Youths, elders, and the wages of war in Enga province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

"Here I will consider cycles of Enga warfare within the 350-year span for which we have information on warfare from oral and written historical records. The first is a period of intensive warfare that occurred in the first half of the 19th century, redrawing the map of Enga after the introduction of the sweet potato. These turbulent times were followed by a hundred-year period of successful initiatives to keep warfare in check and to promote prosperity. The Colonial Era then intervened with a ban on warfare. The second is a period of devastating “modern” warfare that began a few years before Independence in 1975 (Gordon and Kipilan 1982); Paney 1973) and accelerated in 1990 with the adoption of new technology in warfare, homemade shotguns and high-powered weapons, reversing the power hierarchy between older men and youths. Fieldwork and village court records allow us to trace the rise in violence, the formation of warring gangs of mercenaries, the impact on the population of Enga and the state of Papua New Guinea, and in the last few years, what may be a trend back towards moderation ..." - page 1