A Chicago Tribune article from April 9, 1967, provides a firsthand account of the travel writer, Richard Joseph. Mr. Joseph describes his discovery of New Guinea: “The Place Time Forgot.” He describes his landing on the second largest island in the world. To show its size, he describes it as ten times the size of Scotland and stretches from London to Istanbul. He describes the country as being cut off from the rest of the world until 1933 when the first three white men, prospecting for gold, staggered down from the surrounding mountains.
He compares the then-New Guinea to that of Africa some 300 years prior. Natives are still commonly carrying their spears with their faces painted and nose piercings. He describes the Kukukukus as still hunting heads and stew folks – but they are far off along the coastal wilds. In the highlands, people still get killed but primarily as pay-back murders.
Twenty-five (25) years later, Chuck Flagg, an English teacher in Gilroy California authored an article in the Dispatch (9/13/1996) that tells of Helen Marten and Velma Foreman and their Bible translation and literacy ministry in the densely forested mountainous nation of Papua, New Guinea (PNG). Eighty-two percent of the population supports itself with subsistence agriculture with only one percent of the land being arable! While this article was written in 1996, he describes the two women’s experience beginning in 1961-2. Yes, these two women lived in primitive conditions among the tribe’s people. Helen Marten says, “The rewards of my life far outweigh any discomforts.” Primitive? Just how much? Well, Helen describes, “No electricity, no running water, frequent bouts of malaria, a plane ride away from the nearest hospital. And her diet includes native food such as caterpillars which are turned inside out so they do not scratch your throat.”
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and is located in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands of Melanesia. The western half of the island forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua (formerly Dutch New Guinea). It is one of the largest island countries covering some 178,700 square miles. PNG is split between Oceania and Asia.
The country remains one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. It is one of the most rural as only 18% of its people live in urban centers. There are 851 known languages of which now eleven have no known speakers. (Updated 2023: 839 living languages) One source indicated that PNG is the home to 750 tribes. Most of the people still live in strong traditional social groups based on farming. Since their independence in 1975, their constitution expressly states its intention to maintain the traditional villages and communities as viable units.
The term “papua” is an old term with an uncertain origin. The term “new guinea” was coined by a Spanish explorer, Ynigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545. He found a distinct resemblance of the people to those he had seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. The Portuguese word Guine’ means “land of the blacks.”
In the 18th century, traders brought the “sweet potato” to New Guinea that became a staple in their economy. The sweet potato crop yield was much higher and radically transformed traditional agriculture.
The history of PNG includes headhunting and cannibalism but was almost eradicated by the 20th century. Historically, the practice was tied to rituals of warfare taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls demonstrating past practices. Still, the practice was found in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s with certain social groups according to Marianna Torgovnick in her 1991 writing.
In the 19th century, the country was divided from north to south with the Germans ruling the northern half and the British the southern. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces landed and captured German New Guinea and following the war’s end, the League of Nations authorized Australia to administer the area. The southern half was colonized in 1884 by the British. In the Papua Act of 1905, The United Kingdom transferred the territory to the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia. Until 1949, Papua (north) and New Guinea (south) had entirely separate administrations.
World War II brought the New Guinea campaign to the small island nation (1942-1945). It was one of the major military campaigns between Japan and the Allies with over 200,000 killed during that period. Following WWII, the Allies combined the two territories into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea which became known as “Papua New Guinea.”
Independence was desired by the natives of Papua and appealed to the United Nations for sovereignty. On September 16, 1975, PNG became a Commonwealth realm while continuing to share Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. They became part of the United Nations in October of the same year.
In their early years of independence, instability was commonplace with frequent votes of “no confidence” in its rulers. The country is ruled by a unicameral Parliament with an independent judicial branch.
This young nation continues to experience violence, especially against women. A 2013 study by The Lancet found 27% of men on Bougainville island reported having raped a non-partner. In 1971, an enacted Sorcery Act imposed a penalty of up to two years in prison for the practice of black magic (repealed in 2013). Witches are killed each year in PNG and no protection is granted to LGBT or gay persons.
The eastern half of the island (PNG) has twenty-two divisions that are comprised of twenty provinces along with the autonomous region of Bougainville and the National Capital District (Port Moresby). The western half is called Indonesia
The economy, while agricultural, is rich in natural resources including minerals and renewable resources. Agriculture provides a livelihood for 85% of the population. Minerals and others account for 72% of the exports.
PNG has more languages than any other country that represents 12% of the world’s total. But many have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most widely spoken is Enga with about 200,000 speakers. There are four statutorily recognized languages: English; Pidgin (Tok Pisin); Hiri; and Motu.
Recognizing the fact that there are over 800 languages and many of them without an alphabet or written language, what can we expect? The Constitution of PNG recognizes the freedom of speech, thought, and belief, and no legislation to curb those rights has been adopted. That is good news. According to the 2011 census, 95.6% of the citizens identified themselves as Christians, however, most combine Christian faith with some traditional religious practices. Most (70%) are protestant with Lutherans as the primary denomination. Many still have some animist practices, i.e., elements of veneration of the dead. Others also have a belief in masalai or evil spirits and puripuri or sorcery.
So, what has changed since the decade of 1960? We have seen independence in a large island nation with a mixed ownership background. The nation remains primarily small villages with multiple spoken languages often without a written alphabet or language. Christianity has been introduced and in fact is the vast majority of its residents but often mixed with their own prior religious practices. What we need to see if what impact the written Word of God has done to shine the light of Jesus Christ to those who continue to live in darkness.
On September 11, 2022, a massive (7.6-7.7) earthquake struck PNG in the northern portion of the Morobe province. The quake was deep versus shallow and as such, its effect was felt in Indonesia. A total of twenty-one were killed and forty-two injured, mostly due to landslides. PNG is one of the seismically active areas in the world with an estimate of over one hundred quakes per year over five. Wikipedia report mentioned small airlines and missionary groups assisted in airlifting injured survivors. Praise God for their service.
Bibliography:
The Dispatch, Gilroy California; by Chuck Flagg; “A Language of their Own.” September 13, 1996
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois; by Richard Joseph; “Discover New Guinea: The Place Time Forgot.” April 9, 1967
Papua, New Guinea; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea; 4/3/2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Papua_New_Guinea_earthquake
factsinstitute.com/countries/facts-about-papua-newguinea
Various personal documents from Helen Marten, supplied by Alvina E. Federwitz, Waxhaw, NC.