Papua New Guinean indigenous languages, traditional knowledge, skills and expertise have been fading, most likely into oblivion over the years since colonization. In today’s post-colonial era, shaped by mobile phones, social media, the internet and an overwhelming stream of information, many young Papua New Guineans have drifted away from learning from their parents and elders about their history, cultural traditions and spiritual practices.
The traditional indigenous way of life gave meaning, purpose and understanding which guided our ancestors for over 50,000 years of survival on this land. A significant component of what defines culture is language. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has more than 800 indigenous languages. A comprehensive study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that only 58% of PNG students were fluent in indigenous languages, compared to 91% of their parents. The study predicts a further decline to 26% in the next generation. This decline is attributed to factors such as urbanization, mixed-language families and the dominance of English and Tok Pisin in education and daily life. The study found that language attrition was accompanied by the decline of traditional knowledge and of nature.
This article will examine a celebration, called N’gusunga and a people’s effort towards preserving their ancient language and cultural practice whilst in the process ensure transfer of knowledge from one generation to another.
The celebration of N’gusunga by the people of Korogu village, in middle Sepik, Gawi Local Level Government (LLG), East Sepik Province (ESP), is a deliberate act of resistance and preservation. It is a celebration not just of culture, but of survival, identity and gratitude. For the people of Korogu, it is not an abstract cultural relic; it is an everyday reality. N’gusunga is their pantry, their garden, their river, their lakes and their spiritual lifeline. They celebrate N’gusunga because it is their Eden, the sanctuary where they live, hunt, fish and find safety. Today, cultural celebrations like this across PNG are often organized to attract tourists or to generate income thus turning sacred traditions into spectacles for an external audience’s consumption. Corporations usually capitalize on this by offering sponsorship to communities, commercializing the event which in turn hollows out the original meaning and significance behind the practice, reducing it to a form of entertainment rather than an expression of cultural integrity.
In Korogu, however, the N’gusunga celebration retains its original spirit. As Louis Ambu, an elder from Korogu puts it, “N’gusunga is my life, it’s my wealth. This is where I get my food, and it is where I live.” His statement portrays the deep Melanesian understanding that culture is not separate from livelihood. Celebrating N’gusunga affirms the Korogu people’s bond with the land, river, spirits and community. The celebration is not performative but one of gratitude and an account of the generational survival. This approach presents itself as a model to other communities in PNG that are experiencing cultural erosion. It is reframing a narrative of cultural festivals which are beginning to be presented as mere tourist attractions and entertainment sometimes for economic gains. These festivals or celebrations can and must be vital opportunities for knowledge transfer, reinforcement of identity and communal revival.
The methods of knowledge transfer in Korogu as observed were multifaceted. It encompasses storytelling, traditional poetry, songs, dance, and hands-on learning. Knowledge is not taught in isolation but is integrated into daily life. Boys and girls learn by doing. By building, fishing, cooking or dancing under the guidance of their parents and elders. Girls often learn while accompanying their mothers or aunts to fishing grounds, while boys learn in the n’gego (haus tambaran) from elders and male kin. This communal, experiential method of knowledge transfer mirrors what the Assembly of First Nations and the University of British Columbia have documented in other indigenous contexts: that traditional knowledge is best learned through lived experience, observation, and shared stories.
Louis Ambu emphasizes that respect is at the heart of this process: “A child who is prepared to learn is the child who respects elders, knowledge, history and life.” The respect for elders is the key to unlocking the knowledge safeguarded by the elders. Respect grants favor and the curiosity of the young mind absorbs and sustains knowledge. In Korogu, this respect still exists, and it has allowed traditional knowledge to persist through generations. Their children grow up not only hearing about their culture but living it.
The reality is quite different for urban areas and in villages where there are modern schools, unregulated access to the internet and strong christian religious influence. The dominant education system in PNG, inherited from colonial frameworks, often encourages children to aspire to a ‘success’ through Western ideals such as individual achievement, employment, urban migration; while neglecting, or sometimes even dismissing, traditional wisdom and indigenous ways of life. This creates a disconnect, where children view their cultural traditions as backward, irrelevant or unscientific.
“It should not be a nostalgic folklore but must be a viable, relevant system of knowledge.”
This disconnect is amplified by the lack of written documentation as many PNG languages and traditions remain oral and are vulnerable to extinction when elders pass without transferring knowledge. UNESCO has warned that 43% of the world’s 6000 languages are at risk of disappearing and PNG, with over 800 languages is experiencing this. The extinction of languages is followed by cultural decline and the loss of identity, creating a uniform neo-culture that is neither authentic nor indigenous.
Martin Avrak of Korogu shared this concern but also offers hope: “Most of the younger generation here today are aware of the N’gusunga culture because of a few elders who are alive and have either participated or witnessed celebrations in the past.” His insight reveals an important truth: preservation is possible where elders remain committed, and youth are open to learning. It also highlights the urgent need to support cultural champions, like those in Korogu who are doing the hard work of cultural continuity.
Two main barriers hinder the broader transmission of indigenous knowledge in PNG. Firstly, the education system still promotes Western-centric values that implicitly discourage traditional practices. Labels like “formal” “modern,” “elite”, “updated”, “educated” are often contrasted with “informal”, “primitive,” “backward,”, “old-fashioned,” “uneducated”Papua New Guineans often express (intentional or satirical) in Tok Pisin as “ples type”, “ples tingting”, “ples man”which are essentially often derogatory, denigrating and insulting. This is evidence of insidious marginalizing of indigenous knowledge further nurturing or internalizing inferiority complexes among parents and youth alike. Secondly, the insidious effect of colonization has deeply shaped the mindset of older generations, particularly the Baby Boomers and Generation X, many of whom were educated in missionary or colonial schools and internalized the devaluation of their own cultures. Some parents have lost touch with their traditional knowledge, while others may be reluctant or unable to pass it on. As a result, even willing children have no access to their own histories and are further alienated.
The Korogu N’gusunga celebration provided an example of how indigenous knowledge can survive and even thrive. It is a call for Papua New Guineans to reclaim, appreciate and guard our stories, our identities and our languages. It should not be a nostalgic folklore but must be a viable, relevant system of knowledge. Celebrations like N’gusunga should not be isolated events but part of a wider movement to restore dignity, connection and pride in our cultural traditions. To ensure the survival of PNG’s fading diverse languages and cultures, communities must be empowered through policies, transformative education reforms and political endorsement of traditional leadership and governance structures that actively safeguard and revitalize these traditions. The narrative about PNG’s indigenous knowledge must be corrected and told through the lens of a Papua New Guinean and by the ancient wisdom derived from our Melanesian consciousness.
https://blogs.ubc.ca/traditionalknowledgetechnology/sample-page
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