Introduction
Papua New Guinea is a collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean, including New Britain, Ireland, and Bougainville. Bordering Indonesia, Australia, and the Solomon Islands, the region experiences a tropical monsoon climate, with much of the annual rains experienced in the western region.
By 2007, the country had a population of 6.3 million people and over 850 languages and dialects. However, most regions had not been visited by the Europeans up to the mid-twentieth century when a good system of government was established in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It did not take long before the country gained independence in 1975 from Australia with twenty provinces (Josephides, p.187). As a result, the kind of government that continues to be exercised in the region has developed on the old principles of leadership.
How the women were perceived in the region
There was a variation in the position given to the women in the communities of Papua New Guinea. The kinds of cultural practices were similar or slightly different from one province to the other. However, in most of the provinces, it can be stated that women were not considered to be of the same category as men. Their roles fell under the men’s jurisdiction and were restricted to home affairs. Moreover, they were not allowed to take part in public activities.
Kafaina movement
Kafaina is a movement that was initiated by women to fight for their position in the country. The movement, referred to as Wok Meri in the Eastern Highlands province, drew women from various ethnic and linguistic communities within the country. These women formed subgroups with a male representative for soliciting funds to promote the activities of the organization (Warry, n.d, p.3). Their plea was that women should be accorded their due respect in society since they had helped males in acquiring wealth. Instead of being perceived as garden workers and caretakers of pigs, the movement advocated for their recognition as the pillars behind the success of every male in society.
Women’s position after independence
When PNG gained her independence, a constitution was set up that showed the country getting into a sense of development. One of the aims of the constitution was to give women an equal opportunity of taking part in every activity in the region (Josephides, n.d, p.188). It had been observed that women were less presented in the socio-political activities that took place in the region and they were only regarded as a means of helping men acquire and control their domestic wealth. A National Council for Women was established to help in meeting this objective, only to be faced with serious development obstacles. Even though the council was funded by the government, it still had much burden, since women were left to fight it out for themselves amidst the big men in the communities. Most of the women who contested for political positions failed and such failures were ironically bestowed on the council.
The growing rift between the salaried and non-salaried people that were seen in the urban centers of PNG led to various kinds of crimes in the cities; and this was a major threat for women fighting for gender equality. They were often the targets of such vices as rape and violent robbery and often settled back for protection from the male counterparts. The crimes were organized and committed by young unemployed members who had dropped out of school on financial or other grounds, opting to fill the streets of the urban centers. The gang members cried that the ‘big men’ in the society had taken an enormous share of the country’s economy and were still using their powers to gain more of it. They were now obtaining their share in other ways. Concerning why they raped women, the youths responded that the big men, as well as the women, would not allow them to have an affair because of unemployment (Josephides, n.d, p.189). They were now obtaining their share of women as well. A mixture of ideas can develop from this incidence.
The fact that the young men are not reluctant to asserting why they have to rape the ladies as a way of obtaining their own back does reveal how rape has been perceived among the community in the past. It shows that women were regarded simply as tools that could be used by men against other men. Besides, it later gave an implication that, in as much as women fought for equality to men, there are occasions when they had to seek protection from the men against other men. They had to stay at home under the protection of the men to avoid being raped by the rascals (Josephides, n.d, p.191).
The effects of modernizing forces on these relationships
The modernizing forces have not had enough influence on the way women are perceived in Papua New Guinea. The men still value women as lesser beings who should not be charged with serious decision-making tasks.
The researches that were conducted by scholars on peoples’ perception of rape showed different responses, with the men blaming it on modernization and the women terming it as an act that had been there since the olden time. There was available literature that showed rape and other criminal offenses were common in the past. It was also evident that there were cases of family conflicts, where the husband could beat his wife whenever he felt like. The same scenario was seen in two different learned couples who were married in the modern age. Indeed, how the husbands mistreated their wives was worse than the cases that had been witnessed in the past.
In the political field, it has been observed that since the country obtained its independence in 1975, only a few female candidates have made their way to the National Assembly. It has also been noted that those women who have tried to survive in the political arena are those allied to Kafaina or the Wok Meri movements. This is a women initiative that draws women from across the numerous language speaking groups from different provinces in the country.
