Etiquette and Taboos in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea people are an ethnic group on Irian Island (New Guinea Island) and nearby islands in the western Pacific Ocean, referred to as Papuans.

The word "Papua" comes from the Malay word "Babwa"(Papuwa), which means "curly hair". About 2 million people (1978). It belongs to the Australia species of the Papua type and the Melanesian type, with medium build, dark brown skin color, curly hair, and prominent jaws. It uses more than 700 languages and dialects, has its own family language family, and has no kinship with other languages in the world. Some people speak English and Pykin. Worship ancestors and totems, and superstitious elves and witchcraft. Some people believe in Christianity. Some researchers believe that the ancestors of the Papuan people may have begun to migrate from Southeast Asia 50,000 years ago, and later continued to mix with new immigrants. Before the invasion of European colonists, society was in the late stage of primitive communes, divided into hundreds of tribes. Generally speaking, a village of about 40 to 50 people is formed based on the patrilineal clan. Since the 19th century, it has been under colonial rule by the Netherlands, Germany, Britain and Australia. In 1963, the western region was transferred to Indonesia, and in 1975, the eastern region declared independence, establishing the independent state of Papua New Guinea.

The Papuan people have long been engaged in primitive agriculture and are prevalent in slash-and-burn cultivation, growing potatoes, beans, sago, bananas and sugar cane; collecting and hunting are used in the mountainous areas; fishing is the main focus on the coastal areas. Some people now move into cities, mines and farms and live on wages. Most still live a self-sufficient life in rural areas. After independence, urban construction, industrial, mining, and transportation developed rapidly. The Papuan people are good at carving, pottery making and shipbuilding. Clothes are simple, they like to wear nose ornaments, and tattoos are popular. In some places, headhunting customs were once popular. Most of the houses are high-footed huts, and the villages are fenced.

1. Social customs

The general characteristics of the social customs of Papua New Guinea can be summarized in the following words:

In Papua New Guinea, most people have curly hair; folk customs are strange, which makes people surprised; they bite each other's eyelashes to convey love, and couples quarrel with each other for entertainment; women break instructions and are sad, endure pain and wear their noses and pig claws; social loyalty to others, warmth and friendliness spread good stories.

There are the following characteristics in terms of life details:

People in Papua New Guinea have an incredibly strange custom. They regard quarrels between couples as one of the best traditional forms of entertainment. The louder the noise, the happier the mood, the more loving the couple. This is a vivid portrayal of the effectiveness of their campaign. In this country, there are large venues for couples to quarrel in various places. Whenever a couple comes here to play against each other, viewers will automatically come from all directions to add fun. When they quarreled, one of them had a mouth like a gun and the other had a tongue like an arrow. If they quarreled a few words, they would turn red. They regard the fiercer the quarrel as the better the entertainment effect; whoever can put the other party in an awkward position with the sharpest and most vicious language will be regarded as the highest level of quarrel. Once their lips and tongues froze, both sides would withdraw their troops. The couple will finally happily return home arm in arm, and the entertainment will also end.

When you set foot on the Troburian Islands in Papua New Guinea, you will find that most of the young men and women here have no eyelashes. What is the reason? Mainly because they have a unique and bizarre custom of showing love. In order to express their pure love for each other, according to their traditional customs, a couple who are in love can only show their true love by biting off each other's eyelashes.

Among indigenous tribes in the central highlands of eastern Papua New Guinea, there is a bizarre custom of paying tribute to the dead of relatives. Whenever a relative dies unfortunately in the family, the woman in the family will cut off a finger to pay tribute to the deceased. The method of cutting fingers should be carried out in accordance with the traditional local method: the woman first places her fingers under the stone axe, and another man slams the stone axe with a wooden stick and cuts off her fingers. Since someone will always die in every family, few local indigenous women have all fingers.

Papua New Guinea people are particularly fond of eating betel nut, and they often use betel nut as a guest food. When guests come, they must bring out the best betel nut for the guests to taste.

