Power or paradise? : Korafe christianity and Korafe magic

Gnecchi-Ruscone, Elisabetta

Power or paradise? : Korafe christianity and Korafe magic

Date

1991

Authors

Gnecchi-Ruscone, Elisabetta

Abstract

This thesis addresses the nexus between Christianity and magic in the contemporary beliefs of a small group of Korafe villagers of coastal Papua New Guinea. The ethnography focusses on the clans living on one peninsula of Cape Nelson, and their various links with neighbouring groups, with the government station at Tufi, With urban dwellers, and with larger institutions and forces, during the period between January 1987 and July 1988. One crucial outcome of the Korafe colonial experience was conversion to Christianity. Despite their allegiance to the Anglican church, however, Korafe continue to believe in and practice magic. The question posed in this thesis is: how do magic and Christianity coexist? I suggest that the difficulty is not the compatibility of beliefs: contemporary Korafe believe that God gave magic to their ancestors. The contradiction is introduced by the missionary condemnation of magic on moral grounds. Responsible for preserving their clans' heritage, elders are faced with a paradox. At times Korafe consider magic necessary and valuable; at other times primitive and evil. I argue that the conflicting evaluations of magic stern from Korafe notions about the nature of knowledge, and the relationship between the control of esoteric knowledge and political power. These notions have shaped Korafe experiences of colonial and post-colonial contact. Christianity is held to be the basis of Western knowledge, underlying Western powers. This knowledge is thought to be necessary for success in those activities associated with post-contact social, political and economic changes. Everyday life, however, is characterised by continuity with the past. Contemporary villagers' concerns with subsistence and well-being are no different to their predecessors'. In this context the empowering properties of magic continue to be valued, and magic is practiced by elders despite the Christian ideology of 'magic as evil'. These dilemmas are generally the concern of ritual leaders alone. By following the villagers through a drought, this thesis shows the processes through which such conflicts are brought to the surface in crisis situations, for resolution involving the larger community in decisions concerning the fate of common ancestral heritage.