Bernard Narokobi's History of Wautogik Village

The History of Wautogik Village presents a detailed introduction to the people and history of Wautogik, the home of Papua New Guinean lawyer, philosopher, and statesman Bernard Mullu Narokobi (1943-2010). Narokobi is renowned for his influential publications reflecting on what it means for Melanesian people, who were colonized by Europeans only in the late 19th century, to create for themselves a modern state replete with schools, a system of government, and a modern economy. In addition to writing a collection of essays on this topic, The Melanesian Way (1980) and a number of other articles and books, Narokobi was primary author of the extraordinary Preamble to Papua New Guinea’s Constitution, which gives pride of place to local customs. Narokobi served Papua New Guinea as a Member of Parliament (1987-2002), for the last four years in the role of Government Opposition Leader. He was the founding chair of Papua New Guinea’s Law Reform Commission (1978-1980), a position in which he sought ways to formally recognize traditional indigenous jurisprudence. In addition to his scholarly and legal writings Narokobi wrote poetry, translated Bible stories and Christian prayers into his vernacular language, Arapesh, and adapted native stories for the stage.

Narokobi wrote The History of Wautogik Village in English toward the end of his career. He sent me the 112-page text as an attachment to an email in 2006, while was serving as his country’s High Commissioner to New Zealand. I believe he did this because he knew of my fascination with the Arapesh language and culture he loved so dearly, and he thought I could help him preserve it for the future. By editing Narokobi’s manuscript and making it available in published form, I hope to contribute to the Wautogik heritage community by preserving and transmitting linguistic, cultural, and historical knowledge that is no longer being passed on orally. I also aim to contribute to scholarship on Papua New Guinean history and political thought by providing insight into influential ideas about Melanesian sovereignty that are still under active discussion today. The digital format, embellished with video and audio, allows for a presentation that is multivocal and therefore more akin to traditional Melanesian cultural practices than a printed book. Digital publication also makes the material more readily available to members of the Wautogik heritage community who may access the internet via smartphone but who have little access to books or libraries.

Narokobi’s document starts out in mythical time, with the founding of the village through an alliance between two strangers who encountered one another in the forest. It then narrates the history of the village to the time of writing (c. 2000). But the document is of much more than folkloric significance. It attempts to orient readers to the cultural and political ethos of Melanesian village life, leadership, and social obligations as Narokobi understood them. Narokobi discusses village leadership; inter-village relations; customary land tenure; and traditional community practices such as games, dances, and competitions. He describes local approaches to conflict resolution, emphasizing the importance of alliance and diplomacy in traditional life. He cogently and artfully describes the way his ancestors responded to their early colonial encounters. He describes the history of their embrace of Catholicism; the special role he and fellow villagers played throughout the Sepik coastal region during the pre-independence period; and the remarkable successes of the village diaspora, many of whom now hold prominent positions in government, civil service, and business. He also highlights the educational achievements of village women past and present, celebrating their accomplishments.

In Narokobi’s vision, the concept of “the village” was a blueprint for the Papua New Guinean nation. Narokobi’s conception of the modern Melanesian state as a projection of village-based social relations is evident in his many publications. For example, Narokobi dedicates an entire section of his book Life and Leadership in Melanesia to explaining why the village is “the University of Melanesia” (1983:53ff.), and in The Melanesian Way he writes of “the village as the starting point for our economic development” (1980:125). The History of Wautogik Village shows how Narokobi’s theorization of the state drew upon his knowledge of a particular historical and cultural place. It helps us interpret the Arapesh vernacular terms that appear throughout his publications and his frequent references to Arapesh concepts and motifs, for example, his bringing to bear characters from Arapesh folk tales in order to comment on current affairs.

The digital History of Wautogik Village builds upon and curates primary Arapesh linguistic and cultural materials that are preserved in the Arapesh Grammar and Digital Language Archive. These include video- and audiorecorded texts, geospatial data, lexical data, and drawings and photographs of cultural artefacts and activities that have disappeared from everyday life. When it is completed, the digital edition of the document will be embellished with annotations, alternate perspectives, and supplementary audiovisual resources, ensuring not only that Narokobi’s text is preserved, but that the context necessary to interpret it is preserved alongside it.

After careful study, I have made the decision to edit Narokobi’s text in a number of ways. It has been reformatted so as to clarify its conceptual organization (e.g., reordering some elements and presenting it as a series of titled chapters), and commentary has been added as an aid for contemporary readers. The manuscript contains many Arapesh names and terms whose pronunciation cannot be adequately rendered in English orthography; these are transcribed phonemically and linked to audio recordings. Descriptions of key locations discussed in the text are being linked to hand-drawn or geo-referenced maps of the region integrating GPS waypoints collected by villagers. Native concepts will be linked to villagers’ drawings and photographs (always with permission and attribution).

Melanesian village discourse proceeds through consensus, such that opportunities must be found to consider alternative perspectives, especially from elders. In the ordinary course of affairs, political statements are made in a group setting, where any individual’s words are subject to affirmation, further elaboration, or disagreement by others. Each stakeholder should have the opportunity to speak and, as Arapesh people say, “put another idea on top” of what others have said. During a visit to Wautogik in 2013, I read the entire manuscript aloud to a group of elders, asking them to correct my pronunciation of Arapesh terms, note any points of disagreement, and put their own ideas “on top of” Narokobi’s wherever they felt something more or different needed to be said. Where appropriate the text is linked to recordings of comments made during this public reading and to archived recordings of related texts produced by other knowledge holders, many of them elders who have since passed away. By doing this I hope to create a presentation of Narokobi’s text which respects cultural protocols for knowledge circulation that cannot be achieved in a traditional print publication.