Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/803927

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Title
United and divided: Christianity, tradition and identity in two South Coast Papua New Guinea villages
Author/Creator
Goddard, Michael;  Van Heekeren, Deborah
Description
The Motu and the Hula, two south coast Papua New Guinea societies, are linguistically related, have similar social organisation and were economically linked before European colonisation. They were both introduced to Christianity by the London Missionary Society in the late 19th century, and each appeared to incorporate the new religion into their social life and thought quickly and unproblematically. More than a century later, however, generalities about the similar adoption of Christianity by the Motu and the Hula are no longer possible. Nor are generalities about the engagement with Christianity within one or the other group, as individual Motu and Hula villages have unique histories. In this regard, while Christianity has now arguably become part of putative tradition among the Motu, some Hula are experiencing conflict between Christianity and their sense of tradition. In particular, while in the Motu village of Pari Christian virtues are appealed to as part of Pari's conception of itself as a 'traditional' Motu village, the situation in the Hula village of Irupara is more or less the contrary. Many people in Irupara are now lamenting 'tradition' as something lost, a forgotten essence destroyed or replaced by Christianity. Based on fieldwork in both villages, this paper discusses some differences in their engagement with Christianity and compares contemporary perceptions of religion, tradition and identity in both societies, informing a commentary on notions of tradition and anthropological representations of the Melanesian experience of Christianity.
Relation
The Australian Journal of Anthropology Vol. 14, Issue 2, p. 144-159
Publisher Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-9310.2003.tb00227.x
Date
2003
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
Keyword(s)
Papua New Guinea societies;  Christianity;  tradition;  religion
Resource Type
journal article
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/803927
Identifier
ISSN:1035-8811
Language
eng
Reviewed
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Subject
"The Australian Journal of Anthropology"
 
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