58 Re-uniting Students with Elders in PNG

Reuniting With Village Elders in Papua New Guinea: A Key to Understanding Environmental Realities

Abstract: Papua New Guinea University of Technology students enrolled in an environmental studies course are sent back to their villages to learn and record the environmental knowledge of their tribal elders. Students are astonished at how much environmental lore is present. Tribal elders welcome their prodigal sons with an environmental immersion and refresher in village lore and are empowered by helping a university student with an assignment. The students find a niche in the village as a recorder and a responsible link to the outside world.

Papua New Guinea is an independent country of mountainous islands pushed up by the tectonic convergence of the Australian and Pacific plates.  Fourteen thousand feet peaks cap this highly dissected terrain.  Located between Australia and the equator, the total land area is slightly larger than the State of California.   The great majority of PNG, the mainland, is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The western half, Irian Jaya, is controlled by Indonesia. Entirely confined within the Tropics, the climates are composed of windward rainforests, rain shadow savannahs and mountain environments. Melanesians settled the island of New Guinea upwards of 20 thousand years ago developing one of the original agricultural hearths.  Now numbering 7.6 million people, PNG is a nation of tribes speaking over 880 languages that belong to the Austronesian and Papuan language families. Bound by geography and history these Melanesian people communicate with “Tok Pisen” a lingua franca based on English with a scattering of words from some of the more dominant tribes.  Each tribe maintains its cultural traditions and its relationship with each unique environment. Farming, hunting and fishing have been the most common way of life. (Diamond, Jared, 1997)

I was teaching at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in the late 1990’s (1996-2000). Most of my students had originated in rural agrarian communities, but because of school commitments had lost contact with the rural life of their villages,. Although they learned some of the family and village traditions in early childhood, the route to becoming educated had forced them to be separated from much of that life. PNG children normally begin school at the age of eight, when they lose contact with the normal subsistence activities of farming, fishing, or hunting and in general, any contact with the natural environment that village life presents.

 Location of  Papua New Guinea village elders interviewed.

The children who complete four years of elementary school and pass the entrance exam to the middle school must leave the village to pursue grades 5-8. The government houses and boards these children at distant district schools. Here the effect of this isolation is more pronounced as formal school education replaces village life education.

Those few who pass on to the high school, experience dramatic separation from village life as they only return to the village on holidays or on school vacations. They find themselves far behind in “village education” which would have taught them agricultural cycles, the ways of fishing, the techniques of hunting and the tribal legends and lore .

Elder preparing a roof from palm leaves Photo by Rick Bein

When these children do return for holidays, they find themselves to be outsiders in their own communities unable to participate fully in the many traditions. The PNG villagers refer to them as “Hai Skul Mon” or “Hai Skul Meri’s” and consider them useless in the village subsistence processes. Unless these children as individuals make a concerted effort to educate themselves and participate in the environment of village life, they languish and are perceived as liabilities by the community. On the other hand, they can be useful if they choose to use their worldly education to help conduct censuses, organize elections, and participate in other literate communications.

For those who are able to pass the entrance exam to the university, village life becomes very remote and their functionality in the village even less. When teaching a university first-year course in environmental studies, I found that many of these students had become so absorbed with formal learning that they had lost contact with the environments from which they came. As there was little they could offer their tribe, and there was little the tribe could offer them, they were ready for the more modern world and ready to completely divorce themselves from their villages. Upon graduation from the university, these individuals normally move into government positions as civil servants or become politicians participating in the national decision-making process of the country. Little of this new life has anything to do with village life, let alone representing the values of village life a the national level. As a result, government decisions made by their worldly educated offspring, reflect little of the life issues of rural country side.

The first-year students in my university environmental studies course were unaware of how many of those village lessons they had missed. The closeness that the average Papua New Guinean villager has with the environment was clearly missing among these students, but these connections to their villages could be possible if they were willing to make the effort.

Back to the village

It occurred to me that these annual student visits to their villages could be put to more effective use. Rather than idling around the village, getting in the way, being considered useless, my students could otherwise benefit by seeking some of the environmental knowledge present among the long-time residents. My role was to send these university students back to their villages to learn the environmental lore present among their village elders.

