DOCSLIB.ORG

Reflections on Journeys and Transformations in Papua New Guinea

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reflections on Journeys and Transformations in Papua New Guinea EDITOR’S FORUM TO LIMLIMBUR, THE “WANDERERS.” REFLECTIONS ON JOURNEYS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA Roderic Lacey Institute of Catholic Education Victoria, Australia Thus there passed to rest a spirit which had ever been turbulent in the cause of the people, one who in life had been aptly named To Limlimbur, the Wanderer, for in his time few men, white or black, could match the restless grandeur of his vision.1 What is fascinating in these words about Sumsuma by a historian of the “Rabaul Strike” of 1929 is the writer’s vision of the man as a hero. This paper focuses on innovators of the colonial era in Papua New Guinea such as Sumsuma, Mambu, Yali, and Anton Misiyaiyai, as well as some recent urban migrants. My argument has three elements. First these innovators, and their struggles to bring about change within the confining structures of a colonial order, echo each other across genera- tions, particularly when seen as “wanderers”--men who journeyed beyond their own people, beyond the horizons of their “traditional” world and its moral order, who in their journeys had their own vision of the world transformed, and then returned and sought to bring new worlds into being. Despite differences off historical context and local Pacific Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1--November 1985 83 84 Pacific Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1--November 1985 culture and traditions, these common threads of journeys, transforma- tions, and returns are woven through these wanderers!’ life histories. A second element lies in the details of the wanderers’ narratives and their reflections of the richer, more complex, and more ancient narra- tive traditions of Papua New Guinea. Our understanding of the narra- tives and the lives of the wanderers is enriched and extended by locating them within the precolonial oral traditions about heroes, heroines, founders, traders, migrants, and initiates and their varied journeys and transformations. This premise has two corollaries. The “modern” wan- derers, their narratives, and struggles echo and build on the preexisting narrative traditions and suggest that there are continuities in the history of innovation and change between the precolonial and colonial eras. This would suggest that historical interpretation of colonial events that draws upon insights from indigenous precolonial traditions instead of relying upon sources from the colonizers adds new dimensions to our understanding. The final element of the argument, which is underlined by the detailed investigation of Anton Misiyaiyai’s narrative that begins this paper, is that this and the other wanderer narratives can be seen as par- adigms for understanding the process of innovation and change in colo- nial Papua New Guinea, and perhaps beyond, in other contexts. Anton’s Narrative: A Paradigm? Anton Misiyaiyai, a man from Moseng, an inland Sepik village, told his story to B. J. Allen in the 1970s.2 In many ways his narrative cap- tures the life of a generation of young workers who signed labor con- tracts in the 1920s and 1930s that took them far from their home village and landed them, from 1942, in the midst of a vortex of destruction and change; they survived as men transformed and restless to bring about a new world. Perhaps Anton, like a few others, is remarkable among the men of that generation for the clarity of his dreams of change and the fierce and persistent will with which he sought to make those dreams reality. For these reasons his story is worth hearing. He was born about 1920 and was still a small child when the first white man, a government officer, visited Moseng. Anton was recruited as a laborer in the mid-1930s. He recalled that he was then merely a boy with “no beard and no hair on my genitals.” Once recruited Anton set out from home on his first journey, to the coast. He was not to see his home again for another ten years, and then in changed circumstances. He and his young fellow recruits walked to the coast, signed on, and Editor’s Forum 85 sailed to Rabaul. His first contract was served in Kavieng where he “cut grass underneath the coconuts,” for three years. The work was hard, but the manager of the plantation was harder still and the workers revolted. Company officials investigated, and removed him. Anton then worked as a domestic servant in the house of the new manager. He was deeply impressed with the glimpse he caught of the for- eigners’ way of life. When I came out of the bush I was like a fool. When I saw how the whitemen lived my head went around. I saw their houses. When I became a servant I saw inside their houses. I saw their beds and their chairs and tables. Their food and clothes. I thought all these things were good. I saw the stores too. I was amazed at the things in them. The knives and clothes and all the different sorts of food. I thought this was good too. (353) After two years’ work as a domestic servant on his second contract, the Pacific War began in New Guinea in the early months of 1942. The invaders came and Anton met a new group of foreigners, some of whom were prepared to teach him new ways. A new and significant chapter had begun in this young man’s life. Anton was made a garden bosboi by the Japanese. He began learning new methods of cultivation from some of these strangers who learned to speak a little tok pisin. Anton and his fellow workers learned to plant sweet potato, arrowroot, Chinese taro, pumpkin, melon, corn, onions, and rice. He gained some ideas from these new men; in particular he began thinking about the importance of rice cultivation. When I was with the Japanese I got my first ideas. When I saw this rice, I thought, what is this? We eat rice. But what is this stuff? I watched. We planted it. I watched it come up from the ground. I thought, ah, the rice we eat, this is the way it is made. I saw the other things