HAUS TAMBARANS IN MAPRIK: REVIVAL

OR TOURIST ATTRACTION?
Viii Beier
[n the elevated section of Maprik.. four magnillcem
new Ilaullambarans rise in an open field. The sight is
unusual, nOI only beca use four hauslamharam are not
normally SI:l'1l crowding round a single open space,
bur also be(;ause the four houses represent fOUf dis -
flaW built in Maprik by the lown council intended as ..
lour;sl annclion and shop for carvings. The house is sliIl in very good
condi tion, but the business side WlI S .. failure.
20
tinctly difTerent styles, each representing one of the
mam sub-groups of Abclam culture : Ma pri k,
Wosera, Yangeru and Dreikikir.
Thi s is thc beginning of the Ma pri k Cultural
Cel1lre, established by the National Cultural CoulKi[
'.
!lam IDmDarGn in Venigo vill age. built largely as a place loseli Cilrvings in
of Papua New Guinea. It is, however, not the first
haul lambaran that was built in Maprik out of its
wlt ural context. [n the earl }" 1960s the Maprik
Counci l built a haUl lambaran in the town that was to
scn'c as a touri st anranion and as a shop for sel ling
wood cii rvi ngs to visitors. The haul lall!baran, which
was built by the people of Yamikam village, is a fine
building and still in VCI}' good conditi on. However,
as it commercial venture it f:1iled. The 'shop' W;lS
often left unatt endcd and most vi sitors could not
bother to go and look for someone with a key. The
busi ness \,'as aba ndoned aftcr a few ycars and the
haUl lambarall now remains as a beautiful but
SOllie-what pointless monument.
The Maprik Cultural Centre is an offshoot of t he
Wewak Cultural Centre. The original initiative came
from Rick Wyatt , the director of the Wewak Centre.
The National Cultural Council made a gra nt of
$15,000 and a young Australian architect. Chris
Boylan. was employed to establi sh the Centre. He
started work in December 1974. To propagate the
idea of bui lding such a centre, Boylan travelled
through the district with Wongiwan. the chairman of
the Maprik Council. A committee was event ually
formed that included a member from each of the
four government stations: Maprik , Yangeru, Wosera
and Dreikikir. All committee members were council-
lors in their respective areas. The only other
Cultural Cemre. or the rour hauJ lamDara>l.l . from lert: WOfera. MapTil<. and Yangcru.
21
members were the kiap and Chris Boylan Wongiwan
was elened chairman.
At the very first meet ing of the comminec it was
decided that four haw (ambaram be built, each
representi ng and demonstrating a dirTerent art is tic
tradi tioll. So far' all four structures have been erencd
and the paintings on the fac;ade have been complet ed
in three of them. The people who built the Ma pri k
hau.! tombaran arc busy working o n the carvings that
will go inside their ceremonial house, and the
Cultural Centre is now negotiating with the people
of jambarangel for rhe emire contenrs of t heir hGll!
lambaran, which w;]I be assembled in the Woscra
ceremonial house in Maprik. IT is gratifyi ng to see
The Mapnk haw lafllbQtan
22
that the peopl e who built haus lambaranJ H' all y
gave their best. The paintings art' of tilt' high{' sl
quality. A cnrnplete surprise was the Dn:ikikir house.
No haw fambaran had exi swd in their area
World War II . Before they began build ing this house
they cl aimed that. unlike the M.lprik pcopk . thcy
had made neither pa111tings nor carvings ['or lhei r
(cremonial houses. [t was ollly at the last minUI{' lh<lt
they changed their minds and produced an im-
mensel y livel y paiming on the f;H.;:tde. in a wide
rang-e of colours Ihat incl uded intens(, g-rcellS and
brigh t in addition I() the normal earth colours.
They insist, however. that even these unusual colour's
are natural dyes.
The flrsl mecting of The Maprik Cultural CenTre
also dl'cided on building a museum in permanent
materi als, an office, and a gallel), for changing ex -
hibitions. Chris Boylan, however, has some n:serva -
lioll s about the idea ofa Illuseum. A museum, at thi s
stage. i . ~ ;lOt re!cvi.\n( to the people of Maprik, he
argul:s. Thc people do nOt wish to pan \"ith their
best catvings any more. They want to keep them in
their villages and use the1l1 as models for modern
t' lrving-s. Normall y the carvings from a hau..1 (ambaran
ilre di-a ri buted to individual initiates aftt' l" the
ceremony. The Abelalll have a !\I'o-dan structure
and it is alwa ys men from one clan who iniliate the
group immediately below tllt'm froHl the ol her dal1.
