Highland Papua New Guinea

- PNG is divided into four regions (Highlands, Islands, Momase and Papua Regions) and these into a total of 20 Provinces

- the Highland Region is composed of five provinces:

* According to the census in 2000. Note: the census is said to be unreliable and there is considerable variation between different sources

Area in km2 Population*

Simbu (2 on map) 6 100 259 703

Eastern Highlands (3) 11 200 432 972

Enga (6) 12 800 295,031

Southern Highlands (15) 23 800 546,265

Western Highlands (17) 8 500 440 025

Total: 1 973 996 (out of 5,670,544)

Basic geographical facts:

- The Highland region is composed of a long string of valleys separated by mountains

- Highest regions receive snowfall, which is unsual in the tropics- the highest mountain is Mt. Wilhelm (4 509 metres, located at the intersection of Simbu,

Western Highland and Madang provinces)

- Enga is the highest province with altitudes of about 2000 metres

- Major rivers: - Enga valleys form the watershed for two river

systems, the Lagaiap and the Lai, which are

tributaries of the major rivers Fly and Sepik

- Putari river (flows through Mendi (capital of

Southern Highlands pr.) )

- Strickland (flows from Wabag (capital of

Enga) into the Fly river)

Basic geographical facts: urban centres

- Kundiawa (capital of Simbu): population about 5000

- Goroka (capital of Eastern Highlands): population about 25 000- home of several national institutes, for example The University of Goroka and the

PNG Instute of Medical Research

- Wabag (capital of Enga): population about 3 300

- Mendi (capital of Southern Highlands): n/a

- Mount Hagen (capital of Western Highlands): population about 40 000- third largest city in PNG

Demographic facts:

- Papua New Guinea is ethnically and linguistically a very diverse country- Over 850 indigenious languages are spoken and there are at least as many

traditional societies, with only about 7000 speakers per language on the avarage- note: only Vanuatu has a higher language density

- This applies also for the Highlands region

- Major languages:- Tok pisin: creole language and the lingua franca of PNG- Enga: both a linguistic and ethnic group

- Enga is a unique case in the PNG, since it is the only major group in the province- other minor ethnic groups in the Enga province are the Ipili and Nete speakers

- Other languages and ethnic groups:- Melpa (Western HL), Huli (Southern HL), Wiru (Southern HL), Kuman (Simbu)*,

etc.

*Trivia: The term "Simbu" comes from the Kuman language and mean roughly translated: "Thank you!"

History

- oldest human remains found in PNG are ca. 50 000 years old and the colonisation is assumed to have happened some 60 000 years ago

- agriculture invented independently ca. 9 000 years ago- traces of drainage ditches found at the sc. Kuk site in the interior Highlands- possibly for cultivating taro (Colocasia esculenta)- skilled techniques of agriculture: adapted to high population density, hilly terrain,

frost, heavy rain and earthquakes- indigenous crops: sugarcane, Pacific bananas, yams, taro, sago and pandanus

- followed later by the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in the 17th century

- tropical horticulture or permaculture

- silviculture- deliberate planting of a native ironwood tree (Casuarina oligodon)

ironwood sweet potato taro

History: colonial adventures

- first Europeans to come to PNG were Spanish or Portuguese navigators in the 16th century

- formal colonisation by the British in various stages from 1883 and placement under the Australian Commonwealth in 1902

- Germany colonised the northeast quarter of the island in 1884, during WWI Australia occupied it and held it until 1921

- under Australian administration until independence in 1975, with the exception of WWII during which the island was occupied by the Japanese (1941-45)

- however: the Highlands remained largely unexplored up until the 1930's- 1933 Leahy brothers find the Wahgi valley in Western Highlands

Economy: agriculture

- agriculture supports the majority of the Highlands population (80-85% of the whole population of PNG)

- subsistence farming, i.e. farmers produce enough for themselves to subsist, but not products for the market

- pig-keeping important, both economically and culturally- exchange of pigs in compensation and bridewealth payments and in large festivals, such as

the Melpa moka or the Enga tee

- today also cash-cropping, the most important cash crops being coffee and tea

Economy: mining

- PNG is very rich in natural resources, especially minerals- these, most notably oil, gold and copper account for 72% of the export earnings

and 26.3 % of the GDP - remember: first Europeans in the Highlands were gold prospectors

- besides of being a major contributor to the GDP, mining is also a big source of both environmental and social problems

- case: Porgera mine in the Enga province- operated since 1990 by a group of companies called Porgera Joint Venture

- release of (treated) waste directly into the Lagaip river system (which flows into Strickland river)

- the waste has according to environmental organisations negative effects on fish stocks, water plants and community health on large area along the rivers

- deaths in the mine area have lead the local landowners to call for the closure of the mine in 2005 until deaths are properly investigated

Porgera mine

B&W photos (c) Jerry Jacka

Further reading:

Classics, ceremonial exchange & warfare:Meggit, Mervyn,1969: Pigs, Pearlshells and Women: Marriage in the New Guinea

Highlands. Englewood Cliffs (NJ): Prentice HallMeggit, Mervyn, 1977: Blood is Their Argument: Warfare among the Mae Enga

Tribesmen of the New Guinea Highlands. Mountain View (CA): MayfieldStrathern, Andrew, 1971: The Rope of Moka: Big-men and Ceremonial Exchange in

Mount Hagen, New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge UPStrathern, Andrew & Strathern, Marilyn, 1971: Self-Decoration in Mount Hagen. Toronto

London: University of Toronto Press

Environment and current issues:Diamond, Jared, 2005: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York:

VikingStrathern, A. & Stewart, P., 2000: Arrow Talk: Transaction, Transition and Contradiction

in New Guinea Highlands Society. Kent (OH): Kent UPWest, Paige: "Environmental Conservation and Mining: Between Experience and

Expectation in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea", The Contemporary Pacific 18.2 (2006) 295-313