ABSTRACT
The Trobrianders also have two other types of story. The second type of story has no magical effects and its telling is tied neither to a special season nor to a particular manner of performance. These stories are, in distinction to the kukwanebu, stories which are believed to be true. Although, as Malinowski explains, one might be inclined to differentiate various subtypes of these ’’true stories” — such as historical accounts, legends, and hearsay tales — the Trobrianders designate them all by the same term, libwogwo. There is finally a third type, stories which are regarded as sacred, i.e. sacred tales and myths, called liliu by the islanders.2 One of the reasons why Malinowski reproduces the native taxonomy of stories rather than imposing his own is that in his opinion a classification and typology of narrative entirely based on the text is inadequate for a full understanding of these types. In adopting a native classification one takes into account that a story is not just a text but also a social and cultural event. The "essence" of a particular type of story "is not to be found in a mere perusal of the story, but in the combined study of the narrative and its context in the social and cultural life of the natives."3
