Bronisław Malinowski

The Trobrianders are not primitive in the sense of being less developed; they have their own complex civilization.

Magic is a practical art, serving the ends of human welfare.

In all social life, reciprocity is the foundation of order.

The real problem of anthropology is to understand the native's theory of life.

Civilization is not a burden, but a necessity for human progress.

The kula is not a mere trade; it is a system of social bonds.

Myth in primitive psychology is true history, because it is lived.

The family is the universal institution of mankind.

Anthropology must be comparative, but rooted in fieldwork.

The essence of culture is the integration of all its elements into a coherent whole.

In the study of man, we must avoid ethnocentrism at all costs.

Law among primitives is not written, but customary and functional.

Sex is not repressed in savage society; it is regulated by custom.

The garden is the heart of Trobriand economy and ritual.

Human needs drive cultural forms.

Fieldwork is the sine qua non of anthropology.

The native's language must be learned to understand his mind.

Institutions are chartered by culture to satisfy biological and derived needs.

The kula ring binds islands in a web of obligations.

Anthropology reveals the unity in human diversity.