Situational irony of governance
In the Trobriand society, the people who ruled the tribe were determined by physical appearance. This is a situational irony because it is expected that leaders be elected or nominated on the basis of character and leadership qualities rather than physical appearance
The family unit
It is ironical that in a family unit, the father played a very minor role in the lives of his children. The maternal uncle of the children is the one who had the responsibility to the children of his sister. The children were expected to inherit from their maternal uncle and he is their chief custodian.
The geography of Papua New Guinea
The ethnographer claims that the land of the Papuans was both inviting for a visitor and also uninviting. This is a situational irony because the reader expects it to be either inviting or uninviting and not both situations at the same time.
Farming for glory
The Trobriands took great pride in their harvests. However, it is a situational irony that men worked so hard in their fields and even produced excess food so that they would have the glory of being named the best farmer. This is ironical because the extra food that they produced would be waste and would be left to rot away.
The attribution of diseases to witchcraft
The Kula believed that any disease that did not heal quickly was as a result of witchcraft. The treatment of a prolonged illness would then be spiritually sought rather than physically sought. It is ironical that the Kula did not consider that illness may be a physical thing that is caused by the natural environment such as mosquitoes causing Malaria.
