Fear of unkown behind Parliament House ‘cleansing’

 “TAMBARAN” is a Tok Pisin generic word.  

It may mean so many things depending on the attitude of the user.

Generally speaking, the word when used is meant to create fear in the uninitiated, women and children. 

In Tolai tradition, the “dukduks”  display the same effect of fear.

In other traditional societies in Papua New Guinea, where there exists a system of government before the arrival of Europeans, one will find an existence of these symbols. 

When Europeans arrived in Papua New Guinea and discovered that the people had no Parliament House or any semblance of governing institutions and buildings, they came to the conclusion that they were dealing with “primitive” peoples.  

Likewise, when they saw that we did not have any buildings dedicated to worshipping a god, they came to the conclusion that we were “heathens”. 

They have therefore, over a hundred years, inculcated in the minds of generations of Papua New Guineans that their ancestors were heathens, and lacked a government. 

They then introduced their system of government and religion upon the people of this country.

They did so when they carved up the island into three separate administering areas controlled by Germany, the Netherlands and England. 

Three separate systems of government and laws were introduced.

Not satisfied, they issued edicts about religion. 

In Papua, the English introduced the London Missionary Society and Church of England. In New Guinea they introduced the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church.  

In New Guinea before the arrival of the missionaries, the territory was clearly divided between Lutherans in Morobe and its hinterland and the Catholics north of Morobe District and New Guinea Islands.

In my Bugi (Arapesh) society, it was easy for Catholicism to be accepted because we already had knowledge of God in our society before the arrival of German Catholic missionaries.  

We did not have a house that we went to for worshipping God. In fact it is rather a contradiction of the Christian religion to go to worship God in a building when God is supposed to be ever-present and omnipresent. 

Jesus in fact did not preach inside a synagogue but spent much of his time on hillsides and in the open. 

In the Bible’s creation story, God was ever-present and omnipresent in the Garden of Eden. 

There was no Church building there. 

So in my culture and tradition we knew of God’s presence and there was no need for a church building and worshipping in that building.

We acknowledge the presence of God in everything we do – when we go fishing, and hunting and when we plant and harvest yams. 

The first harvest of yams is dedicated to God in the village square, cooked and eaten there. 

The chief thanks God for the bounties and asks for better blessings in the ensuing seasons. 

We do have an equivalent of the Tolai “duk duk” or ‘tumbuan”.

The person who carries the mask is supposed to represent and project fear. 

In fact, fear and love are the two extremes of creation. 

If you understand the philosophy of “fear’ and “love’ you will understand creation. 

In fact they formed the basis of “initiation” into manhood in my culture and tradition.  

If you are not initiated into the knowledge of fear and love then you will not understand life, creation, prosperity, poverty and death and therefore cannot take part in the “government’ of the nation or the peoples without fear or favour. 

In the same way in any village in Sepik, you will find not an odd number of chiefs but two. 

One chief represents the warriors and the other represents the peace-maker. 

In our traditional societies, nothing happens without a consensus decision of both chiefs. 

Where do all debates and decisions affecting the life and death, prosperity and poverty take place?

In the building that Europeans called “haus tambaran”. Where did they get the Tok Pisin word “tambaran” from? It is a Tolai word meaning “demon, spirit, ghost and ancestor”. 

In Sepik culture and tradition, that house is the equivalent of parliament house in Western societies where the initiated gather and where all important matters are debated and decisions taken. 

As Europeans and missionaries are not initiated, they cannot enter these houses. 

The European approach of “divide and rule” cannot be effected in the Sepik as they are not permitted or were not allowed to be entertained in these houses. 

Even today, anthropologists have to make up their stories to try to explain the existence of these houses. They brought in the Tolai word to explain these houses and called them “Haus Tambaran” or “Tambaran Haus” using the German language structure as in Schwein Haus” (meaning ‘pigsty’ in German) rather than the English.  

Why did they call it so? 

Because their ultimate goal is to break down the existing system of government and impose their own upon a culture and tradition that they find hard to break into or control.

In the end they used a derogatory word to denigrate the culture, tradition and our traditional government system in the Sepik provinces.

We, the Sepiks however found that the description creates more awe and the denigration actually further strengthens our culture and tradition by burying the truth into further intrigue.

This creates and strengthens the “fear” factor and protects our system of  cohesiveness and system of government and decision making.

The Speaker of Parliament and all those who form the Parliamentary House Committee are mindless automatons acting out of fear of the unknown. 

Is it any wonder that no Tolai or Sepik who is initiated in our tradition, is a member of the Parliamentary House Committee that made the decision to further denigrate our Sepik culture and tradition? 

The actions of the Speaker is indicative of a person who does not understand the difference between fear and love; life and death and prosperity and poverty in their physiological, entomological and psychological level. 

European society has its  secret societies ranging from the Masonic and Templar orders to many other obscure orders that control businesses, banking and government. 

They have brought them to PNG and they exist here. 

To believe that Papua New Guinea has a western look-alike in the Parliament House, and a constitutional democratic government, does not make it equivalent in all respects to Western societies. 

The works of art that were commissioned for parliament and carved by Sepik carvers belong to the Sepik people. 

The politician who is famous in the streets of Port Moresby is none other than former Prime Minister and now Governor Paias Wingti. 

He wanted the Sepiks to carve his face. Now, it is everywhere. 

Does the face make it a uniquely Western Highlands art? 

No, it is carved by Sepiks and will remain a Sepik work of art. 

If the Speaker and his committee want to destroy the Sepik spirit nationally, then I suggest the following:

• The Speaker should turn over the works of art to the national museum for safekeeping; 
• Sepik politicians should include in their tourism development budget, funds to establish a Sepik Museum in the province, and,
• Sepik politicians should consider the action taken by the Speaker as an affront to the two Sepik provinces and unite forces and work towards establishment of a united autonomous region with our own autonomous government.

• Peter Donigi is consulting lawyer based in Port Moresby