Cosmology and Crisis in Oksapmin, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This article explores Oksapmin imaginings of two interrelated crises: the temporary closure of the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine and a prolonged drought, both of which occurred in Papua New Guinea throughout 2015. Local interpretations were notable for assigning causality to a variety of indigenous magical and spiritual forces despite the fact that the Oksapmin have been evangelical Christians for over 50 years and have more recently been influenced by Pentecostalism, by which I mean both Pentecostal and charismatic forms of Christianity in which believers receive the 'gifts' of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, healing, visions, prophecy, and so forth. I argue that the core reason for the reference to these forms is their ability to vividly elucidate the physical and social dimensions of the immediate lived world as against the 'placeless' characteristics and otherworldly orientation of Pentecostalism. Presenting these cultural forms as components of an encompassing, syncretic, and multiplicitous cosmology, the paper critically engages with and re-imagines prevailing trends within the anthropology of Pacific Christianity which underline discontinuity, rupture, and the disappearance of indigenous religion, by presenting a picture of Oksapmin religion and cosmology characterized by an overall integration of the two worlds that manifests both conjunction and disjunction.

The Thomas Souls Ministry – Onto‐praxis, Dividualism, and Charismatic Catholicism at Lake Chambri, Papua New Guinea

“…While I am not the first to have argued for continuity within processes of religious change (e.g. Lawrence ; Macdonald , ; Mosko ; Otto and Borsboom ; Reithofer ; Telban ), I suggest that my material adds a new dynamic to be considered – a re‐empowerment process in which local ontological premises inform the direction the appropriation of Christianity is taking. The Nyaura at Lake Chambri are currently experiencing a confirmation of their beliefs and practices in their intersubjective experiences with Christian spirits understood to be local spirits.…”