Question

In New Guinea, tribal leaders often worked for years to accumulate things of high value in order to give them away in large, very public formal ceremonies. What traditionally was the most important kind of thing that they gave away?

Answer 1

In New Guinea, tribal leaders traditionally gave away prestige goods during public ceremonies to display wealth, power, and establish social status.

Step-by-step explanation:

In New Guinea, tribal leaders often worked for years to accumulate things of high value with the primary intention of giving them away during large and very public formal ceremonies. Traditionally, the most important items given away were prestige goods, which could include valuable blankets, animal skins, copper plaques, preserved food, and in some cases even luxurious items that were deliberately destroyed as a display of wealth. Such acts of generosity were central to the socio-economic system of redistribution, aiming not just to demonstrate the leaders' wealth and power but also to establish and reinforce their status within their community and among neighboring tribes.