PAPUA NEW GUINEA

About Papua New Guinea:

The nation of Papua New Guinea

contains the eastern half of the island of New
Guinea, as well as the islands of New
Ireland, New Britain, and Bougainville, in
addition to numerous smaller islands. Much
of the country is mountainous and covered in
tropical rainforests, as the New Guinea
Highlands, a chain of mountains and river
valleys, runs the length of the New Guinea
island.

Papua New Guinea is one of the few

places left in the world where overused
adjectives such as “wild,” “remote,” and
“pristine” genuinely still apply. It’s the
world’s second largest island (after
Greenland), and one of the most sparsely
populated countries on the planet.The country
contains some of the planet’s most
extraordinary biodiversity. Papua New Guinea
is home to the third biggest forest in the world,
after the Amazon and the Congo. That massive
rainforest is home to the only poisonous bird
on the planet, the world’s largest butterfly, the longest lizard. PNG also boasts the Pacific’s
largest area of mangrove forest, coral reef, and sea grass beds.

This remarkable diversity doesn’t just

include nature, but extends to indigenous cultures as
well. Despite being home to a mere 7 million
people, the population of Papua New Guinea
belongs to over 7000 different cultural groups. Each
of these has their own language, as well as distinct
forms of cultural expression including dance, music,
body paint, costume, and weapons. Papua New
Guinea belongs to over 7000 different cultural
groups. Each of these has their own language, as
well as distinct forms of cultural expression
including dance, music, body paint, costume, and
weapons.
History:
Our ancient inhabitants are believed to have arrived in Papua New Guinea about 50-
60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia during an Ice Age period when the sea was lower and
distances between islands was shorter. New Guinea (as it used to be known), one of the first
landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, had its first
migration at about the same time as Australia, placing us alongside one of the oldest
continuous cultures on the planet.

Historians believe people first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000
years ago and came from Africa. Traders from southeast Asia had contact with the people of
PNG around 5000 years ago, but it was relatively unknown to Europeans until the 1500s
when Spanish explorers arrived.

In the 19th century, Germany ruled the northern part of the region until it was seized
by Australians in 1914 during WWI. Australia was authorised to administer the region after
the war. Meanwhile, the southern part was colonised by the British in the 1800s and became
an Australian Territory in 1905. In 1971, these separate states were renamed Papua New
Guinea and gained independence in 1975.

New Guinea

The northern half of Papua New Guinea came into German hands in 1884 as German New
Guinea. With Europe's growing need for coconut oil, Godeffroy's of Hamburg, the largest
trading firm in the Pacific, began trading for copra in the New Guinea Islands. In 1884,
Germany formally took possession of the northeast quarter of the island and put its
administration in the hands of a chartered company. In 1899, the German imperial
government assumed direct control of the territory, thereafter known as German New Guinea.
In 1914, Australian troops occupied German New Guinea, and it remained under Australian
military control until 1921.

Papua

On November 6, 1884, a British protectorate was proclaimed over the southern coast of New
Guinea (the area called Papua) and its adjacent islands. The protectorate, called British New
Guinea, was annexed outright on September 4, 1888. The possession was placed under the
authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1902. Following the passage of the Papua Act
of 1905, British New Guinea became the Territory of Papua, and formal Australian
administration began in 1906. Papua was administered under the Papua Act until World War
II, when Japanese forces invaded the northern parts of the islands in 1941 and began to
advance on Port Moresby, suspending civil administration.

During the war, Papua was governed by a military administration from Port Moresby, where
Gen. Douglas MacArthur occasionally made his headquarters. As noted, it was later joined in
an administrative union with New Guinea during 1945-46 following the surrender of Japan,
and Papua New Guinea was born.
Language and Accent:
Papua New Guinea is home to 12 percent of the world’s languages. It is estimated over 800
languages are spoken, although many have fewer than 1000 speakers. The official languages
are English, Tok Pisin, and Hiri Motu. Papua Guinea is a culturally diverse country, boasting
of 856 known languages, with 12 languages having no known living speakers. It is the most
linguistically diverse country in the world, accounting for 12% of the world’s total languages.
However, most of the languages have less than 1,000 speakers, with the most popular
language spoken by approximately 200,000 people. There are over 820 indigenous languages
spoken in Papua New Guinea. The Indigenous languages are classified into two categories
Austronesia and non-Austronesia languages.

Papua New Guinea adopted four official languages after independence. These official
languages are English, Tok, sign language, and Hiri Motu. Of the four official languages, Tok
Pisin is the most frequently used language for business and government activities. At least
two official languages are used in most of the institutions around the country.
 English

English is one of the official languages spoken in the

country. However, it is spoken by about 100,000 people
or 1-2% of the population. English was introduced into
the country as part of the Indo-European language by
the Australians who colonized it for some time. English
is mainly spoken by migrants and expatriates working
in the country. Most of the government
communications and publications are often made in
English

Tok Pisin

Tok Pisin is a Creole language that evolved from

LANGUAGE
English. It is one of the four official languages of Papua
New Guinea and the most widely spoken language in the
country. About five million people in the country can use
Tok Pisin to some extent, although not all speak it
fluently

Hiri Motu

Hiri Motu is also among the officially recognized

languages of Papua New Guinea and a simplified version
of Motu. The language is sub-divided into two dialects -
Austronesian and Papuan. The two dialects are derived
from the Motu language.
Cultures and Tradition: