The struggle for Wanigela : representing social space in a rural community in Collingwood Bay, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea

Uncovering Pacific Pasts: Histories of Archaeology in Oceania

“…Today Wanigela is home to 51 patrilineal clans, paired as senior and junior brothers, belonging to four language groups. They are connected by marriage and alliances that formerly governed raiding and warfare (Bonshek 2005). Not all the clans that have ever lived in Wanigela continue there today.…”

“…The clans moved into Collingwood Bay at different times, arriving from inland and from the north and south, some by foot and some by canoe. Each has their own account of migration into the bay (Bonshek 2005). Mackenzie Asor (1974), an Ubir, Sabarar clansman, recounted the story of the culture hero Dararuk and the movement of the clans in mythic time.…”

“…Perhaps this was also the case during Money's time. Some accounts (Bonshek 2005) say that an argument between the clans caused the residents of the stockaded village to disband. Perhaps the distribution of the mission's buildings between the villages of Rainu and Oreresan was an attempt to resolve rivalry between the two groups.…”

“…Had one been made to depart, perhaps through sorcery? By 1904 the Tribal Wars had not yet ceased: fighting in the region ended with the 'Breaking of the Spear' held on 12 March 1905(Bonshek 2005. It could be that at the time Money made his inquiries, he also unwittingly recorded tensions between clans, encountering both memory and active forgetting (Bonshek 2008:93).…”