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Books in Papua New Guinea
By LINDA CROWL
Pacific Islanders saw books-logs,
sailing reports, popular literature, bibles and hymnals-before
publishing began in their countries, but the sacredness of the
Bible and the sustained nature of mission publishing elevated the
status of books.
Sir Albert Maori Kiki of Papua New Guinea confessed he did not
learn much from his LMS school conducted by a Samoan teacher, but
explained how he and other Papua New Guineans of all ages wanted
to learn to read and write (1982:57, 120-121).
The prestige, or mana, associated with books extended to texts
used by government. Edmund Carpenter shared a story of women
sorcerers saved from death by the presence of a "government book"
in Nomad in 1969, for their punishers feared government influence
represented by the book's form and presence (1973:117-118).
Respect for books has endured, and books remain the most
economical way to reach most Papua New Guineans.
Fewer than one per cent of the people have access to computers.
Radio, television, and cinema require equipment on the receiving
end; books do not.
Papua New Guinea has a rich history of book publishing. Its first
publishers were missionaries, who sought to translate scriptures
and hymns into indigenous languages in order to persuade people to
believe in Christianity.
The London Missionary Society began printing in 1875, followed
(not listed here chronologically) by the Anglican, Catholic,
Lutheran, Methodist, and United churches; Assemblies of God; Bible
Society; Bible Translation Association; Christian Books Melanesia;
Christian Literature Crusade; Christian Missions in Many Lands;
Evangelical Brotherhood Church; Kristen Pres; Liturgical
Catechetical Institute; Lotu Pasifika Productions; Melanesian
Institute (for Pastoral and Socio-Economic Service); Seventh-Day
Adventists; Scripture Union; Summer Institute of Linguistics; and
Word Educational Books-to name only some.
They and other religious organizations have produced thousands of
titles for various levels of literacy. The work of the
missionaries and their indigenous collaborators in creating
orthographies, translating works, and collecting local customs,
genealogies, and stories perpetuated Papua New Guinea's
languages-which otherwise would have been lost in the inevitable
cultural contact and imperialism that followed.
In comparison with their territory and the diversity of Papua New
Guinea's people, the colonial governments were small and
understaffed. As Sione Latukefu pointed out, colonial governments
depended on mission-organized plantations, schools, hospitals, and
settlements to further their control, and missionaries often
depended upon government for higher authority in setting and
enforcing standards and sometimes allocating resources (1988). The
British colonial administration established its Government
Printing Office in 1888. The German colonial administration had
some of its documents printed at Namanula School in Rabaul in the
early 1900s. The Australian colonial administration assumed the
plant and equipment of both previous colonial governments. As its
administration grew, departments and agencies began to publish
their own texts.
The independent government of Papua New Guinea assumed the
organizational structure of the colonial government, but over the
years departments and agencies have changed names and expanded.
The colonial and independent departments have published a huge
variety of texts including manuals, eg how to grow coffee or fix
trucks; descriptions of natural resources, eg forests and timber;
political decisions; and socioeconomic studies through the
(colonial or independent) departments of Agriculture and
Livestock, Bougainville Affairs, Business Development, Environment
and Conservation, Foreign Affairs, Forests, Health, Home Affairs
and Youth, Information and Communication, Labour and Employment,
Posts and Telegraphs, Primary Industry, the Prime Minister, Social
Development and Home Affairs, and Trade and Industry.
Often, particular sections of government departments have been
more prolific or their roles have been more noticeable, eg
Information and Extension Services, especially its Literature
Bureau. In the past, provincial governments published, for
example, a handicraft manual, a bibliography, and a hospitality
handbook through the North Solomons Province, East New Britain
Historical and Cultural Centre and War Museum, and West New
Britain Provincial Tourist Bureau respectively.
The most prolific arm of government publishing has been the
Department of Education. Besides its learning materials, DOE has
published manuals to guide staff in developing textbooks. Despite
its immense and ready market, DOE has not had an easy task.
Colonial and independent policies on the use of vernacular versus
English have vacillated over the years, causing shifts in
publishing that resulted in wastage of time, finance, and books.
Because recent research has shown that children learn more quickly
by using their mother tongue in early years, the school system
shifted in the late 1990s to using vernaculars in early education
with progressive transition to English during primary education
years. Printing, however, operates with economies of scale; that
is, the more copies made from a single plate, the less each copy
costs. Papua New Guinea's many languages mean that the same
vernacular texts cannot serve the entire country. Each book in
each language entails separate costs. Fortunately, the development
of desktop publishing has mitigated some of these costs. Papua New
Guineans have worked the presses since they were introduced into
the country. Over time the cadre of skilled translators, editors,
illustrators, graphic artists, printers, publishers, and teachers
of these skills has grown, but it is still small in relation to
the tasks in this developing country.
Next week: Other publishing agencies
in PNG
 
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