too, the tapioca, and the corn, but my thoughts stayed with the rice. I thought rice would be best. I thought, this is the way to get money. I took it into my mind. I didn’t write it. I don’t know how to write. (354) Anton also gained practical knowledge about rice planting and milling. His detailed memory of this process showed that he had learned well. 86 Pacific Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1--November 1985 The war came to an end with the Japanese defeat and surrender of August 1945. Now it was time for Anton to return home after many years away. His initial return was to be brief, He saw with his own eyes what had happened to his home, Moseng, and his people under the Jap- anese invader. After only a three-month stay he returned to the coast, taking with him other village men. They were employed clearing up Madang after the War. Again he was a bosboi for one year and like many workers at that time he made a lot of money for this work. His experience in the foreign plantation enclave in New Ireland, with Australians and then with Japanese, had sown a vision of change in Anton’s mind. That seed was to mature in this other enclave, the town of Madang. He went with his employer to a large meeting addressed by the bishop, who made promises that Anton sought to fulfill. The bishop held a big book. He spoke to us. He said the war is over, there will be no more fighting. We are very worried about all the Papuans and New Guineans who died. Men from all over New Guinea stood together with the Americans and the Australian soldiers. I saw them fighting and I was proud and happy. I have seen the strong men and women of New Guinea. Now I have some advice for you. If you follow it you will get the same standards of living as Europeans have. If you take no notice you will stay like your ancestors. (356) Also in Madang, Anton was taught the elements of banking by his employer. Now, after his time in Madang, he was armed to put his vision into action in order to improve the living standards of the people of his area. On his journey home with his ideas and money he stopped in Aitape. There began his long struggle with colonial authorities. The kiap (government field officer) was suspicious of Anton when he depos- ited his savings and challenged him roughly about what he planned to do with this money. This testing of his ideas helped Anton to clarify them. He resolved to begin by building a house like those he had seen out in the foreign towns and stations. Anton began his program for improvement by trying to win over the village people to his vision and plan for change. In particular he told them that, like so many other young men before the war, he had fol- lowed the common path to the new world outside the village: working on a plantation. But that was a bitter road to follow, So he had searched for another road inside his own village and now he had found it. “I have seen the way,” he claimed, and he offered it to them. His own people, Editor’s Forum 87 his own clan, seemed to him to be the people with whom he could best begin.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wanbel: Conflict, Reconciliation and Personhood Among the Sam People, Madang Province
    Wanbel: Conflict, Reconciliation and Personhood among the Sam People, Madang Province David Eric Troolin Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Discipline of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences University of Adelaide May 2018 Contents Figures ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Declaration ................................................................................................................................. 8 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 9 Glossary.................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Wanbel among the Sam people ............................................................................... 16 A glimpse of wanbel ......................................................................................................... 16 The Sam people and the researcher ................................................................................ 17 Wanbel in Papua New Guinea ......................................................................................... 27 Problematising wanbel ...................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Quest for a Tame White Man Colonial Policy And
    THE QUEST FOR A TAME WHITE MAN COLONIAL POLICY AND INDIGENOUS REACTION IN MADANG BY ELIZABETH ADAMS CANDIDATE FOR MASTER OF ARTS AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY MARCH 1996 This thesis is my own work. All sources have been acknowledged. 'My informant's summary gave me the clue to the history of the cargo movement in the southern Madang Province from 1871 until the present day: the people' search for either two buttons to press, one labelled 'Tame European' and the other 'Cargo Deity'.' Peter Lawrence ( 1982:59) CONTENTS Page Number INTRODUCTION 1 1 . THE GERMAN COLONY 7 2. THE ANMEF INTERLUDE 38 3. A 'C CLASS MANDATE 49 4. THE RISE OF THE CARGO CULTS 82 5. THE RISE AND FALL OF YALI 104 6. CASH CROPPING AND THE RICE FIASCO 126 7. THE INTRODUCTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT 146 8. NATIONAL POLITICS 166 9. A LEGACY OF NEGLECT 192 CONCLUSION 207 MAP OF MADANG PROVINCE 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY 216 INTRODUCTION The results of the 1992 national elections in Papua New Guinea, produced a curious outcome in the Madang Province. Two Europeans were elected to represent the people of the Province, one in an open electorate and the other as the regional member. Nor was this European representation an isolated incident in the Madang Province. On the Rai coast, for the same elections, two European planters had been approached by- electors who asked them to stand in that seat. Of even more interest, however, was the fact that the two Europeans who chose to stand were not the only outsiders to secure a seat in the national parliament representing the people of Madang.
