New Parliament House must have godly values
MY letter on Haus Tambaran drew several responses although I wished there had been more.
I had no intention to insult the good people of Sepik who have a wonderfully unique culture and Haus Tambaran magnifies this.
Our forefathers have instituted such traditions and values for a reason and purpose, primarily for the survival of the clans.
They were important for their survival as clans and tribes throughout time.
Inseparable from this is religion. We have our own religious practices whereby we worship our dead relatives, spirits and demons, the sun, the moon and the stars, mythical animals and sacred places and more.
The great traditional institutions like the Haus Tambaran in Sepik and Hausman/boi in the Highlands were places of worship to various gods by our forefathers.
Haus Tambaran is a spiritual house where sacred carvings to various gods were kept and men gather to pay homage.
It is also where young men were initiated into manhood.
All forms of traditional religion and worship were broken when we embraced Christianity.
The early missionaries were the first to attempt to break down and remove the worship of demons and spirits.
Our forefathers were converted to Christianity.
The whole of Papua New Guinea was converted to Christianity.
This is recognised and is enshrined in our Constitution.
The form of government adopted at independence originated from England and is called the Westminster system of Parliament.
The Constitution written and enacted as the Mama-Lo constitute all this.
The Westminster system of government has very strong connections to Christianity and Christian principles.
It evolved to its current status with the guidance and divine interventions of the god of Christianity.
Parliament is the throne of god on earth where elected leaders preside on the affairs of god’s people.
Therefore, you cannot build a Haus Tambaran and hold courts in it for god’s people.
Good and evil cannot coexist in the same house.
Moreover, no good can came out of such relationship.
Good examples of designs today include the White House in Washington, the Parliament House in Canberra, and of course the Parliament House at Westminster Abbey.
These buildings have designs that were guided by Christian and moral principles.
So again I say, let us design and build a new House of Parliament that typifies godly values.
Wisdom is god’s and wise decisions can only be made with god’s guidance.

David, Chuave
Letters