Culture Change and Ex-Change: Syncretism and Anti-Syncretism in Bena, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea

314 Pages·2017·2.54 MB·English

by  Regina Knapp

Culture Change and Ex-Change
Person, Space and Memory in the Contemporary Pacifi c
Series editors: Prof. Jürg Wassmann (University of Heidelberg, Institute of
Anthropology), Dr. Verena Keck (Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute of Anthropology)
Advisory board: Prof. Pierre R. Dasen (University of Geneva, Department of
Anthropology of Education and Cross-Cultural Psychology), Prof. Donald H.
Rubinstein (University of Guam, Director of the Micronesian Area Research
Center), Prof. Robert Tonkinson (The University of Western Australia, Department of An-
thropology), Prof. Peter Meusburger (University of Heidelberg, Department of Economic
and Social Geography), Prof. Joachim Funke (University of Heidelberg, Department of
Psychology)
The many different localities of the Pacifi c region have a long history of transformation,
under both pre- and postcolonial conditions. More recently, rates of local transformation
have increased tremendously under postcolonial regimes. Yet, until now, research has con-
centrated on the macro- or culturally specifi c aspects of globalization, while neglecting
actual actors and their perspectives of social change. This series supplements earlier work
through the integration of cultural research with psychological methodologies, linguistics,
geography, and cognitive science.
Volume 1
Experiencing New Worlds
Jürg Wassmann and Katharina Stockhaus
Volume 2
Person and Place: Ideas, Ideals and Practice of Sociality on Vanua Lava, Vanuatu
Sabine C. Hess
Volume 3
Landscapes of Relations and Belonging: Body, Place and Politics in Wogeo,
Papua New Guinea
Astrid Anderson
Volume 4
Foodways and Empathy: Relatedness in a Ramu River Society, Papua New Guinea
Anita von Poser
Volume 5
Biomedical Entanglements: Conceptions of Personhood in a Papua New Guinea Society
Franziska A. Herbst
Volume 6
Culture Change and Ex-Change: Syncretism and Anti-Syncretism in Bena, Eastern High-
lands, Papua New Guinea
Regina Knapp
Volume 7
Selfhood and Recognition: Melanesian and Western Accounts of Relationality
Anita Galuschek
Culture Change and Ex-change
Syncretism and Anti-Syncretism in Bena,
Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Regina Knapp
berghahn
N E W Y O R K • O X F O R D
www.berghahnbooks.com
First published in 2017 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com
©2017 Regina Knapp
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Knapp, Regina, author.
Title: Culture change and ex-change : syncretism and anti-syncretism in Bena, Eastern
Highlands, Papua New Guinea / Regina Knapp.
Other titles: Culture change and exchange
Description: New York : Berghahn Books, 2017. | Series: Person, space and memory in
the contemporary Pacifi c ; volume 6 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017019198 (print) | LCCN 2017022874 (ebook) | ISBN
9781785333859 (e-book) | ISBN 9781785333842 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Benabena (Papua New Guinean people)—Social life and customs. |
Social change—Papua New Guinea—Eastern Highlands Province. | Ethnology—
Papua New Guinea—Eastern Highlands Province. | Eastern Highlands Province
(Papua New Guinea) —Social life and customs.
Classifi cation: LCC DU740.42 (ebook) | LCC DU740.42 .K517 2017 (print) | DDC
305.899/12—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019198
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78533-384-2 Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-78533-385-9 Ebook
Dem Einzelnen bleibe die Freiheit, sich mit dem zu beschäftigen, was ihn
anzieht, was ihm Freude macht, was ihm nützlich deucht; aber das eigentliche
Studium der Menschheit ist der Mensch.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Die Wahlverwandtschaften