After a while the second dan has to reciprocate. The
initiating group are the ones who build the haUl la1fl-
baran. paint Ihe r a ~ a d e and make the carvings and
bark paintings that are kept inside the haus laTl/bartln.
After the initiation, the entire COlllents or the house
are distributed. Each man gives the carvings and
paintings he has made to his partner in the other
dan, whom he has initiated.
Wh('n the owner of such carvings dies, they pass 10
his 1:101il)" and when Ihe)' die they pass on to a larger
family group. It is possible today to find carvings
that th(' people consider communal clan or even vil-
lage property. Quitt' possibly Ihis is a new <luitudc
thaI has devel oped in recent )'cars Ihrough the ap-

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23
pearance of European dealers who paid high pri ces
for such carvings. These Europeans confused the vii
lagers; why should they want to buy these carvings
when they did nor underHand their religious sym-
bolism and when, clearly, they could not be used by
them for ri t ual purposes? What made them put this
cash value on them?
At first people found it easy to pan with objects
that had basically fulfilled their religious function.
But in recent times, perhaps because of the govern-
ment 's new emphasis on culture and the
Abelam have begun to hold on to their most impor-
tant carvings. In many villages where carvi ngs are for
sale, the best and oldest pieces are now retained.
They have come La symbolize the value of tradition
and people have come to see that they confer some
ki nd of dignity and pride on the village. It is for this
reason that Chris Boylan does not feel a museum is
warranted. He also feels that the Cultural Centre
would lack the funds and the personnel to look after
a museum effectively.
Even though the artistic quality of these new
ceremonial houses cannot be doubted, some uneasy
quest ions arise in one's mind. What is the purpose of
building a haw lambaran that cannot be used for in-
itiation purposes? It would be unthinkable for the
people of Dreikikir or Wosera to come to Maprik ror
the purpose of holding an initiat ion. Ir it is not a
The Wosni /wu.! iamba,an
24
genuine ceremonial house, what is it? A monument ?
A demonstration? A gesture? A shop? Why should
the government spend money to induce people to
build halts lambaran.s, when they are already doing it
all over Maprik 0 11 their own initiative? [n what way
does the National Cultural Council hope to in-
nuence the development or Abe[am culture by
building this centre? [s the centre built ror the
Abela m people or is it built ror visitors? Does the
opening ceremony, scheduled to coincide with the
visit to Maprik or a group or Aust ralia n ministers,
nOt indicate that the Cultural Centre is in ract orien-
tated towards roreigners and tourists? [f thM is so,
will the centre in ract induce peopiC' to commtT-
YanS!:ru haUl la",b(D(ln
cia[ize their art? A shop with carvings and other
cultural items is indeed envisaged, although the con-
tents or each haw lambaran. will be leh intact. [s this
somethi ng the government is rorcing on the people?
Did the initiative come rrom outside? Or docs the
government actually liberate and stimulate a culture
that is alive but suppressed? Is the heavy
on 'a uthenticity' going to stine the culture ? When
times arc ch<lIlging, should the an rorms remain
constant? Will the government create a problem ror
itse[r by encouragi ng too much loca! tradition and
not (> nough mltional thinking?
Chris Boylan is fully <I' ... are or the-sl;" problems. He
sees thar there are n:rrain dangers inherent in the
Mapri k Cullural Centre: op("ning ceremony Wilh police
tphOlOgraph by (ourtcsy or IVanlo*l
25
Cultural Centre but he feel s that they can be overcome
and bel ieves it can make an obvious and undisputed
contribution towards Abelam culture. The questions
raised are not all that easy to answer, because the
cultural siLUation in the area is rather confused. I n
Wosera and Dreikikir, ceremonial houses had not
been built for thirty years, whereas in Maprik the
tradition was never interrupted. The dramatic break
with tradition was the result of many factors, but the
most important single one was probably thejapanese
retreat to\vards the end of World War II. Having com-
pletely run out of supplies, thej apanese r.lided
local villages to help themselves to food. During these
raids most of the haUJ lambaram were burnt to the
ground. The missions, particularly the Soulh Sea
Evangelical Mission and the Assemblies of God, did
not exactly encourage the rebuilding of ceremonial
houses. I n Dreikikirand Yangeru powerful cargo-cult
movements also prevented the building of new hauJ
lambaranJ. In Dreikikir a new interest in business
development brought about a great change in
people's attitudes.
