INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type ofcomputer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to beremoved, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. MI48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 The Marine Realm and a Sense of Place Among the Papua New Guinean Communities ofthe Torres Strait A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOGRAPHY MAY 1995 By Donald M. Schug Dissertation Committee: Joseph Morgan, Chairperson Jefferson Fox Brian Murton Nancy Lewis Alice Dewey UMI Number: 9532628 OMI Microform 9532628 Copyright 1995, by OMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 © Copyright by Donald M. Schug 1995 AJIRJgh~Reserved iii --------- ----- - ----- ------ ----------- --- ---- - ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My greatest debt is to the residents of the southwest coast of Papua New Guinea who were so willing to share with me their understandings of the sea. I can't say it was always smooth sailing after I embarked on this research project, but I surely would have been shipwrecked early on without the navigational assistance of my committee members, Drs. Joseph Morgan, Jefferson Fox, Nancy Lewis, Alice Dewey and Brian Murton. Among the other individuals deserving special thanks are Mr. Billai Laba, one could not hope for a more knowledgeable and generous shipmate, and Dr. John Cordell for whom I will never be able to "shout" enough tankards of grog to express my gratitude. Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Sonja Brodt, my Pharos and truly one of the wonders of the world. iv ABSTRACT Using the geographical concept of place this dissertation examines the subjective understandings and emotional attachments the inhabitants of the northern coast of the Torres Strait possess with regard to the marine realm. For the communities under study a sense of place is grounded in a broad range of socio-historical developments. Of fundamental importance are shared notions about the origins of distant ancestors and their deeds. Oral histories, songs and place names preserve and celebrate the memory of these revered forebears. In addition, ceremonies and rituals as well as everyday practices such as the exploitation of resources for subsistence and trade have had the reciprocal effect of enhancing and reinforcing local inhabitants' feelings of connectedness to the marine sphere. A sense of place is also derived from a long involvement in the commercial fisheries of the Torres Strait. For more than a century local residents have been engaged in commercial fishing, both as wage laborers and independent producers, and the act of earning a livelihood in the marine industry is regarded today as an integral part of their heritage. Close social bonds continue to exist among the various groups that comprise the traditional inhabitants of the Torres Strait, but there exits fundamental differences in the ways groups relate to the marine environment. Recent economic and political events in the region, most notably the imposition of the maritime border between Australia and Papua New Guinea, have accentuated these differences. A marine resource management program in the Torres Strait that endeavors to provide for the full and direct participation of local communities can only succeed if opportunities are created for communities to v communicate to each other their different values. goals and aspirations with respect to the Torres Strait and its resources. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments iv Abstract v List of Tables x List of Figures xi Chapter I Introduction 1 The Concept of Place.. 4 Place, Meaning and Identity 5 Place as a Social Construct 9 Place and Power 11 Place and Language 14 Place and oral narrative 15 Place and place names 18 Place and song 19 Non-verbal expressions of place 21 Research Questions 22 Analytical Framework 23 Study Site and Field Methods 25 Field Site Visits 27 Archival Research 29 Ethical Considerations and Questions of Accuracy 29 Organization of Study 32 Notes 33 Chapter II Bio-Physical Setting 34 Human Settlement Prior to European Contact 37 Theories Regarding the Origin of the Indigenous Inhabitants 38 Pre-Contact Social Organization and Economic Structure 40 Historical Overview of Regional Events Following European Settlement 45 