Introduction to New Guinea Portal
I
lived in the village of Torembi, in north-western PNG for six months or
so in total. I went there first in December-January of 1980-81 and returned
for a similar period in 1981-82. I travelled there with a friend, an ethnomusicologist,
staying in the “haus kiap”-- a building provided for visiting officials.
The latter visited Torembi regularly in "colonial days", but since independence
the government's representative has rarely been able to leave his office
in Wewak. As a result the haus kiap was in urgent need of repair.
The people among whom we
lived were hospitable and generous in the extreme, sharing with us food
items of which they had only a limited supply. They also demonstrated a
wonderful openness, and great patience, in sharing their stories with us
(and ignoring my camera and tape recorder). Special thanks are due to Antonia
Mungun, whom I hounded for days-on-end non-stop -- from her bedside at
dawn to her sago swamp, garden or market place; and back again! Lucas Mapat
was my companion, guard and guide in the bush in 1980-81 and 1981-82. And
Norbert Tapi was "our man in Torembi" in 1994 … and later, in that he collected
the original drafts of the legends.
The highlight of our first
visit was the dedication of a new "Spirit House" in Torembi 3 (a once-in-a-lifetime
experience) and the photos of its opening all date from this time. Most
of the photos of daily life were taken in December/January of 1980-81 and
1981-82. Additional still images were collected in 1994: and the videos
were all taken in June of that year. All photos and recordings were taken
in and around Torembi. The video images were captured using a borrowed
Hi8 camera: the quality is less than perfect but some of the sequences
are unique.
The purpose of the return
trip in 1994 was to resolve questions raised during earlier trips: but
it was also an opportunity to observe changes that had taken place. The
saddest thing was the death in the meantime of several of the "big men"
we had come to know. (The life expectancy of men in PNG is just 54 years!)
They were the custodians of much tribal tradition, including music, and
the community was impoverished by their loss -- since few young men had
been properly initiated.
Faster transport, with
the bridging of the creeks to the north and the availability of a "road"
open intermittently to 4WD vehicles, had allowed the importation of the
beer which has undermined the social fabric of communities elsewhere. Torembi
is unlikely to suffer the degree of violence experienced in the cities
of PNG, but signs of stress were obvious even then. I was not aware in
1994 of any cases of HIV infection, but there may well be some now, for
in recent years the number of people with AIDS in PNG has increased dramatically.
There had also been occasions
when a generator was brought up-river on a motorized canoe, to allow for
the presentation of movies and TV shows on DVD. They, too, are bound to
have an impact on traditional values and culture. And these processes are
likely to continue.
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