In recent years some kind or revival taken
place. [n Wosera, after an intcrruption of
thirty years, a haUJ lambamn was buill <iljamb<llangel
in 1973. No stimulus or money from t[l(' govern-
mem was needed. In the Drcikikir area til e Cui rural
Centre did in fact spark off rhe revival; rhe
ceremonial house in Ihe Cul!ural Centre is the flrSl
10 be built since World War [I, bur rhert' now
Culture for sale : Gllvings collected fQr sale by the Wcwa k Cl.lltl.l ral Ccnrrc
26
serinu, ta lk or building others in the villages, In
Mapl ik, ceremonial houses had /)('e n built and used
continua ll y, but there has been a signi rifa nt increase
in this anivity duri ng Ihe last lew yea rs,
There is no doubt , however. that at some or
the imjlt:IU' lor all these act ivities is wnllllcfcial.
Many hau.l lombaranJ arc being built which arc not in-
tended ror initiati on at all. They an' {'r(,lwd as a
tourist att raction, Visitors (('Veil WOIII(': I1 ) an' im-
mediatelv invited to go inside and til(" (()lIt('lItS tll"-
fen:d lor' sa Ie, Ot her hrHt,\ /(lmbarm/J. 11OWt 'V{'J" I arc 5\ i II
bu il t to carry out the long and complex initiation
cycle, Nevertheless, alin ,the completion 01' the
! itual, the carvings are off(-rccl rnr sale, The
an' still dist ri bu(t'd by the initiatitlg- to the ill -
iti atcs. bu t they no longer carry them hOllle; they
now leave them in the hauj lamharan, and irr heir per,
sonal carvings afe sold they receive the money lor
them, This commercial trend rc("('ntiy gained even
greater momentum when twO overseas museums
each bought the complete contents or a haullambaran
ror high sums or moncy.
There is no doubt that Illany villagers st'(' the
Cultural Centre in Maprik merel y as a colltlllercia l
outler. And no doubt it will SC1"VC as a rocal point rOf
tourism, a place , ... here the ' pUt on' ling-JmK will
serve as a substi tute ror ritual. A shop where touri sts
C;ln huy carvings is also envisaged. It that thi s
commcrci al trcnd is not o rtht: Cultural Ccntre' s own
lll<tki ll g. and Boylan has no imention 0[' C1) -
Maprik With trad itional painting
27
couraging it in any way. No one will be solicited to
produce works for sale, but he feels that when
people want to sell anyhow thc Ccntre can insist on
standards. Nevertheless, the main difriculty the
Cultural Centre has to face is that of dissociating
itself from the degradation of the culture through
the tourist trade.
A h'eady one important function of the Centre has
become clear; it has' demonstrated to the Abelam
people in a striking and plaus ible way the change
that has taken place in government thinking. In
colonial times the administrat ion always gave sol id
suppon to business and to missions. While repres-
sive measures were not usuall y taken by district of-
ficers, the villagers still felt that their culrural ac-
tivities were backward and unprogressive. One vil-
lage leader in Dreikikir told Chris Bovlan tha t until
recently the people had been made to fccl that the
ritual activities of initiations and vam festivals in-
terfered with business and that they
therefore had to be disrouraged. He confessed that
he himself had strongly believed this unt il rcccnrly.
Now, however, he was no longer sure that his cofTee
plantations and his successful trucking busi ness
cou ld give him fulfilment. He was now organizing
his pcople to build a haw lambarall, so that they
could revive some of their ceremonies. A studenr of
Maprik High School, who had done some vacation
work for the Cultural Centre and had dis('ussed the
Centre \vith many villagers, reported a strong fecling
Maprik Courthouse: detail with lub",; head
28
of relief. Until recently, he said, the people had felt
they were not free to c,arry out their ceremoni es as
they wished. They felt that both government and
missions frowned on these activities. Some villagers
had aba ndoned them, not because they had actually
been forb idden to carry on with their rituals, but
because they could nOt cope wi th what they
sidered to be the hostile attit udes of administration
and mission. The Cultural Centre had demonstra.ted
(0 them that the government was indeed sympathetic
to cul tural activity, and they believed that they could
now freely do whatever they wished. Whether this
wi ll actually result in a significant revi val rema ins to
be seen, but even if it does not the Centre has already
ac hi eved someth ing important ; fo r ifpeople di scon-
tinue ancient r ituals, it is a lot better t hat they dis-
continue them of their own free will , rather than
acting under o utside pressure.
