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Our Mama Dora

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A procrastinated story . I had this untitled draft for about two years after my beautiful mother's passing. A lump in my throat and welling tears always managed to procrastinate this short peace.  This picture above is my favorite  amongst the many I've taken of her. It captures her whole nature-  Mama Dora , as many in Goroka know her by or DN by her colleagues. Her eyes were kind and humble and always sincere. She wasn't a woman of many words but whenever she would speak, she would drop little gems of wisdom here and there. I loved her high cheeks, they would rise up when she smiles or laughs and the sides of her eyes would crinkle to let you know she got the joke. She had two faded arrow tattoos  traditionally inked on  either sides of her eyes and her voice was very gentle- the kind that made you know that everything was going to be alright.   Just writing about her now, I am picturing her in this kolos,  recall her motherly scent hinted with her favorite  Elizabeth A
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Manus: Preparations, Sea and Rats!

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"Aiya, lukim lek mit blo Simbu ya, maaahn! traipla steret na han blo mi hat lo raunim olgeta!" (look at the size of this  Simbu lady's calves, so big I can't wrap my hands around it!) and the villagers sitting next to me roared in laughter. My face cast a shade of red I'd never seen before. Nine year old Ben very innocently blurted his thoughts out for the world to hear about the size of my calves! He among other kids had been fascinated by my built and always trailed behind me when we first hit their shores. He had never seen a Highlander or maybe a traipla skin meri before. That was the welcome I received in Manus (and for the record, I think my built is average). I was in the North coast of Manus, with the Tulu 2 and the Lehewa communities. It took about an hour and forty five minutes by boat to come here, about K45 for a one-way trip in an open banana boat. Most of the people here have never been outside of Manus as it is one of the furthest and most exp
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Makan Nem, and a chicken sacrificed

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  "ye ambu kruo kra, ol masalai bai paulim em lo Dekmba Krukl" "...she is light skinned, the spirits will harm her in Dekmba Krukl". This was the whisper that went through the community when they heard that I would be leading the expedition into a sacred part of their forest called Dekmba Krukl. I arrived from Goroka in the main village of Danbagl bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for my first fieldwork but what followed was a long evening of lectures from the village elders on  tambu  rules and conducts that I had to follow for my safety in the forest. Apparently being light skinned and heading out to the forest was considered dangerous as the  makan nem  or  papa graun ( spiritual guardians ) were attracted to light-skinned people or anyone that looked different. Gembogl. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear of this place is glorious organic vegetables. The biggest broccoli, cauliflowers, carrots, potatoes, peas, garlic and of course bulb onions to name
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You've made it to my blog! welcome! Let's hope you'll find something in here that you can relate to and that my writing is not a headache until you reach the end. I am currently a research student who is undergoing a stage of what many may refer to as the "imposter syndrome" which has led me to a lot of stress, finding relief in procrastinating, thus the result of creating a blog. I'm also a fantastic mother who has done only one-quarter of the work in raising a beautiful 2-year-old daughter. Three-quarters of the time, I have a tribe taking care of my girl, thank you God for family, relatives and a tight-knit community in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific! Through this blog, I'd like to share my experiences through my fieldwork which involves camping out in the woods for weeks and my visits home to Goroka, Eastern Highlands and Kerowagi and Gembogl Districts in Chimbu Province. I also hope to share some of the challenges and victories I've expe
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