Contents
Maps and Photographs viii
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations and Note on Foreign Terms xiv
Introduction: Culture Change and Exchange 1
Chapter 1. Bena Stories, Histories, and Sociality 31
Chapter 2. Unexpected Actions and Strategic Exchanges:
Leadership, Warfare, and Economy 64
Chapter 3. In Exchange with the World: The Concept
of Person in Bena 99
Chapter 4. Changing and Exchanging: Head Payments and
Life-Cycle Rituals 124
Chapter 5. Magical Practices and their Transformations
in Modern Bena 162
Chapter 6. Sanguma: The “Essence-Suckers” 199
Chapter 7. In Exchange with God: Christianity
in Modern Bena 222
Chapter 8. Expect the Unexpected: Scientology
in Napamogona 257
Conclusion 273
References 284
Index 296
Maps and Photographs
Map 0.1: Papua New Guinea 30
Map 1.1: Eastern Highland language groups 32
Figure 1.1: View over Napamogona grounds 33
Figure 1.2: Inaku’e Takis, Napamogona, 2012 61
Figure 1.3: Tau Farakove, Napamogona, 2005 61
Figure 1.4: David Papua’e, explaining useful plants, Napamogona,
2012 62
Figure 1.5: Tani Iyape prepares the earth oven, Napamogona, 2013 62
Figure 1.6: Esi Papua’e at the bus stop on her way to the market
in town. Napamogona Junction, 2013 63
Figure 2.1: Tapioca garden in Napamogona 85
Figure 2.2: Market bilum with peanuts 87
Figure 2.3: Sunrise in Napamogona 88
Figure 2.4: Pineapple garden in Napamogona 89
Figure 2.5: Piglet 98
Figure 4.1: Mumupit 158
Figure 4.2: Body decoration for female initiation, Asaroyufa 159
Figure 4.3: Red coloring 160
Figure 4.4: Coloring 161
Figure 4.5: Processing to exchange 161
Figure 8.1: David Papua’e, 2013 272
Figure 9.1: Tree near Tani Iyape’s house, Napamogona 283
Acknowledgements
Developing and writing this book reminds me of working a huge new garden
in Papua New Guinea. First, one defi nes the piece of land, then prepares the
ground, digs the earth, and plants the seeds. The weeds are cleared, and the
crops are trimmed as they grow. All of this is, most importantly, collaborative
work in which many people participate and cooperate until, fi nally, the plants
are harvested.
Like garden work in my fi eldsite, the process of researching and writing
depended on the cooperation of many persons of whom I can name only some
here. They nurtured and shaped my ideas and contributed to the results in
many ways.
First, I would like to thank my biological family. My parents Walter and
Waltraut Knapp and my brother Michael Knapp have been incredibly sup-
portive, not only through their fi nancial generosity but also their emotional
and psychological sensitivity. I am indeed grateful to have such a wonderful
family who believe in me, and who enabled me to pursue my interests and
were always there to help me if necessary.
I also wish to express my gratitude to my Papua New Guinean relatives and
friends—and here the list is long. The people of Napamogona allowed me to
stay with them and to participate in their lives, and they adopted me into their
community. My very special thanks therefore go to the fi ve clans that make up
the Napamogona tribe: Sigoyalobo, Napayufa, Jogijohi, Mekfi mo, and Mata-
husa. I know that it is not easy to take on the responsibility for a white woman,
and I am most grateful to the Napamogona for their openness, support, and
readiness to commit themselves to our relationship. In this respect, I want to
mention some of the persons who are particularly close to me. First, there is
my adopted Bena mother. She asked me not to reveal her real name in this
book, so I call her Mama Polako. Mama Polako introduced me to my fi eldsite,
offered me a home, and has really become a second mother to me. The years
I spent with her were wonderful, and I cannot express in words how grateful
I am to her. Her relative Tau Farokave became my adoptive father, and I want
to thank him very much for his companionship and guidance during most of
my research. He gave me land, assured my safety, provided food, and took
me around to introduce me to many people. He taught me a lot about Bena
culture. I thank him for his never-ending patience in answering my questions
and for discussing different perspectives on cultural matters. I further want