An interesting article!
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Meet the Nasioi
By Patricia Chargot
Detroit Free Press
(MCT)
In hundreds of cultures around the world, people struggle to survive and build happy lives. Each culture ` and each individual - has a contribution to make to our beautiful, diverse human family. Here's one culture: the Nasioi.
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WHO ARE THEY? The Nasioi (NAH-see-oy) are one of the many indigenous (in-DIH-jen-us), or native peoples, of Papua New Guinea, an island nation just north of Australia. They live on Bougainville (BOO-gan-vil), an island that scientists consider unique in the southwest Pacific.
WHY IS IT UNIQUE? For a small island, Bougainville is remarkably diverse, with 16 different native groups, each with its own language. About half of the groups, including the Nasioi, are believed to be descendants of people who migrated from southeast Asia to Bougainville 29,000 years ago. The others are descendants of people who came from southeast Asia later, about 5,000 years ago. Also, Bougainvilleans are distinctive in appearance. And the island's 20th-century history is unbelievably complex.
WHERE DO THE NASIOI LIVE? Bougainville's 10,000 Nasioi live in the south-central part of the island. Their homeland is a paradise, stretching from the coast to the mountains, with fertile valleys for farming and a harbor as pretty as a postcard. Yet Eugene Ogan, an American anthropologist, calls the Nasioi's enviable environmental wealth a "curse of riches."
WHY? The natural harbor at Kieta has attracted hordes of outsiders, beginning with Catholic missionaries in 1902. Soon, Germans and other Europeans started building coconut plantations on Nasioi land. Later, Australians, too, tricked the Nasioi into selling their land cheaply. And Nasioi who worked on the plantations weren't treated very well. Each invasion further threatened the Nasioi's simple, peaceful way of life -- hunting, fishing and growing food in gardens. Then things got a lot worse.
HOW? During World War II, the Japanese invaded Bougainville and built a major military base at Kieta. U.S. planes bombed the island, especially the harbor. When the war ended, the Australian plantation owners came back. But the Nasioi refused to work for them, forcing them to recruit outside labor and fueling resentment. Then in 1964, things got worse still for the Nasioi.
WHAT HAPPENED? Geologists discovered a huge deposit of copper, gold and silver near Kieta. A British company built a huge mine, attracting 10,000 workers from around the world. Many Nasioi were forced to move, and a chunk of lush rainforest was cleared to make way for company towns and roads. The Nasioi again lost out, fueling anger and creating a sense of desperation.
DID THE ANGER ERUPT? Yes. In 1988, a young Nasioi stole some explosives and blew up a mining facility. The Papua New Guinea government sent soldiers to Bougainville, and the Nasioi and other islanders formed a rebel group. The mine closed, but the fighting engulfed the whole island and lasted for nine years. Schools closed, buildings were destroyed and thousands of islanders were killed.
HOW DID THE CONFLICT END? Women from the Nasioi and other groups called for peace, and a truce was signed in 1998. Nasioi women always have been leaders. Unlike women in other parts of Papua New Guinea, Nasioi women traditionally were treated with respect by men and had similar rights. The men cleared the forest, but the women did all the gardening. In the 1960s, a Nasioi man told Eugene that men could not take produce from their wives' gardens without their permission! While women's power has eroded under outside influence, it has not disappeared.
WHAT ABOUT THE MEN? Instead of chiefs, the Nasioi have "big men," leaders who others naturally look up to for their generosity, knowledge and leadership skills. Depending on where they live -- beach or mountains -- they fish, hunt and raise pigs and plant their own coconut trees.
WHAT'S LIFE LIKE NOW? It's still hard. But schools have reopened and the Nasioi and other islanders are trying to rebuild their cultures. In 2005, Bougainville became semi-independent, with its own legislature and an elected president, Joseph Kabui (kah-boo-ee), a Nasioi. But there's talk of reopening the mine, which was the country's largest source of export income.
WHAT DO THE NASIOI EAT? Before the conflict, they ate taro, a tuberous plant; sweet potatoes, greens and, for feasts, pork from the pigs they raised. Now, they eat mostly canned corned beef and rice. But for feasts, they still make Ta'ma, a kind of pudding made of mashed sweet potatoes and bananas with coconut and almonds. Yum.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/17172527.htm
Sources: Eugene Ogan, a professor emeritus of anthropology, University of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also, "Why do the people of Bougainville look unique?" by Jonathan Friedlaender of Temple University, from the book "Bougainville Before the Conflict."
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