Note 4 — Community, Clan, and Village Systems and Chieftainship

I do not know how far this pig-killer may be compared with the Roro ovia akiva, or chief of the knife, referred to by Dr. Seligmann (Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 219). The Mafulu pig-killer cannot be regarded as being even a quasi-chief, and his office is not hereditary. It is noticeable also that he is the man who kills the pigs, whereas the ovia akiva only cuts up the bodies after the pigs have been killed by someone else.