In many places in Papua New Guinea, there is a custom of giving gifts between families. Every few years, they hold a gift-giving festival. Most of the gifts include bananas, sugar cane, yams, taro, corn, vegetables, etc. Before the festival, they would tie these things into small packages, write down the names of the giver and recipient, and then stack them together. The invited recipients held bows and arrows, spears, etc., sang and danced around the gifts, then made an offensive posture, and finally named and gave the gifts. For each delivery, people would shout to express their congratulations.

In the Mindo tribe of Papua New Guinea, many tribes still live a primitive tribal life. They like to have tattoos and colorful faces, wear grass skirts, and decorate themselves with leaves, tree bark, cloth strips and bird of paradise feathers. Some tribal men also use pig teeth, bird claws, etc. as decorations to hang them on their noses.

Residents of Santa Cruz Island use "feather currency". The currency is made from the feathers of the "White-Eye", a beautiful bird that grows on the island. A "feather coin" takes the feathers of about 300 white-eyed birds to make. Therefore,"feather currency" is regarded as a treasure locally. The US dollar, British pound, and Australian dollar all fluctuate or depreciate frequently, but the price of "feather" is extremely stable in the local market. Therefore, people often show off their wealth by keeping the most of this kind of "feather coins".

Papua New Guinea people love birds of paradise best. They believe that birds of paradise have beautiful bodies and gorgeous feathers. People all worship the polar bird as a god. They regard the bird of paradise as the patron saint of peace and security, and regard it as the embodiment of beauty, a symbol of wealth, and a symbol of the country.

2. Etiquette

When people in Papua New Guinea meet guests in social occasions, they are generally accustomed to shaking hands as a courtesy. Some island residents have their own etiquette expression when meeting each other. They are accustomed to opening their palms first and then hooking each other with one middle finger to show courtesy.

3. Belief taboos

The vast majority of people in Papua New Guinea believe in Christianity, of which about two-thirds are Protestants and the rest are Catholic. The degree of love for pigs can be said to be second to none in the world today. In order to show their reverence for pigs and serve as a symbol of authority, the chiefs of some tribes dug holes in their noses and embedded the tips of wild boar's claws; some chiefs also strung the testicles of wild boar and wore them on their wrists to express their belief in pigs and show their strength; some tribes also applied cosmetic ink made of charcoal and lard heavily on their faces to show their courage that did not disgrace their ancestors. They avoid the number "13". Consider "13" as an unlucky number and believe that it will bring bad luck and disaster to people.

In highlanders of Papua New Guinea, men must not lift heavy objects, otherwise they will be regarded as a great shame, even when walking with women, there is generally no exception. If a man is caught carrying heavy weights, his wife may be punished. In the past, there was even the risk of losing your head because of it.

The Jimi people in Papua New Guinea avoid flying foxes, owls and other birds with short bills. Because these animals have no noses. This means that there is no male genital organ.

4. Eating habits

The main foods of Papua New Guinea are sweet potatoes, taro, shelled rice, coconut and bananas. They also like to eat smoked fish wrapped in banana leaves. In terms of cooking, it is customary to eat any food either boiled in salt water or fried in an oil pan. They generally like to smoke, especially women who are addicted to smoking; most men like to drink, especially beer. Some people are famous for their massive quantities can drink dozens of bottles at a time. They are very interested in Chinese food and eat with their hands.

Papua New Guinea people have the following characteristics in their eating habits: ① Pay attention to pork feasts as auspicious, and pay attention to rich and affordable dishes.

② The taste is generally strong and likes oil.

③ The staple foods are mainly sweet potatoes, taro, corn, coconut and various bananas.

④ Non-staple foods like pork, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, etc.; vegetables like yams, taro, tomatoes, melons, etc.; seasonings mainly use salt and oil.

③ The method prefers dishes made by cooking methods such as boiling, frying, and roasting.

③ Chinese food respects China's Shandong cuisine, Beijing cuisine, and Liao cuisine.

③ The recipes appreciate the delicious dishes such as large platters, casserole pork joints, white meat casserole, snowflake chicken legs, dry-roasted fish, glazed pork, roasted suckling pig, fried yellow vegetables, fried pork loin, fried fish nuggets and other flavors.

Shuijiu likes to drink beer most, and also likes to drink juice made from various fruits.

Fruits like bananas, sugar cane, oranges, oranges and other fruits; dried fruits like nuts, etc.