LEADERS are regularly mentioned in historical narratives as architects of great events, but rarely do we hear or read about roles played by ordinary people. The story of Kuk is one of extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary people. Our story begins in 1964 with a young Kawelka councillor, Goimba Onombe, who left Mbukl in the mountains of the Sepik-Wahgi Divide, for his ancestral home at Kuk in the upper Wahgi Valley. He was accompanied by his nephews, Ken Ripa and Toa Pani, and brothers-in-law (Paldi and Kentari).
These five brave men crossed the north Wahgi swamps (through tribal enemy territories) to settle among the friendly Jika Kilampi at Kenta, Mapa and Kuk. They started gardening on high ground, kept well away from the swamplands (the domain of malignant spirits).
They of course did not know that the very swamp which they considered unfit for agriculture had in fact sustained a large agri-based population thousands of years ago.
When the Australian Colonial Administration started acquiring swamplands for agriculture, the three founding fathers of Kuk (Goimba, Ken and Toa) did not hesitate to sign over the Kuk swamp for AUD 7,771 in June 1968.
Systematic drainage work by the Department of Agriculture, however, transformed the swamp into fertile agriculture land. The DASF drains uncovered wooden spades and other evidence of prehistoric human settlement. This attracted the attention of ANU academic Dr Jack Golson, widely acclaimed for discovering evidence of early agriculture at Kuk, and also for bringing Kuk to the attention of the international community (through his publications and seminar presentations). He was rewarded with a professorship for his contributions.
Other foreign researchers who have conducted scientific investigations at Kuk include Dr Pawel Gorecki, Dr Philip Hughes, Dr Majorie Sullivan, Dr Tim Denham and Dr Tom Wagner. Gorecki and Denham wrote doctoral dissertations on Kuk. The renowned social anthropologists, Dr Andrew Strathern and Dr Marilyn Strathern also wrote PhD dissertations based on fieldwork at Kuk.
Papua New Guinean researchers who have worked at Kuk include Dr John Muke, Dr Andrew Moutu, Nick Araho and the Mandui brothers, William and Herman.
The publications by all of these researchers (including yours truly) formed the basis of discussions in the Kuk nomination document. Of utmost importance here is the adoption of a Melanesian concept called ìground-root-manî (mae pukl wua) borrowed from the writings of Strathern, Ketan and Muke.
Without heritage management legislation to protect cultural heritage properties, our nomination would have failed on Monday in Canada had we followed conventional procedures. Instead, we argued that the best form of protection lies in the ìground-root-manî concept, which can be simplified as ìprotection comes with ownershipî. The local community, largely through the efforts of Dr Muke and Jo Tumbe Mangi, had signed an agreement with the state that they value Kuk and would therefore protect the heritage property for future generations.
The World Heritage property at Kuk is made up of two major components: (1) an ecological landscape planted with indigenous food crop gardens covering the archaeological record beneath the soil; (b) a cultural centre with field museum, research and conference facilities, guest houses, staff houses, ceremonial grounds, traditional Hagen round houses, parks and gardens planted with ornamental shrubs and trees.
The Western Highlands Provincial Government has played a major role in the Kuk story. Former Governor, late Fr Robert Lak, former provincial administrator, Dr Thomas Webster, and current acting administrator, Michael Wandil, have demonstrated considerable foresight in supporting the Kuk project from the very beginning.
The current Governor, Tom Olga, apparently remembered our backyard discussions at Fort Bena (UPNG Waigani campus) during his university days. It was at the Fort Bena that Mr Olga first met a young Kawelka entrepreneur called Steven Goi. During their discussions, Olga learnt of Goiís plans to build a cultural centre (in part fulfillment of the Kuk nomination process).
Steven Goi and his lovely wife, Martha, invested considerable time and money into the development of the cultural centre. In May this year, Governor Olga and Dei MP Hon Puri Ruing visited Kuk to open a school there. The Goi family hosted dinner for the VIPs at the cultural centre. Impressed with the amount of work done by the Goi family, Governor Olga pledged K100,000 towards further development of the project.
This money, when made available, will be used by Mr Steven Goi, to build a guest house. The field museum and its annexes will have to be built with financial support from the national government. Appropriate legislation will have to be enacted to develop the property.
The indomitable David Maip and Nicholas Namba have also played significant roles in getting Kuk to the world heritage list. They were both young councillors when we started the nomination process in 1998. They have cajoled, bullied, and coerced their clansmen into supporting the project. They have also been great ambassadors of Kuk in public oratory.
