Thesis
A Bona Kini: identifying a Tolai methodology for recovery from volcanic disruptions among the Tolai of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Southern Cross University
Doctor of Indigenous Philosophies (DIndigPh), Southern Cross University
2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.211
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Abstract
The Tolai people of the Gazelle Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, are a highly cohesive society noted for their strong kinship system. After the major volcanic eruptions of 1994, thousands of people were resettled on alienated land, far from their ancestral villages. The relocation meant that groupings of clans (vunatarai) were split up and resettled in different locations, where members of the same kinship group were resettled in more than one location. Twenty-seven years since the volcanic eruption, the impact on the resettled population from the worst affected villages is still felt today.
The aim of this research is to discover and validate a Tolai methodology for re-weaving the threads of vunatarai disrupted by the eruptions, through a process of kinship mapping and storytelling. Kinship mapping (varvatakodo na vunatarai) and sharing of stories through dialogue (varvapirpiriana) have the potential to be vital tools for social healing and societal wellbeing: a way for indigenous cultures such as the Tolai to know their extended families and an important vehicle for all to use for restoring bona kini (wellbeing). I argue that rebuilding and strengthening bona kini in this way has the potential to restore the fabric of Tolai society in a way that builds resilience to future volcanic disruptions and to improve recovery from such traumatic events. Bona kini is a holistic term encompassing mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, environment, economics, political, psychological, social, and cultural harmony within the communities. Using Community-Based Participatory Research tools of kinship mapping and shared story-telling, underpinned by an Indigenous epistemology, I worked with key members of two affected communities to determine whether varvateten can be an effective methodology of reweaving moieties and kinship lineage among the Tolai.
Details
- Title
- A Bona Kini: identifying a Tolai methodology for recovery from volcanic disruptions among the Tolai of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea
- Creators
- Tandy Evah Lubett
- Contributors
- Shawn Wilson (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityNorm Sheehan (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityStuart Barlo (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityKath Fisher (Advisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Indigenous Philosophies (DIndigPh)
- Theses
- Doctor of Indigenous Philosophies (DIndigPh), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University
- Number of pages
- xi, 163
- Identifiers
- 991013043213802368
- Copyright
- © TE Lubett 2021
- Academic Unit
- Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples
- Resource Type
- Thesis