PRE-EUROPEAN PNG; How Primitive Was PNG?

Discover Magazine 2019

By Menom Barok 


When PNG was seen through the eyes of Europeans 500 years ago, the outsiders described it as a "primitive" paradise, a place lost in the midst of time & dream.

The question is, what level of definition did the foreigners used to descibe PNG as primitive? If they used sailing ships and powdered guns as a measure of civilization against outrigger canoes and bows & arrows, then their definition was totally biased and racist. If they use their English as a measure of sophistication against our 800 tribal tongues, then their definition of primitive was too shallow, bigoted and chauvinistic.

The European definition of primitive was a parochial view basing upon the simplistic feature of a material good, and not its ergonomical value. Their capitalistic approach defined Law in paper contracts, and not as an agreement by heart of the social justice systems signed by a string of moral philosopies.

Prior to European encroachment of our land, PNG was a country comprising of well established domains and interconnected systems of societal orders.

The rule of survival of our fore-fathers revolved around evolving agriculture technigues (irrigation); face-value barter economy, a vast library of nomenclature in well-connected multi-lingual jurisdictions; pluralistic clan politics; fire & mineral (obsidian & painting clay) technology; high level verbal and non-verbal communication platforms (story telling & smoke signals); and intricate galore of arts and crafts all encompassed into the Melanesian Ideology.

All in all, the multi-faceted labyrinth of activities such as poetry, hunting, brideprice, leadership, time measurement (studying of moon phases), war, trade & spiritualism all had set out the road map for our stringent moral compass.

Under these varied cultural, political, economic, social and lingual lineages, our forefathers may had not been able to build a tower of babel, but they had built a sanctuary of hopes and dreams for their children.

History itself become prejudiced not by chance, but by choice. Western literatures today will have to write down a whole new text book to justify their opinionated theory of how primitive PNG was back then.

If Europeans today define primitive upon practicalities of concepts, they will be shocked to find that Google and Facebook will never assemble a PNG village for a meeting effeciently and cost-effectively than through the sound of a kundu drum.