Sorcery and Warfare in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea Tobias Schwoerer University of Lucerne, Switzerland / Australian National University This is a Post-print version of the following article: Schwoerer, Tobias. 2017. Sorcery and Warfare in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Oceania 87(3):317-336. Which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ocea.5173/full ABSTRACT Sorcery and warfare are closely interrelated in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. In contrast to other areas of the Highlands, sorcery in large parts of the Eastern Highlands is held to be an exclusively male domain, and violent retribution for deaths attributed to sorcery is primarily directed against other communities. Sorcery accusations thus have the tendency to escalate to large-scale inter-group warfare often causing additional casualties. Sorcery beliefs have undergone changes during the colonial and postcolonial era, with new forms of sorcery proliferating, and the zones of safety from sorcery shrinking due to demographic and economic changes. Sorcery accusations were triggers for the resumption of warfare during the late 1970s and 1980s, and they remain pertinent to outbreaks of hostilities today. In fact, the majority of armed conflicts between 1975 and 2006 among a sample of Fore, Auyana and Tairora communities in the Okapa and Obura-Wonenara districts of the Eastern Highlands Province are connected to sorcery beliefs and sorcery accusations. These sorcery accusations are the result of uneven economic development and failure to deliver basic social services. When violence is threatened, local leaders try to mediate the hostility, but the state seems unable to offer alternatives for the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Keywords: Sorcery, Warfare, War, Conflict settlement, Fore, Auyana, Tairora, Eastern Highlands Province INTRODUCTION In large parts of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, sorcery is held to be an exclusively male domain, and violent retribution for deaths attributed to sorcery is primarily directed against other communities, and not necessarily against specific individuals. Sorcery- related violence thus has the propensity to spiral out of control, escalating to large-scale inter- group warfare often causing further casualties. This state of affairs contrasts starkly with the recent international attention on witchcraft-related killings in Papua New Guinea (Aljazeera 2014; Chandler 2013), in which angry mobs single out usually defenceless (and often but not exclusively female) victims from within the community and torture them to death (Jorgensen 2014). In the flurry of recent publications on sorcery, witchcraft and violence in Papua New Guinea, there had been attempts to distinguish between different forms of beliefs in sorcery and 1 witchcraft, and it has been shown that a belief in sorcery or witchcraft does not automatically lead to violence (Forsyth and Eves 2015:9; Hermkens 2015; Oppermann 2016). What has so far been not adequately addressed, however, is that different forms of belief in sorcery and witchcraft can and do lead to different forms of violence. In this article, I focus on the under-studied nexus between sorcery and inter-group armed conflict. While the interrelation between sorcery and warfare has long been demonstrated in accounts of precolonial Eastern Highlands society (Berndt 1962; Hayano 1973; Robbins 1982), relatively little is known about today’s situation. I first present an overview of precolonial sorcery beliefs and their connections with precolonial warfare in the Eastern Highlands based on the rich ethnographic literature on the topic, and then describe changes in these configurations throughout the colonial period and up to the postcolonial present. Based on ethno-historical fieldwork in four communities in the Okapa and Obura-Wonenara districts, I examine how sorcery and sorcery accusations are important triggers for the resurgence of contemporary warfare in the Eastern Highlands in the late 1970s until now, and indicate the underlying causes for these conflicts. Lastly, I elucidate the difficulties and challenges local leaders face in trying to mediate and mitigate such conflicts. My intention is to stress how absolutely crucial it is to understand the broader historical-cultural background behind any sorcery- or witchcraft-related violence and to be aware of regional and local differences in order to meet the challenge of responding to and preventing sorcery-related acts of violence. SORCERY IN THE PRECOLONIAL SETTING The Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea are characterized by an abundance of beliefs in different types of sorcery. These types of sorcery can be categorized according to the different techniques used to cause physical harm or death (see Table 1). A first category encompasses different forms of leavings sorcery, in which bodily substances (like semen, faeces, hair, fingernails or spittle), food scraps or other objects in close bodily contact with the target person are wrapped