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Migration and circulation as a way of life for the Wosera Abelam of Papua New Guinea
Author(s) -
Curry George,
Koczberski Gina
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8373.00052
Subject(s) - new guinea , circulation (fluid dynamics) , indigenous , government (linguistics) , work (physics) , geography , economy , political science , development economics , sociology , economic growth , ethnology , economics , biology , mechanical engineering , ecology , linguistics , physics , philosophy , engineering , thermodynamics
Migration and circulation are now an integral part of the socio‐economy of the Wosera Abelam of Papua New Guinea. Since the 1950s large numbers of Wosera Abelam have settled in West New Britain (WNB) towns and government sponsored resettlement schemes. These long‐term migrants provide a base in WNB for temporary migrants from the Wosera seeking work or a break from village life. This paper explores the linkages between temporary and long‐term migrants in WNB, and between migrants and their relatives remaining in the village. We argue that migration is now a ‘way of life’ for the Wosera Abelam, and is, to a large extent, underpinned by indigenous (precapitalist) social and economic relations.