    [Show full text]
  • THE YAGANON PEOPLE of the RAI COAST 10 May 1999
    THE YAGANON PEOPLE OF THE RAI COAST ETHNOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MAPPING STUDY revised edition RAMU NICKEL PROJECT prepared for Highlands Pacific Limited by JOHN BURTON Pacific Social Mapping PO Box 67 Thursday Island Queensland 4875 Australia 10 May 1999 revised and expanded edition October 2000 corrections November 2002 PREFACE Fieldwork for the The Yaganon people of the Rai Coast was undertaken for Highlands Pacific Limited from 17 Sep-3 Oct and 25 Oct-14 Nov 1998, and was based at the company‘s Basamuk Camp. This has now been supplemented by two shorter visits, 5-9 April and 30 April-10 May 1999, to address the circumstances of the acquisition of the Mindiri Plantation, also known as Basamuk. The study is confined to Ward 30 of the Rai Coast Local Level Government. Together with the inland wards centred on Orinma and Mebu, and adjacent areas to the east, I have adopted the overall name ‗Yaganon‘ following the designation by linguists of their languages as belonging to the Yaganon Family, and the designation by the government of their area as belonging to the Yaganon Census Division. Accompanied by Douglas Duka, at times by Tony Naguwean and Matias Gulas, and from the second period on by Tony Friend, I held many dozens of interviews with informants—from the villages of Kulilau, Ganglau, Mindre, Kubup, Segi, Dumon and Dein together with their satellite settlements. The interviews lasted anything from a few minutes to eight hours, and were usually held in the village. In November, though, a number of informants from distant places chose to come to the camp office to present information that I had not previously been able to obtain.
    [Show full text]
  • Telling Pacific Lives
    TELLING PACIFIC LIVES PRISMS OF PROCESS TELLING PACIFIC LIVES PRISMS OF PROCESS Brij V. Lal & Vicki Luker Editors Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/tpl_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Telling Pacific lives : prisms of process / editors, Vicki Luker ; Brij V. Lal. ISBN: 9781921313813 (pbk.) 9781921313820 (pdf) Notes: Includes index. Subjects: Islands of the Pacific--Biography. Islands of the Pacific--Anecdotes. Islands of the Pacific--Civilization. Islands of the Pacific--Social life and customs. Other Authors/Contributors: Luker, Vicki. Lal, Brij. Dewey Number: 990.0099 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Teresa Prowse Cover image: Choris, Louis, 1795-1828. Iles Radak [picture] [Paris : s.n., [1827] 1 print : lithograph, hand col.; 20.5 x 26 cm. nla.pic-an10412525 National Library of Australia Printed by University Printing Services, ANU This edition © 2008 ANU E Press Table of Contents Preface vii 1. Telling Pacic Lives: From Archetype to Icon, Niel Gunson 1 2. The Kila Wari Stories: Framing a Life and Preserving a Cosmology, Deborah Van Heekeren 15 3. From ‘My Story’ to ‘The Story of Myself’—Colonial Transformations of Personal Narratives among the Motu-Koita of Papua New Guinea, Michael Goddard 35 4. Mobility, Modernisation and Agency: The Life Story of John Kikang from Papua New Guinea, Wolfgang Kempf 51 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Ernest John Meredith Steel LIBRARY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY CAMPBELL
    Library of the Australian Defence Force Academy University College The University of New South Wales Donated by: Ernest John Meredith Steel LIBRARY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY CAMPBELL A^inxOR: Ernest John Meredith Steel TITLE: Australian Policy Implementation in Papua New Guinea 1945-1953 Persons consulting this Thesis must sign the following statement "I have consulted this thesis and I agree not to infringe the author's rights, as provided by the Copyright Act. I agree not to copy or paraphrase it in whole or part without the written consent of the author, and to make written acknow- ledgement for any assistance I have obtained from it," ^^^ __ ADDRESS SIGNATURE DATE Defence Aca-^fc-my Li h Unlvarsity Cijllege AUSTRALIAN POLICY IMPLEMENTATION I N PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1 945- 1 953 by ERNEST JOHN MEREDITH STEEL A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the r^iuirements for the degree of Master of Arts Australian Studies) in the University College, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy. October 1989 238825 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma by a university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of this thesis. signed Date TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables 1 Map of Papua New Guinea ii Chronology - Australia Papua New Guinea Relations, 1941-1953 iii Chapter introduction I Australia's Post-War Attituctes to Papua New Guinea 8 I i Reconstruction of the Administration 17 II i Operation of the Departments of Health and Education 25 !V Indigenous Economic Development 34 V Change in Government in Australia 41 VI Conclusion 55 Bibliography 59 List of Tables Page Table Comparisons of Expenditure.
