Being Modern in Papua New Guinea

The traditional dance of Papua New Guinea's so-called "Bonesmen" is only danced at very large festivals or if tourists pay for it. The bright painted bodies, the spectacular feathers, the masks and the intricate bamboo skirts have long been replaced by a fashion known as "seconhandclos" in the local language. Tribes’ people wear a combination of old clothes from the West.

But despite some changes, a pig is still a pig and a bigman is still a bigman, so long as he owns enough pigs. If somebody wants to be a bigman, a chief or a village head, he has to produce at least five pigs.

"If a man has a pig, he is rich and people respect him," one tribe member named Daniel explained. "If you have lots of pigs, you can also have lots of women. Even today, if you can't pay for the children's school fees, you sell a pig. Pigs are very valuable and they define the status of a man."

Strict hierarchy

The tribal hierarchy in Papua New Guinea is very strict -- the tribe means everything and the individual nothing. If a problem arises with one tribe member, then the whole tribe becomes implicated. The system is called Wantok -- a pidginised version of the English words "one talk".

The idea is that people communicate in the same language and defend themselves and the tribe against outside influences. With thousands of different tribes and over eight hundred indigenous languages, there are often disputes and feuds in Papua New Guinea. Daniel described the pros and cons of Wantok:

"We're used to relying on each other. In emergencies or when you can't get enough money for the bride price before a marriage, there's always someone to help. But the Wantok system has made us lazy because we can always rely on our tribe. Nobody works for his own well-being. We're dependent on each other. However, things are changing -- the churches are teaching people to change their way of life."

Christianity

Often combined with traditional beliefs and practices, Christianity is the main religion of Papua New Guinea, where freedom of speech, thought and belief is protected by the constitution.

Over 90 percent of people belong to a Christian church and religious songs blare out from car radios. The cross is omnipresent. Whether Adventist, Methodist, Baptist, Nazarene or Quaker, free churches are firmly established on the island.

Rudolf Hertle, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, said that "religion determines everything" in the country:

"New Guineans are spiritual people. When they go through the forest, they have all their spirits and their water -- it's all animate. Everything has a sense and its worth -- nothing happens by chance. So people are therefore highly religious -- in everyday situations too. Because to be religious here means to be modern."

So as the world celebrates indigenous people and asks how to reconcile tradition with modernity, it would seem that Papua New Guinea has found Christianity to bridge the gap.