THE NATIVE MIND

Hokitika Guardian, 18 February 1930, Page 8

THE NATIVE MIND

PAPUAN MURDERERS.

“The Papuan criminal (if he can be called a criminal who merely carries on his ancestral customs) is surely the greatest simpleton the world ever knew Here is an instance reported by Mr Flint, from Abau. A man killed a plantation labourer; the labourer’s body was not found, and he was posted as a deserter. The murderer would certainly have escaped had he not donned tlm insignia of the assassin, and gone up and told a neighbouring village constable all about it. Of course he was promptly arrested and is now in gaol.’’

This extract from the annual repori on the Territory of Papua, which was issued recently bore the signature of the Lieutenant-governor (Sir Hubert Murray), is eloquent in two ways (says the Adelaide Observer). In a few words it suggests, not only the extraordinarv simplicity of the natives, but the sympathetic tolerance of the administration.

Sir Hubert Murray likes to treat the Papuans with every consideration, and even with indulgence, but he frankly admits that he does not understand them. No white man, he thinks will ever be able to get the Papuan point of view.

Tf these children of Nature have a code of honour, no civilised man knows what it is. Sir Hubert quotes a case in relation to which it would be a revelation to know something of the Papuan standard rtf ethics—the murder of the Kukukukus by the men of Uaripi:

“The Uaripi men met their victims on the Mama River, and entered into friendly negotiations with them for the purchase of their bows and arrows, which they urged, in this Age of Peace must be quite useless to them. Then, when they had possession of the bows and arrows, they turned on their unarmed and defenceless victims and did them to death. Logically, their action in first getting hold of their bows and arrows was unassailable, but it does not appeal to a white man ; it would be interesting to know whether the ordinary Papuan would applaud the conduct of the Uaripi men as an astute move to avoid all possible danger, or would regard it as we would, as a dastardly piece of treachery. It would be interesting to know, but we shall never find out; we can only guess.”

KILLED FOR BEING ALONE!

it is appalling to a European to discover in ivhat a light-hearted spirit a Papuan native will commit an atrocious murder.

There is the recent case of a man named Labu, who was not even a “wild” Papuan, for he had worked for years on a plantation. He and another man were arrested for murder, after they “had gone walk about bush to find a Wangiela man in his garden alone.”

They killed two natives, halm, askesked why he had murdered his man, could give not better explanation than that “he was alone in his garden.’ The other casual murderer said he had killed the second man because he would have felt ashamed of not being as strong as Labu.

Even in this year of grace some of the Papaun tribes still go head-hunt-ing. In the words of Mr It. A. Vivian, assistant resident magistrate in the .itigo district, cowardly and coldblooded crimes are committed “simply for the sake of being able to possess and wear homicidal insignia.”

“A PAD CASE.”

“The murder of the (loaribari people,” says Sir Hubert, “was a. had case. The Doriomo invited them to a dance, and then turned on them and cut off their heads. The (iaorihari men then ‘paid back’ and removed several Doriomo heads. The Goaribari men were arrested, and I tried them at the Kikori station. There was a great number involved, and, as usual all pleaded guilty; and they were all guilty which, in Papua, does not always follow from the plea. “I asked them in the usual way if they had anything to say why sentence should not hi' passed upon them, where upon a young man stopped forward from among them, raised his hand dramatically. and said in the .Motu language: “The Doriomo had killed my brother, horn of the same wonih ; was I tn stay at home and wait for the Government?’ Well, t could not help thinking, ‘you would have been a little

rotter if you had.’ But the law must be administered and I had to pass sentence of imprisonment; But I passed it unwillingly, and I trust that it was ■not too light.’ Although the Government does what it can to prevent and punish murder in Papua., it interferes as little as possible with the natives’ tribal customs and domestic affairs. In spite oi this, a change is slowly coming over Papua. The Lieutentant-Governor discusses the symptoms with delightful good humour. He quotes the case of a oman who unravelled a dreadfufl matremonial tangle by suddenly resolving to act for herself in definance of her blood relations—an unheard-of thing!

FEMINISM

“The incident has, I think, an interest, as it shows that the youngei women are beginning to assert themselves in Papua, as, 1 am told, they do elsewhere. It is said that in the Port Moresby villages' a young girl refuses to marry anyone but the man of her choice. A suitor may have the approval of her parents,' may have paid, the price in money or money’s worth; if she does not like him she will not marry him. I am sentimental enough to approve the change; but the Government cannot claim any credit for it.

“A somewhat similar movement has been observed by Mr Atkinson, assistant resident magistrate in the Bariara district. His attention was first drawn to it by meeting a man with a black eve, which he had received from his wife. This ,though, I believe common enough in the higher culture is rare to Papua, and Mr Atkinson was encouraged to further inquiry, result that he found two more husbands who. seeking to heat their wives, had themselves very deservedly been beaten. “I have a sincere admiration for the work of anthropologists, and I trust that T fully recognise the desirability of maintaining native customs and the awful results that follow their neglect, hut still Tam glad that the women are beginning to hit back, and T think that T know sonm anthropologists who wonhf agree with me.”