The cultural meaning of some foods
Introduction
The types of food that should be taken by humans should be determined by the nutritional contents of such foods. The chemical content of a given foodstuff should determine how much of that foodstuff should be consumed by an individual. However, certain constraints will determine the types of foods consumed in a given region. The climatic conditions prevailing in an area will determine the kind of crops that are grown in a region. This will in turn determine the foods that will be readily available for consumption in an area. Financial constraints may also restrict a particular society to the locally available kinds of foods.
Food as a means of preserving culture
A more important observation is that some kinds of foods are common among certain communities not due to poverty, but because of the cultural values that they attach to such foods. Such foods are in some cases used to symbolize wealth or prosperity in a given area so that it is perceived that a visiting individual will have a good perception towards the society having been served with such foods. Others are used during occasions like marriage or the celebration of the birth of a child, as a symbol of unity. Others are used to symbolize hardship that the members of the society have undergone to attain their current achievement status. Moreover, there are even cultural norms and taboos that are attached to some kinds of foods.
How bread and wine are perceived in some societies
De Certeau et al (1998) gave an examination on how some kinds of food, bread, and wine, are perceived among some communities. Their analysis was based on how some typical family valued bread and wine in its meals. Despite the varieties of foods that could be obtained from a grocer or bought from the shops, the meals would be considered incomplete without bread and wine in this family (De Certeau et al, 1998, p.85). These two kinds of foods were seen to be a necessity for every meal. Unlike other foods like meat, vegetables, and chicken that can be substituted with each other, there were no alternatives for bread and wine (Reed-Danahay, 1996). This is even though the two kinds of food could not collectively comprise a whole meal. What then was the philosophical argument behind valuing such foods?
Despite their close association in every meal, bread and wine cannot be likened to each other and their perception among several communities could be seen as being two opposing forces.
Despite being a pillar in every meal due to its toughness, bread is considered an important component in every meal in these societies as a symbol for the hard work that had enabled the society members to reach their current economic status (De Certeau et al, 1998, p.86). Its presence on the table as part of the meal attempts to assure the family members that there is food security following the hardships that had been experienced in the past. It cultivates a spirit of hard work among the members of a given family and society as a whole. The attachment of bread to the previous hardships leads to the development of some taboos related to it. For instance, a child is not allowed to play around with bread, and neither is he/she allowed to throw away bread into the rubbish pit. It is believed that by throwing away bread into rubbish damp, one tends to forget the hardships that had occurred and that there are no more chances of such misfortunes (De Certeau et al, 1998, p.87). Several measures are taken to ensure that there are very limited chances of throwing away bread by the members of the family. Such measures begin immediately it is brought from the shop or wherever it will be obtained. No one is allowed to jump onto the food until other meal components are ready and until the responsible family member starts serving the meal. Besides, no extra slices of bread should be cut unless the ones already cut are consumed. In case there are some leftovers, these can be used to make pudding or soup, or be given to a nearby poultry farmer just to ensure that it is not thrown away (De Certeau et al, 1998, p.87).
Bread will also be used to identify the cultural values and practices of the society where an individual comes from (De Certeau et al, 1998, p.87). The above-described society forbids throwing away bread. If a visiting guest handles bread in a manner that goes contrary to their valuation, such an individual will not be considered a respectable guest. How he values bread implies that they had never experienced any hardships back at home and that they are not to be trusted during difficult times. If the guest were a suitor, then this would be an automatic disqualification.
Unlike bread that can be taken as much as an individual can consume, most of these societies have a restriction on the consumption of wine. It is perceived and taught to the young generation that drinking without precautions can be likened to a man who embarks on a long journey never to come back. To regulate the level of wine consumption, such societies have teachings that point out the dangers of excessive drinking, explicitly spelling out the right time of taking little wine during meals. Thus, the presence of wine in many meals is a cultural practice aimed at preventing excessive drinking (Reed-Danahay, 1996).
Reference List
De Certeau, M., 1998. The practice of everyday life: Living and cooking. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Josephides, L., N.d. Gendered Violence in a Changing Society: The Case of Urban Papua New Guinea. (Attached material).
Reed-Danahay, D., 1996. Champagne and Chocolate: Taste and Inversion in a French Wedding Ritual. American Anthropologist, 98 (4): 750-761. (Attached material).
Warry, W., N.d. Kafaina: Female Wealth and Power in Chuave Papua New Guinea. (Attached Material).