    [Show full text]
  • Long Island, Papua New Guinea – People, Resources and Culture
    AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Ball, Eldon E., and I. M. Hughes, 1982. Long Island, Papua New Guinea: People, resources and culture. Records of the Australian Museum 34(10): 463–525. [31 July 1982]. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.34.1982.292 ISSN 0067-1975 Published by the Australian Museum, Sydney naturenature cultureculture discover discover AustralianAustralian Museum Museum science science is is freely freely accessible accessible online online at at www.australianmuseum.net.au/publications/www.australianmuseum.net.au/publications/ 66 CollegeCollege Street,Street, SydneySydney NSWNSW 2010,2010, AustraliaAustralia LONG ISLAND, PAPUA NEW GUINEA - PEOPLE, RESOURCES AND CULTURE ELDON E. BALL AND IAN M. HUGHES Department of Neurobiology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra Human Sciences Program, School of General Studies, Australian National University, Canberra CONTENTS Summary .......................................................................................................... 464 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 464 Language .......................................................................................................... 466 Historical Traditions ........................................................................................... 468 Accounts of the Eruption .................................................................................... 471 Resettlement ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Lihir Destiny Cultural Responses to Mining in Melanesia
    The Lihir Destiny Cultural Responses to Mining in Melanesia Asia-Pacific Environment Monograph 5 The Lihir Destiny Cultural Responses to Mining in Melanesia Nicholas A. Bainton THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY E P R E S S E P R E S S Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/lihir_destiny_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Bainton, Nicholas A. Title: The Lihir destiny [electronic resource] : cultural responses to mining in Melanesia / Nicholas A. Bainton. ISBN: 9781921666841 (pbk.) 9781921666858 (eBook) Series: Asia-pacific environment monographs ; 5. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Lihirians--Social life and customs. Mineral industries--Papua New Guinea--Lihir Island--Social aspects. Lihir Island (Papua New Guinea)--Social life and customs. Dewey Number: 995.805 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU E Press Cover image: Francis Dalawit addressing the crowd during the Roriahat feast in Kunaie village, 2009. Photograph courtesy of David Haigh. Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2010 ANU E Press Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xiii Selected Tok Pisin glossary xvii Selected Lir glossary xix Abbreviations xxiii 1. Introduction: New Lives for Old 1 2. The Presence of the Mine 13 3. Las Kantri: Lihir Before the Mining Era 41 4. Lihir Custom as an Ethnographic Subject 73 5.
    [Show full text]
  • BEYOND the VILLAGE Local Politics in Madang, Papua New Guinea BEYOND the VILLAGE Local Politics in Madang, Papua New Guinea
    r ~ — r LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Papua New Guinea is on the verge of politi­ cal independence and this volume gives im­ portant insights into the way its inhabitants are dealing with the new political institutions that have impinged upon them in the last years of colonial rule. The title suggests both the scope of the book and its main theme: it Beyond is not a study of a single village but of a dis­ trict ; and recent developments have widened the political horizons of its inhabitants in in­ teresting ways. Dr Morauta shows how the the Village people of Madang interpret the institutions of political representation; and her book gives continuity to previous studies, for it also reports on the activities of the now famous cargo cult leader Yali and his sup­ Local Politics in Madang, porters. Yali’s cult has become virtually in­ stitutionalised and provides opportunities that compete with the administration’s poli­ Papua New Guinea tical structures for the individual’s alignment. The author is Lecturer in Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby. \\. rV* ■ LOUISE MORAUTA MONOGRAPHS ON SOCIAL ANTH ROPOLG r ~ — r LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Papua New Guinea is on the verge of politi­ cal independence and this volume gives im­ portant insights into the way its inhabitants are dealing with the new political institutions that have impinged upon them in the last years of colonial rule. The title suggests both the scope of the book and its main theme: it Beyond is not a study of a single village but of a dis­ trict ; and recent developments have widened the political horizons of its inhabitants in in­ teresting ways.