Other heroes of our story include National Museum staff (Pamela Swadling, Soroi Eoe, Simon Poraituk); NCC officials (Dr Jacob Simet, Chris Isaac); DEC officials (Dr Wari Iamo, Vagi Genorupa); NatCom staff (James Ruru, Raymond Ray); UNESCO officials (Dr Elsepeth Wingham, Dr Sarah Titchen, Ali Salamat, Mali Voi). All of these people contributed towards Kuk.
At Kuk, we send our best wishes to Ru Kundil, one of the real aristocrats of New Guinea local experts, perhaps only second to the most famous New Guinea big-man, the late Ongka. There are other professors of local knowledge (too numerous to mention here), but Goimba, Ken and Toa stand out. Ken Ripa, for example, gave away much of his land for modern development, including a school (named after him), Lutheran mission station, and an aid post. He is the only surviving member of the five pioneers.
These modern day heroes, however, are matched, perhaps even bettered, by their prehistoric ancestors, as exemplified in the story of New Guinea (below).
The island of New Guinea was colonized by Melanesian people from Asia (probably Taiwan) around 50,000 years ago. The early human communities were clustered around the Huon Peninsula, Sepik Basin and probably south eastern Papua. Migrations into the rugged, cold, interior of the New Guinea highlands took place around 30,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch, when mountains above 3,600 metres (including Mounts Wilhelm, Giluwe and Hagen) were covered in permanent snow.
There are no written records of these epic journeys, nor is there any retrospective narrative that can capture the readerís imagination of this monumental achievement. The triumphs, trails and tribulations of the great north American trek westwards into the Rocky Mountains by the Mormons and other European migrants have been dramatized, often with little regard for detail and accuracy, by hype moguls in Hollywood.
But there is greater magic, with even more substance, in the enthralling story of the New Guinean trek inwards. The exhibition of extraordinary human strength, under harsh climatic conditions, to conquer new territories remains one of the greatest accomplishments of mankind, here and elsewhere in the world. In this context, the New Guinea story rivals that of the American settlers, or that of the Biblical Jews. Indeed, it is the stuff of epic movies and novels, but at least for now, we shall leave that to future PNG film directors and novelists.
The task at hand is to examine the consequences of that migration, by zooming in on only the most outstanding achievements of our forefathers for analysis, then to examine the implications from a national and global standpoint.
The successful inscription of Kuk on the World Heritage List is a major coup for PNG, with significant implications for research, educational, social, economic, political, and recreational value. Kuk provides an important rallying point for national unity. Major events like international military conflicts, victories in major sporting events such as the soccer world cup, and struggles for independence often forge national unity among different ethnic groups in new states. We have experienced nothing of this nature. But Kuk provides that opportunity. It would be foolish to ignore that.
At the global level, Kuk gives us an advantage during negotiations with other countries and multinational institutions. Many of our development partners would at least be wary of talking down to us (or think twice before opening their mouths in a condescending manner) if they know that we have a civilization depth of 9,000 years (well before some of the great world civilizations that we read about in history books).
At both provincial and local levels, the people stand to gain significantly by organizing themselves in ways that maximize resources and reduces social conflict. In this respect, the people of Dei electorate are well ahead of other districts in PNG. The MP for Dei, Hon Puri Ruing, and Governor Tom Olga recently got all the councilors of Dei as well as some from Hagen Central and Mul districts to sign an agreement that there will be no more compensation claims for infrastructural developments. It means that no one will be paid for loss of land and crops during road constructions. Moreover, the agreement commits community leaders to regulate public order. Trouble makers, criminals and thugs will be handled by community development associations. This is good news for those of us who wish to see projects such as Kuk succeed.
Hon Puri Ruing, Cr David Mapi and Mr Nicholas Namba have all pledged to work together to secure national government and international support the establishment of Kuk as a major international institution. Successful listing often comes with all kinds of funding and technical assistance. International institutions such as the UN will provide resources, but we need to demonstrate clearly that such resources will be managed in a transparent and accountable manner. This process starts with Cabinet and legislative support in instituting a statutory organization responsible for administering the yet to be drafted Heritage Management Act. Simultaneously, a public outreach program should be kicked off with a high-level government delegation visit to Kuk to announce the UNESCO decision and to advise the local community on the governmentís plans for Kuk.