Sana’s wisdom binds us together

PEOPLE will always remember the man who helped them pull up their canoe.
This is the wisdom of Sana.
Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare held onto his father’s wisdom and advice in his political journey.
Sir Michael’s book Sana, is about his life and of his connection to the different places that he lived in and a sum up of the influences of people, places and traditions that he experienced.
“We absorb the practices of culture, values, beliefs, pain, joy and share our lives with others from all walks of life,” he said in his book.
“We are influenced by others and we, in turn influence them.”
The first Sana was a fight leader and peacemaker in the Sepik village of Karau.
In 1974, he inherited the title from his father.
During the ceremony, the wisdom and the fighting spirit of Sana were passed on to him.
But more important to Sir Michael was the fact that he assumed Sana’s traditional role as peacemaker.
In the tradition of Sana, Sir Michael believed a man should invite his enemies to sit down and eat with them before going to fight.
As chief minister, he constantly sought guidance from his philosophy.
That has made Sir Michael unique in his style of leadership.
Since his passing, many have referred to him as a great leader, friend to all and enemy to none.
He was the gel that held Papua New Guinea together since 1975.
A piece taken out from Sana resonates his style of leadership.
From his father Sana – ‘every clan has its own special magic, and ours is the magic of peace. When people come to fight us, we call them to eat first. We sit down together. We walk, we eat. Then we say to them: All right, if you want to fight, take your spears and stand over there. We will take our weapons and stand on this side. But we believe that after eating, their minds will be changed. They will not want to fight us anymore.”
Sir Michael had an incredible humility, so much sincerity and huge ability to forgive and with that he was able to unite a country of 800 languages and the many different tribes.
We echo sentiments shared by his last born daughter Dulciana Somare-Brash that with his departing to a spiritual life, his memory remains in his courage to not bring conflict amongst our people and not to bring conflict to other people.
“My father always started with peace and he started with peace in the home,” she said.
“He made sure that we didn’t argue, that we didn’t carry on internal turmoil to the detriment of those with less power and less influence.”
Sir Michael relied on the tradition of Sana that he was born into, brought up in and initiated into.
The modern nation state faced problems which his grandfather never dreamed about, but the wisdom of Sana is just as relevant today as it was in the time of his grandfather.
Such an approach went a long way to explain the success of the man who has fought harder than any other to achieve a united and independent Papua New Guinea.