    [Show full text]
  • State and Society in Papua New Guinea Thefirsttwenty
    STATE AND SOCIETY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA T H E F I R S T T W E N T Y - F I V E Y E A R S STATE AND SOCIETY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA T H E F I R S T T W E N T Y - F I V E Y E A R S R. J. M AY THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY E PRESS State and Society in Papua New Guinea E PRESS Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] Web: http://epress.anu.edu.au Previously published by Crawford House Publishing Pty Ltd PO Box 50, Belair, SA 5052 May, R. J. (Ronald James), 1939- . State and society in Papua New Guinea: the first twenty-five years. New ed. Includes index ISBN 1 920942 06 8 ISBN 1 9209420 5 X (online document) 1. Papua New Guinea - Politics and government - 1975- . 2. Papua New Guinea - Social conditions. I. Title. 320.993 All rights reserved. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non- commercial use or use within your organisation. All electronic versions prepared by UIN, Melbourne Cover design by Michael Birch with a photo by R. J. May First edition © 2001 R. J. May This edition © 2004 R. J. May iv Foreword FOREWORD Rt Hon Sir Michael Somare, GCMG, CH, MP A 25th, or silver, anniversary tends to be an occasion for both celebration and reflection. Both activities are apt when, as on the occasion of Papua New Guinea’s 25th anniversary of independence, silver itself has contributed significantly both to national revenue, as the third most valuable metal export, and to one of our greatest national tragedies, the violent conflict in Bougainville between 1989 and 1997.
    [Show full text]
  • Press, Politics and People in Papua New Guinea 1950-1975 by Philip Cass Is Licensed Under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 4.0 International License
    Press,Page 1 politics and people in Papua New Guinea 1950 -1975 Philip Cass As Tingting Bilong ol Politikal Pati BOI: A CORRUPTION, VIA PORTUGESE, OF BHOI, A BEARER OR SERVANT. IN TOK PISIN, A SERVANT, AS STRONGEST TREMOR AT RABAUL IN TWO YEARS ‘KILL VUIA!’ BUNG WANTAIM! WAN BROKE HANDCUFFS SENTENCED FOR HE CRIED As Tingting Bilong ol Politikal Pati PRISON ESCAPE THAT SOME MUST SUFFER FOR THE GREATER GOOD Published in 2014 by Unitec ePress ISBN - 978-1-927214-09-1 Press, Politics and People in Papua New Guinea 1950-1975 by Philip Cass is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Contents Acknowledgements P4 Glossery P6 Chapter 1. The Turning Mirror. P10 Map 1.1 p22 Map 1.2 p23 Chapter 2. Mercenaries, missionaries, misfits and Melanesians. p24 Illustration 2.1 p45 Illustration 2.2 p46 Illustration 2.3 p47 Chapter 3. ‘Kill Vuia! he cried.’ The Rabaul Times and political developments on the Gazelle Peninsula, 1950-59. p48 Illustration 3.1 p71 Illustration 3.2 p72 Illustration 3.3 p73 Chapter 4. 1969: ‘The onus is on us.’ p74 Chapter 5. ‘That some must suffer for the greater good’: p89 The Post-Courier and the Bougainville crisis. Illustration 5.1 p106 Illustration 5.2 p107 Illustration 5.3 p108 Chapter 6. Wanpela tok, wanpela nesen: Tok Pisin, the press and national consciousness in PNG. p109 Table 6.1 p125 Chapter 7. Bung wantaim! Wantok niuspepa and the path to independence, 1970-75. p130 Table 7.1 p143 Table 7.2 p144 Table 7.3 p147 Table 7.4 p147 Illustration 7.1 p150 Illustration 7.2 p151 Illustration 7.3 p152 Illustration 7.4 p153 Chapter 8.
    [Show full text]