Following Buai The highlands betel nut trade, Papua New Guinea Timothy L. M. Sharp A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The Australian National University December 2012 I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own investigations, and where I have drawn on the work of others, due acknowledgement has been made. The text is no longer than 100,000 words. Timothy L. M. Sharp ii Abstract This thesis is the first detailed geographic and ethnographic study of Papua New Guinea’s thriving betel nut trade. It tells the story of the trade of betel nut into the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), and examines the daily lives and interactions of the diverse collection of participants involved in the trade – the ‘betel people’ – and how they have contributed to the making of a flourishing, contemporary and indigenous market. Betel nut is a stimulant that has long been produced, exchanged and consumed throughout lowland PNG, but was absent from the pre-colonial highlands. Since the 1960s increasing numbers of highlanders have started chewing betel nut which has given rise to a long-distance wholesale trade that connects rural lowland producers to the highland consumers. Betel nut is now the country’s most important domestic cash crop, and its sale and resale is a prominent, and potentially lucrative, livelihood activity for rural and urban people in both the lowlands and the highlands. This thesis is based on thirteen months nomadic ethnographic fieldwork in which betel nut, and the actors that shape its trajectory, was followed from the lowland production areas into the highland marketplaces and beyond. I document the considerable scale and complexity of the trade, the efflorescence of intermediaries within it, and the high level of specialisation amongst its actors. ‘Following’ betel nut and betel people also foregrounds the importance of social relationships, and the associated processes of inclusion and exclusion, to shaping the structure and the dynamics of the trade. The highly competitive and opportunistic nature of the trade leads betel people to transact in the same places and often with the same people, and it encourages them to cultivate and nurture those relationships which provide security and enable access in new places. Betel people trade to make money, but I suggest that trade relationships regularly overflow the marketplace. Further, the transactions within the trade are routinely conceptualised as more than simple commodity transfers. I also seek to frame the trade in relation to the power asymmetries between different actors, and emphasise the diverse manifestations of cooperation and competition in trade negotiations. Drawing on the growing literature within geography and anthropology concerned with the social embeddedness of ‘economic’ activity, this research emphasises that the making of markets is a dynamic and contested process, one that is always spatial, grounded in particular places. In doing so it contributes to better understanding marketplaces, livelihoods, and the creation of alternative modernities in contemporary PNG. The betel nut trade is full of contradictions and tensions, but also the aspirations of a great number of ‘grassroot’ Papua New Guineans. iii To my father, Neil Sharp, to whom I am forever indebted for instilling in me my interest in geography and in other cultures. To all those who have died in search of green gold. iv Acknowledgements The multi-sited and nomadic nature of this research means that I am deeply indebted to a great number of people. I owe my greatest gratitude to the many ‘betel people’ who were so generous with their time and knowledge. They incorporated me into their daily lives, answered my many questions, allowed me to travel with them, ensured my safe-keeping, accommodated and fed me, took me to their gardens, guided me through the marketplaces, taught me to chew, and showed me great kindness. Thank you to all the people of Kaiwei marketplace who endured my surveys and who shared with me their enthusiasm for betel nut. This research has benefited greatly from the guidance and valuable contributions of my supervisory and advisory panel. I would like to particularly thank Bryant Allen and Mike Bourke for their enthusiasm for this research and for sharing with me their vast knowledge of PNG. Bryant Allen has been crucial in moulding this thesis; his well grounded advice, interest in my empirics, and our many discussions have made for a much richer thesis. I am greatly appreciative of Mike Bourke’s practical guidance, his careful readings, and the regular day to day interactions that have all made important contributions to the thesis. Matthew Allen has also provided invaluable comments on the whole thesis, providing much needed inspiration and direction at an important period of my writing. I am grateful for the encouragement and assistance of Katherine Gibson during the early stages of the research. Mark Mosko provided insightful comments on a number of important chapters. Kate Barclay, Geoff Buchanan, Steffen Dalsgaard, Richard Eves, Darja Hoenigman, Robin Hide, Fiona McCormack, Scott MacWilliam, Rene Provis and Crosbie Walsh read and provided valuable feedback on parts of the writing. Robin Hide has also given me considerable help over the years. Thanks to Aung Si for his translation. I have benefitted from discussions with Glenn Banks, John Burton, Scott Flower, Eric Hirsch, Joseph Ketan, Jeff Kinch, Birte Komolong, Chris Owen, Max Quanchi, Michelle Senn and Paige West. This research was funded by a Commonwealth Government of Australia Australian Postgraduate Award, with additional support from the Department of Human Geography, and the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the Australian National University. In Papua New Guinea the research was affiliated with the National Research Institute and the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). I am grateful to NARI for the use of an office and v other resources, and for the considerable support they provided during fieldwork. I am appreciative of Sergei Bang and Raghunath Ghodake for supporting my affiliation. The Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) in Goroka and Mt. Hagen also provided support. Thank you to all the NARI and FPDA staff, and their families, for their friendship and help. Sharryl Ivahupa, Manasseh Malakai, Mark Tinah and Rene Provis all greatly assisted me during fieldwork. I am particularly thankful to Jesse Anjen for his valuable contribution to one of the Mt. Hagen marketplace surveys. I received field assistance from innumerable people, and I am particularly thankful to Rodwells Hangiri, Ruth Mau, Pale Mondo, Jameson Nukundi, Sebastian Pandia, Immanuel Pena, Anton Pinzen and Stanley Yowano. I am also grateful to Seniorl Anzu, David Brown, Sjoerd Jongerius, John and Elizabeth Sowei (and family), John and Rachel Burton (and family), Tres and Andrew Pandia (and family), Angelina and George, and the staff of New Town Lodge. Over the year I slept in more beds than I can count, and to all those who provided them I am exceedingly thankful. Thanks also to Pip Healey, Callum Sharp and Elizabeth Sowei for nursing me through the early days of dengue fever. Thank you to the National Statistics Office, Lutheran Shipping, Rabaul Shipping, Air Niugini, and Gary Dowse and his colleagues for allowing me to use their data. Thank you to those people that assisted with my requests. Many students and staff of the former Department of Human Geography (ANU), the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (ANU), and the ANU more generally, have been a source of inspiration, stimulation, advice and encouragement. Richard Eves, Michelle Carnegie, Ann Hill, Rebecca Monson and Gerda Roelvink deserve special mention. Thank you also to those people who signed off on and facilitated my numerous extensions of program. Jenny Sheehan from Cartographic and GIS Services (ANU) produced the maps and figures that so richly contribute to the thesis. I am also grateful for the assistance of Mike Bourke and Tracy Harwood, and for their permission to use figures and data from Food and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea. This thesis has greatly benefitted from the editorial contribution and friendship of Zoe Lee. Throughout the Ph.D process Pyone Myat Thu has provided immeasurable assistance and motivation. Her ideas, generosity and friendship are greatly valued. vi My family and friends have been an immense source of support and encouragement throughout the thesis. Having a life away from the Ph.D has made this thesis journey much easier and more enjoyable. I have appreciated every ride, paddle, hike, chat and dinner. I am also grateful for the numerous empathetic ears and words of advice on the Ph.D experience. Lastly, to Madeleine Fletcher for her innumerable contributions to the thesis, and to whom I am eternally indebted for her love and patience. vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... viii List of Maps ..................................................................................................................................... xiii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... xiii List