.1 Hereditary social structures
- 1.2 Marriage
2 References
3 Further reading

[edit] Society

[edit] Hereditary social structures

The Huli are grouped in clans (hamigini) and subclans (hamigini emene). Clans have residential rights within a specific territory and membership is based on hereditary descent.

Subclans are smaller groups within the larger clan and are the basic unit of Huli society. Subclans operate autonomously and may make war or peace, or pay indemnities with consulting the larger clan. Membership to a subclan is restricted to those who are directly related to the subclan founder or another member of the subclan. Huli may belong to several subclans at a time depending on their kinship and ancestry.

The Huli have a wide concept of family. Half-brothers, half-sisters, and cousins are all considered brothers and sisters.

They live by hunting, gathering plants and growing crops. The Huli are exceptional farmers and have accepted many introduced crops, initially sweet potatoes, but more recently, corn, potatoes, cabbage etc. The huli are also very interested in private business, and have established businesses throughout Papua New Guinea. Men and women still live separately, unmarried men historically lived in large group houses , although this is exceptionally rare nowadays. When wearing traditional dress, the men decorate their bodies with colored clay and wear elaborate headdresses for ceremonies.

[edit] Marriage

Huli society is polygynist. Men may take multiple wives but women may only have one husband at a time. Exogamy is the norm and marriage between close relatives is forbidden.

Marriages may be arranged, but couples may also choose to marry each other. The bride's family receives a dowry, usually paid in pigs or other native livestock. The groom is responsible for building a house for his bride. After marriage, the wife's role is to raise children, tend her garden, and raise her pigs. Boys will usually leave their mother's house around age 10 to live with their father.

Divorce is not uncommon, the most frequent cause of which is the wife's failure to bear children. Upon divorce, the husband will attempt to regain the pigs paid to the wife's family at the time of marriage.