Papua New Guinea

Abstract

We begin with the country’s capital city, Port Moresby, as it appears on arrival and subsequently both to the anthropologist and to indigenous migrants from rural Highlands areas. We move to the importance of the field house and its emplacement, mentioning classic accounts by Malinowski and Evans-Pritchard. We discuss two field locations, at Mbukl and Kuk, among the Kawelka people of Mount Hagen and their noted leader, Ongka-Kaepa, indicating also how concepts of time have been influenced by government and mission practices. Among Duna speakers of Lake Kopiago we enter the area by a day’s walk from the airstrip or by helicopter. On one arrival our friends told us about fears of witchcraft attacks, based on jealousy of wealth, an important theme among the Duna.