At the semester break I gave an assignment that required the students to interview one of their village elders about the environment.  A questionnaire was provided.

Elder carving a kundu drum used in tribal ceremonies.

Results

Student reaction was overwhelmingly positive, as they had been wanting some method to reconnect with the village and this exercise provided that opportunity. This project gave them focus, purpose and meaning around which to direct their visit. The activity gave new identity to the students and the villagers began seeing them other than misfits.

Most of the students were surprised at how much the elders understood about the environment. They found that many of the course principles were already known by their elders. One student remarked, “Grandfather could teach this course!”

Village Elder Interviewed.

Assignment: Sl 152  Environmental Studies                             By F.L. (Rick) Bein

Exercise:1 Village Elder Interview during semester break

Student Name______________

Elder Name_________

Due Date: 28 July 2000,                                                                                               Length: four typed written (or neatly printed pages) plus field notes, diagrams, drawings, maps, tables and/or charts.

This exercise is designed to be completed during semester break when you could return to your village (or any other village near where you will be) but may be done at any time before the due date. Read carefully before beginning.

This exercise requires that you interview a physically active, sound of mind village elder about the natural environment in which he or she lives. Ideally, you would go with this person to a garden, the forest, out on the sea with an outrigger canoe or any area that is natural and free from houses and human distractions. To select this spot, you might ask the person to take you to his or her favorite natural area.

Spend at least two hours with this elder person discussing the environment and what nature means. This person should do most of the talking and you should be listening, asking questions, and writing down responses and thoughts that come to you.

The information that you need to gather from the elder are of three types:

1. Personal information. Name of person, age, name of village, how long he has lived in this village, how long his ancestors have lived here and any other relevant personal history. Include here any observations you have about the elder, and how long you spent with him. Also describe the local environmental, weather conditions and where (map) in PNG the village is located?

2. Personal Activities. What does this person spend most of his time doing in the village and how much of these activities relate to nature? What does he or she enjoy the most about the things he does? How often does he or she go out to a quiet spot like this away from other people?

3. Functions of Nature. This requires deeper thinking and analysis. Here you might ask the elder why he goes out to a place like this? The response might stimulate more questions from you. Ask how this person feels about this area: fear, anger, happiness, or sadness etc. Keep asking “why”? Look around the area and find something of nature (a plant, a weed, a tree, leaf, an insect, bird, animal, soil, water, fish, coral, wave, wind, rain, sun, sky, star etc.) and ask this person about it. (You are not looking for scientific answers but for relationships and attitudes.) What does this person believe are the functions of this natural thing you asked about? What does he say it does for other natural things? How important is it? How does it survive? How do people use it? (These are this person’s words not yours.) Are there any legends or stories about this place that relate to nature? Elaborate!

Summarize your findings and analyze what you have learned about elder wisdom regarding nature and environmental relationships

This exercise is a creative activity that you should enjoy and should contribute to your general understanding of the environment and human interaction with nature. So have fun with this!

One student’s report follows.

Even though not formally educated, this elder demonstrated a great deal of knowledge about nature and its environmental relationships. He even suggested the water cycle to me which is true. His knowledge was overwhelming. I think that, if we let our elders teach the younger ones (especially the ones just starting school) about nature, we would have a nation full of environmentalists when these children grow older. Elderly wisdom about nature, environment and environmental relationships should be passed on to the new generation in order for them to appreciate nature and its environmental relationships.

Another student relates his impression of his grandfather’s practical experience with the environment.

After interviewing my grandfather, I found out that traditional methods simulated modern science. Although most village elders were not educated in schools, they still knew from  hands-on experience about things we learn at educational institutions and a whole lot more. Most of their knowledge about nature and environmental relationships was based on observing their environment.

The students remarked how the visit empowered the elders, many of which had thought they would never see these grandchildren again. Because the topic of the “environment” could be viewed from different perspectives, the theoretical and the practical, a common bond was established.

While I was interviewing him, I realized that my interest in his interactions with the natural environment, and me asking him all these questions gave him the satisfaction of knowing that this university student needed the elder’s help for something. Also, this gave the elder the chance to feel important and that he was contributing to modern society.

