The Sexual Life of Savages

By Bronisław Malinowski

Book Overview

"The Sexual Life of Savages" is a foundational masterpiece of social anthropology by the pioneering ethnographer Bronislaw Malinowski. Based on extensive field research in the Trobriand Islands of North-Western Melanesia, this work provides a detailed and scientific account of the social organization of sexuality among the indigenous population.

Malinowski explores the intricacies of courtship, marriage, and family life, challenging contemporary Western assumptions and offering a functionalist perspective on how sexual customs integrate into the broader social fabric. The book meticulously documents the rituals and beliefs surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and the various stages of social maturation. Through vivid descriptions and rigorous observation, Malinowski reveals the complexity of Trobriand culture, highlighting the importance of matrilineal descent and the specific roles played by men and women within their community.

This landmark study remains essential reading for students of anthropology, sociology, and gender studies, offering profound insights into the diversity of human behavior and the social institutions that govern it. By documenting the customs of the Trobrianders with unprecedented depth, Malinowski revolutionized the methodology of fieldwork and established new standards for ethnographic reporting.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1025980212
• ISBN13: 9781025980218
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Tradd Street Press
• Length: 744 Pages
• Weight: 2.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The original case-study

This is considered the first field case-study ever done in the field of Anthropology. With that being said, I do not know if you can criticize the first of it's kind. I personally found it too old to be enjoyable and would only read it again if I had to for a class. Only get this if you are REALLY interested in the origins of anthropology-Otherwise skip it.

Great pictures and text

"The Sexual Life of Savages in ...Melanesia" is a book along the lines of Margaret Mead's 'Coming of Age in Samoa'. But Malinowski concentrates on the sex life alone. Of course, in the modern world, the sexual life of Western society may rival those of Melanesians, but the freedom of young unmarried people to enjoy sex without social disapproval was not common when Malinowski wrote the book. One of the strangest things in the book was that the Melanesians did not connect sex with pregnancy, according to the author. I wonder if they were just taking him for a ride. The pictures are great. B & W, but so real, with grass skirts and bare bosoms.