Development of the Marine Fishing Industry Prior to the Second WorId War 46 Arrival of Christian Missionaries 50 Territorial Expansion of Queensland 53 Colonization of Southeast New Guinea 54 Negotiation of the Queensland Border 59 Establishment of the International Boundary Between Papua New Guinea and Australia 65 Notes 67 vii Chapter III Introduction 71 Ownership and Transmission of Oral Histories 73 The Ancestral Legacy 75 An Ancestral Typology 75 The Ancestral Landscape 78 Ancestral Lore 81 Oral Histories and Social Relations 84 Extended Clan Relations 86 Inter-Village Marriage and Abduction 87 Discussion 89 Notes 91 Chapter IV Introduction 94 Maritime Technology 94 Inter-Community Trade 98 Exploitation of Marine Resources 101 Early Accounts of Marine Territories 102 Contemporary Accounts of Village Claims to Marine Areas 104 Claims to Reef Areas by Clans 108 Claims to Distant Fishing Grounds 110 Definition of Marine Resource Use Rights and Rights Holders 112 Inter-Community Conflicts over Marine Territories 115 Defense of Marine Territories 117 Ceremonial Activities Associated with the Sea 121 The Agurlian Tere Ceremony 122 Rituals Associated with Zek 124 The Fishing Ceremony of Bewan 126 Rituals Related to Dugong 127 Discussion 131 Notes 133 Chapter V Introduction 136 Early Involvement of Papuans in the Marine Industry 137 Regulation of Native Labor 139 Working Conditions Aboard the Luggers 142 General Hardships of Shipboard Life 143 Effects of Disease on Papuan Laborers 146 Corrective Health Measures Taken by Colonial Officials 148 Wages and Other Forms of Remuneration 151 Levels of Recruitment of Papuans 153 Village Production in the Marine Industry 164 Articulation of the Cash Economy with Village Life 169 viii Participation in the Marine Industry by Estuarine and Inland Villages 175 Alternative Sources of Cash Income 177 Discussion 178 Notes 180 Chapter VI Introduction 185 The Marine Industry Following the Second World War 186 Islander Domination of the Marine Industry 188 The Social Context of the Recruitment of Papuan Labor 191 Working Conditions Aboard Islander-Operated Vessels 193 The Emergence of the Crayfish Fishery 195 Negotiation of the Torres Strait Treaty 196 The Yam Island Meeting 197 The Darn Meeting 201 The Marine Industry Following the Signing of the Torres StraitTreaty 203 Enforcement of Fisheries Regulations in the Protected Zone 209 Crayfish Harvesting and Home Reefs 213 Maza Wildlife Management Area 216 Discussion 219 Notes 223 Chapter VII Summary of Findings 230 The Spatial Character of Customary Marine Tenure 232 Conceptions of Tradition 235 The Indigenous Viewpoint 239 Implications for Community-Based Marine Resource Management 241 Notes 244 Appendix I. Principle Clans by Village 246 Appendix II. Oral Histories 248 Appendix III. Place Names on the Warrior Reef 298 Appendix IV. Songs of the Torres Strait Marine Industry 301 References 314 ix LIST OF TABLES 1. Villages and Clans that Claim a Relationship with an Ancestor who was Associated with a Torres Strait island 72 2. Number of Men Engaged in the Marine Industry Based at Thursday Island, by Year and Ethnic Group 154 3. Number of Crayfish Diving Trips, by Village of Head-Diver and Harvest Site 215 x LIST OF FIGURES 1. Major Islands and Reefs of the Torres Strait 2 2. Locations and Language Group Affiliations of the Villages Included in the Study 26 3. Locations of the Queensland Boundary and Proposed Revisions During the Colonial Era 60 4. Locations of the Fisheries and Seabed Jurisdiction Lines and the Boundaries of the Protected Zone Established Under the Torres StraitTreaty ' 66 5. Locations of a Number of the "Home Reefs" Claimed by Various Villages 105 6. Locations of Some of the Villages Engaged in the Trade of Dugong Products 128 7. Approximate Locations of Some of the Sites on the Warrior Reef of Significance to Katatai and Kadawa Villages 298 8. Approximate Locations of Some of the Sites on the Warrior Reef of Significance to Tureture Village (from Eley 1987) 299 9. Approximate Locations of Some of the Sites on the Warrior Reef of Significance to Mabudauan Village 300 xi CHAPTER I I know of no part of the world, the exploration of which is so flattering to the imagination, so likely to be fruitful in interesting results, whether to the naturalist, the ethnologist or the geographer J.