The village elders welcomed their re-defined grandsons as they now had a purpose that seemed relevant to village life and things the elders knew.

In this interview, it became obvious that the village people who really appreciate nature are old people who realize that our natural environment is precious and needs to be tended carefully.

Many interesting patterns appeared in the data that the students collected from their elders. I estimate that the average age of the elders interviewed was sixty-eight. Many of the elders were unsure of their age and thought of age as a fixed concept rather than a process. Because some anthropologist in the past calculated that he was fifty-five, a typical elder continues to claim thereafter, that he or she is always fifty-five years old. Usually, a good estimate of an elder’s age can be surmised from his knowledge of global events such as World War II.  Many of the elders had memories from the war.

All of the elders provided their own sustenance by maintaining food gardens or participating in some other food generating activity like fishing, hunting, or gathering.

The elders were eager to share this knowledge with their young relatives. One prevailing elder opinion was that the youth had little respect for the environment. They were also concerned about the deforestation caused by logging operations. The chance to share their perspectives on the environment with one young person gave the elder hope that their traditions would continue.

“I was convinced by my grandfather’s activities that he really cared for the natural environment and was sad to see how fast it was changing and was being exploited by the local people. He was concerned with over hunting, fish poisoning and dynamite reef fishing. Some of these things he told to his children, but they were reluctant to listen to him. He was happy that I was interested in what he had to say.”

Most elders have knowledge of medicinal plants, which they had learned themselves or more often from their predecessors. This knowledge is considered “power” and to share it is believed to “lose-ones-power.” Traditional healers do not give up this information even to the closest family members and frequently take it with them to the grave. This information is only shared when another tribes person is willing to invest an extensive amount of time being mentored by the elder, learning many things, but most of all gaining the confidence of that elder.

The assignment directed the students to go with the village elder to a “sacred place” designated by the elder. These sites varied from mountaintops to open sea, food gardens, visits with the pigs, and walks in the rainforest. By allowing the elders to define the setting for the interviews, the elder became comfortable and in touch with things they could share. Many histories and legends came out in the reports. Frequently the “sacred place” had a long tradition. A student quotes his elder.

“Men also went there (this sacred place) to ask the gods to help them during times of disease, famine, and drought. When a serious disease struck the area, the elders used to select the best pig to make a sacrifice at the altars of their gods.”

“In the past, during tribal wars, the oldest men used to live out in the sacred areas to have dreams on who would win and die during the fight. They used to stay there without food, asking their gods to help them win the fight. However, the opposing tribe, having their own gods, did the same and as a result, the fights were extremely dangerous and tough as the gods were vying in support of their worshipers.”

“The gods in the past were overly aggressive. They would get angry when the people neglected them and then demand sacrifices! They used to send disasters to the people. However, the elders always understood the reason of disasters were affecting them, so they would visit the gods with full sacrifice’.

When a young man was prepared to marry his partner, the elders took the matter to the gods who would decide in a dream which bride was best.

Once in the “sacred place” the students were to ask about one “item of nature.” This resulted in fascinating detailed narratives exhibiting the elders’ knowledge of ecology, history, and folklore. It became obvious to the student that there were accounts about a variety of natural things just waiting for the right question. These interviews created a new bond with the elder and opened the door to future interactions. A student in the class commented on his elders resolve.

An elder in his village, sometimes instructs the people to take care and use wisely the resources provided by nature. He gave an example, saying how he has instructed his two village committees to stop the people from throwing rubbish into the sea and along the beach. It is hard to stop the village people from doing it because they do not know the impact. He learned from his parents who told him about taking care of the environment, but he did not see the importance, for he was too young.

This activity served several purposes in the educational process. Initially, it taught the Papua New Guinea. University of Technology university students that they had at their fingertips a wealth of traditional knowledge. This information would be available for a limited time. They also learned that what is taught in school has applications in daily life and further became aware of an environmental perspective that brought the mystical to light with the scientific. The most important aspect of this activity was the empowerment of the students themselves in establishing and claiming a role in the village.

Although this work was in Papua New Guinea, a country full of many cultural traditions, similar efforts to preserve traditional and historical knowledge is possible throughout the world. Such an opportunity as this can awaken students to the potential of this approach.