PAST IS PRESENT - PRESENT IS PAST - TIME AND THE HARVEST RITUALS ON THE TROBRIAND ISLANDS

This paper discusses concepts of time on the Trobriand Islands. It ill ustrates how the Trobrianders refer to time in everyday verbal interac tion as well as during the harvest festivals when the society is regul ated by a concept of time ''where the present and the past are so fuse d that the present is a mere manifestation of the past'' (Bloch 1989: 16). This concept finds its verbal expression in special songs which r epresent a marked language variety and can be regarded as a form of '' ritual communication.'' Thus, Trobriand Islanders differentiate betwee n the more mundane notion of time and notions of time expressed in rit ual contexts.