semiotics of transgression in Trobriand thought

This difficulty is very well illustrated by the manner in which Trobriand thought "manipulates the classificatory system in such a way that categories already separated are then collapsed or brought into conjunction" so that these violations of the code are viewed instead as "excessive" but highly valorized acts. See S. J. Tambiah, "On Flying Witches and Flying Canoes: The Coding of Male and Female Values," in his book, Culture, Thought and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), pp.314.