ABSTRACT
Out of the basic elements of life in common, the various possible consistent configurations into which they can be composed determine an array of possible forms of society. Shirley Lindenbaum 1 distinguishes, in the Melanesian cultural arena, three forms of society. In these societies where the division of labor and the organization of authority are gender based, the primary social act is that of the man who goes to another compound to transact for a woman. The transaction is with her father and brothers. For the woman given, a woman must be returned.