in bundles together with other sorcery substances. These bundles are then variously beaten, roasted over a fire or buried in mud. The well-known sorcery technique called Kuru among the Fore is such a case. A second category consists of forms of direct ‘poisoning’ through contact or ingestion, in which certain magical substances (which might not be poisonous in a scientific sense) are brought into contact with the skin of the victim, applied to arrows used in war, or mixed with water, food or tobacco. A third category consists of different forms of what I decided to call ‘projectile sorcery,’ in which sorcery utensils are aimed at a target person, and a harmful substance or object is magically shot into the body of the victim. This and the preceding technique can also take the form of ‘sorcery traps,’ in which a harmful object or substance is hidden on a footpath or in a house, releasing its harmful contents when a person approaches it. A fourth category includes different kinds of soul assassination, in which the soul of the victim is typically ensnared or trapped in small animals like rats or lizards, which are then killed. And lastly there is the category of assault sorcery, in which sorcerers physically attack a person and knock the victim unconscious. The sorcerers then insert needles into various parts of the body, or cut open the belly and remove internal organs before closing it up again, and send the victim home to die within a specified timeframe determined by the sorcerers. All cultures in the Eastern Highlands know several or all of these different categories, and the 2 distinctively named types of sorcery could number as high as sixteen among the Fore (Lindenbaum 1979:60-64) or twenty among the Kamano (Levine 1977:196). Ethnic Leavings Poisoning Projectile Sorcery Traps Soul Assault Group Sorcery Sorcery Assassination Sorcery Agarabi Imusa Yana Afa (Westermark (Westermark (Westermark 1981:92) 1981:92) 1981:93) Auyana Taeta (Robbins Uwa’a Sa’a, Tira’a (own 1982:28-29, (Robbins introduced fieldwork) name from own 1982:28-29) from Tairora fieldwork) (own fieldwork) Awa Mu’tah, Ka’pori, Ka’pori No name Tirah (Boyd Tu’keshah, Ahwonah (Newman recorded 1996:46; Nau’pwe, (Boyd 1996:46; 1972:292) (Hayano Newman Agogwe’e Hayano 1973:184- 1972:292) (Boyd 1996:46; 1973:184; 185) Hayano Newman 1973:184; 1972:291-292) Newman 1972:292) Benabena Imusa (Johannes Lipi’na, Nami, Nalisa, Keyakapo Gu’nakafe’i 1976:127-128) Giyo’na, Gupa’nalisa, (Johannes (Johannes Mayayanakofa’i, Kleotahi, 1976:133- 1976:132- Mula’mula Yahafeya, 134) 133) (Johannes Uwatagohi, 1976:124-126, Logo’nalisa, 135-137) Lakegusa’i, Yasasalihi, Nakofa’i (Johannes 1976:138-145) Dano No name Nasu’imbiribe, No name Gini’mutu recorded Rangusunu recorded Hibe (Newman (Newman (Newman (Newman 1962:92-99) 1962:91-92, 1962:100) 1962:91) 99-100) Fore Imusa, Kuru, Karaina (Bamler Nankiri Tokabu (North) Tugezajana, 1963:142-143) (Bamler (Berndt Kukubari 1963:145) 1962:223- (Berndt 228; Bamler 1962:214-223; 1963:131- Bamler 132) 1963:127-128) Fore Imusa, Kuru, Karena, Yanda, Kai, Kesena, Tokabu (South) Ambelaga Kio, Yentagio, Nankili, Agai’inkina, (Lindenbaum Kio’ena Aiya’kio, Kanine Aiya’kio Agai-ikio 1979:60) (Lindenbaum (Lindenbaum (Lindenbaum (Lindenbaum 1979:60-63) 1979:61-64) 1979:60-64) 1979:62-63) Tauwa (Lindenbaum 2013:191) Gadsup Yandabitini, Koi’edan, Uwa Wandim Oyi (Du (Du Toit 1975:139-140) 3 Toit 1975:138, 141) Gahuku- No name Gama recorded (Read (Alekano) 1954:27, 1986:206) Gimi Rubesekena Anarisa (Glick No name No name Rubakina (Gillison 1963:115) recorded (Glick recorded (Gillison 1993:312-314; 1963:115-116) (Glick 1993:305- Glick 1963:115) 1963:116) 306; Glick 1963:118- 120) Kamano Imusa Karana, Amako Kerifa Afa & Kafe (Zuckerman Muramura (Zuckerman (Zuckerman 1984:181; (modern form of 1984:182), 1984:182- Levine sorcery) Abo’taga, Ufa, 183; Levine 1977:195) (Zuckerman Iyana (Levine 1977:195) 1984:181-182; 1977:194) Levine 1977:196) Keyagana Nami (Bamler Narisa, Sipika, No name Tunakafe & Kanite 1963:142-143) Tuki, Yofeseku recorded (Bamler (Bamler (Bamler 1963:131- 1963:145-147) 1963:138) 132) Siane Kimfi Hiyaiye (Salisbury 1965:58) Tairora Irama (Johnson Tuhi (Johnson Tuhi (Johnson Sa’a (own Tukab, 1980:27-28; 1980:27-28; 1980:28; fieldwork) introduced Mayer 1987:83- Mayer 1987:84), Mayer from the Fore 84; Watson Kyavundarura 1987:84) and Auyana 1983:317-320) (Johnson (Johnson 1980:28), Ha’a 1980:27; (own fieldwork) Watson 1983:195; own fieldwork) Yagaria No name Kembige (Meigs recorded (Smith 1976:396; Smith 1981:58) 1981:58) Yate Naglisa Tunakafe (Berndt (Bamler 1962:216-217) 1963:131- 132) Table 1: Sorcery techniques and their local names in the Eastern Highlands 4 N Madang Province Dano Gahuku- Simbu Morobe Siane Gama Province Province Goroka Benabena Kamano & Agarabi Kafe Kainantu Yagaria Yate Gadsup Keyagana & Kanite Tairora Gimi Auyana Fore Awa 10km Figure 1: Ethnic Groups of the Eastern Highlands Province What is common to all these different types of sorcery is that throughout most parts of the Eastern Highlands they are all performed exclusively by men.