Training, Motivation and Preparation

Abstract

From early childhood on children were trained in aggressiveness. Jabajmu told me about the squabbles and quarrels in his own peer group. Part of this story runs as follows: “After eating in the men’s house, Jabaj [one of the younger boys] got up and took the cassowary dagger of the leader, Qaiberot. He stuck it into the string around his waist just as adults do. When the children saw this, they protested, ‘You are using something of the adults and you should not; soon there will be no fish any more, stop it’. Jabaj said, ‘I will not’. The other children said, ‘You have not yet been initiated; you have not yet been given the dagger. The men will be angry with you’. Taröm was angry with Jabaj. They started to call each other names. Taröm said to me, ‘Jabajmu, let us go home’. We descended from the men’s house and took our arrows with us. Jabaj was still standing in the men’s house with the dagger at his waist. Taröm shot an arrow at Jabaj. He missed him, but hit a young boy sitting next to him, who already had a wounded leg. He hit him right in the middle of the wound. Taröm and I ran to the house of my elder sister, Utejr. Utejr asked, ‘What are you up to?’ Taröm said, ‘Mother, I shot a boy in his wound and therefore we have fled’. Jabaj came after us; he wanted to beat both of us. Jabaj said, ‘You must dare to come outside and I will beat you up’. We said, ‘You wait, you will see us at the men’s house’.