The Centre is also beginning to make its infl uence
fel t in other pOSitive ways. The Mapri k Counc'il is'
currently buildi ng a new courthouse in local
materials and in an adaptation of traditional style.
The bu ildi ng is bei ng erected by villagers with some
advice from Chris Boylan. The pai nting on the
fac:;ade is strictl y tradi tional, in the Maprik Haw Tam-
baran style, but at least a few innovations have crept
in; the convent ional row of ancestral faces on the
horizontal takit beam here incl udes a kiap, a
magistrate and a luiuai, all weari ng caps. Though
these three faces look much t he same as the. rest, the
very fact that the artists wanted to include them does
seem to indicate the begi nni ng of a greater fl ex-
ibility.
If the fo ur haw tambaram in the Cultural Centre
are less fu nctional than the courthouse, and if they
are mainly monuments, it can be argued that there is
a justificatio n for erecting such a monument. In
Maprik, as elsewhere in Papua New Gui nea, we are
witness'ing tradi tional cultures and val ues being
superseded by Western values and life styles. It may
be t hat there is little hope of keepi ng the re1i gious
values of the culture ali ve, but at least one can re-
mind people of the high aesthetic standards their
culture has achieved. The West has brought trade
and busi ness, communications and new patterns of
government, but the white man left his culture
behind v.hen he came to 'Papua New Gui nea.
Maprik is a n ugly government station: the usual col-
lection of temporary fibro houses, with glass louvres
and corrugated iron to t he climate,
badly proportioned, prefabricated, 'cheap'. In the
middle of this suburban slum, the four haus lam-
baratU look refi ned, elegant, dignified. Nothing ex-
patriates ever built in this country can match the
pure sense of for m, the balance, the cool beauty of
these buil dings. The pai ntings are alive and delicate,
and even though they use a very limited iconography
they are never reall y repetitive. It is important that
the present and future generations are reminded of
the perfection this cul ture was capable of.
We should not pretend, however , that the
buildi ng of these ceremonial houses represents a
cultural revival. If the Cultural Centre wa nts to
become more than a monument to the past it will
have to brand l out into entirely different kinds of
activi ties. Plans for some of these are currently bei ng
lai d. Chris Boylan envisages a gallery in which the
people of Maprik will be exposed to art from
other Papua New Gu inea cul tures and perhaps from
abroad. In this way their outlook can be broadened;
they can be introduced to new forms and to a greater
variety of artistic functions. It might stimul ate some
of the younger artists to tl')' out different techniques
and, more important. to fi nd new uses for an. The
artists of a new generation wi!l have to deal with tbe
problems of their own time. They will have to use
their talent to make statements about some of the is-
sues that confront Abelam culture today; cult ural
confl icts, iconoclast cargo-cul t movements, elections
and national pol itics now play an important part in
the lives of villagers. They will not be able to ignore
these factors forever and continue to pai nt aloof
gwalndu faces on the fa<;ades of their haw lamharans.
If they can carry their sense of style and for m into a
new arti stic phase, much will have been achieved.
Chr is Boylan. believes that an artist cannOt find new
ways unless he is fami liar with the old cult ure. This is
disputable. It is certain, however, that where people
despise their past they become so twisted up that
they become entirely uncreative. In hel ping people
to respect the past, the Cultural Centre can li berate
them. The Centre has already demonstrated its suc-
29
cess in giving prestige to Abelam culwre. Consider-
ing the ract that it was ini t iated barely six months
ago, this is a great deal.
however, wi ll be to help this culture towa rds greater
nexibility and adaptability, which wil l enable it to
cope with the many changes that are taking place
and that a re mosdy beyond its control.
30
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VOLUME 3 NUMBER 1 APRIL 1976