5 Gods, Spirits and Natural Hazards …
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scientific ontologies, have stronger ties than I-Kiribati to spiritual explanations of
natural hazards and climate change.
While the Bedamuni have been influenced by secular knowledge through missionfacilitated education and healthcare, as well as colonial and Papua New Guinea
government contacts, community informants intimated that the first sustained nonreligious advice they ever received came during and after the 2015/2016 El Niño
drought response. Even then, the advice was given mostly by the missionary’s
daughter, a Christian. The Highlands earthquake in February 2018 again saw significant numbers of INGOs—and religious groups such as Seventh Day Adventist—enter
Bedamuni territory, many explaining the hazard in scientific terms which meant little
to the inhabitants. The Bedamuni were already very aware of the risks posed by both
extended droughts (or ‘dry seasons’ as they are known) and earthquakes because of
their long history of exposure to them.
Despite the spread of Christianity, many declared Bedamuni Christians drew on
their customary beliefs to explain the 2018 Highlands earthquake rather than invoking
the Christian God or science. The main explanatory story relates to the mountain
spirit’s wife leaving and travelling down the Nomad River (Fig. 5.1). GJ first heard
this story in Fumanibi village (09-08-2018) when a woman named Nanebe claimed
she dreamt the spirit’s wife was travelling down the river saying:
Namone [“I’m sorry”], as the fish spoke our language, [it continued to say] it’s me the mother.
I’m going to die today. If it was the father, there would have been big changes but because
it’s me, I’m not going to do anything.
Many other participants, from villagers, young and old, to the vice president of
the Local Level Government believed this to be the cause of the earthquake. Yet a
few pastors and other Christians suggested the drought of 2015/2016, the earthquake,
and the overall decline in food security (see Jackson et al. 2020) were punishment
for past practices (e.g., cannibalism, warfare). Conversely, in Adumari and Safibi
villages, informants suggested that sometimes earthquakes are caused by people
who had lost loved ones, with one mother suggesting “they start playing around to
make earthquakes, some of them know how to make earthquakes”.
Regarding climate change, almost every Bedamuni informant recognised that the
dry season (traditionally August and September used as a time for clearing gardens
and planting) is starting later or not at all, and that the temperature, particularly
between October and February, is becoming much warmer than customary. There
has been a significant increase in garden pests and diseases, although whether this is
driven by climate change is uncertain (Jackson et al. 2020). When asked if they knew
about climate change, only the few who studied at high schools outside the Bedamuni
territory suggested they had heard of that concept. As part of the earthquake response,
CARE International ran several DRR sessions but only teachers and other educated
people attended. Speaking with some teachers afterwards, they claimed to understand
some of the natural causes of hazards. GJ also discussed the causes of drought with
many participants and, although many suggested that God and/or spirits controlled
all phenomena, they seemed very interested in the discussion of scientific knowledge
regarding climatic cause and effect. It appears Bedamuni may hold many competing
93
scientific ontologies, have stronger ties than I-Kiribati to spiritual explanations of
natural hazards and climate change.
While the Bedamuni have been influenced by secular knowledge through missionfacilitated education and healthcare, as well as colonial and Papua New Guinea
government contacts, community informants intimated that the first sustained nonreligious advice they ever received came during and after the 2015/2016 El Niño
drought response. Even then, the advice was given mostly by the missionary’s
daughter, a Christian. The Highlands earthquake in February 2018 again saw significant numbers of INGOs—and religious groups such as Seventh Day Adventist—enter
Bedamuni territory, many explaining the hazard in scientific terms which meant little
to the inhabitants. The Bedamuni were already very aware of the risks posed by both
extended droughts (or ‘dry seasons’ as they are known) and earthquakes because of
their long history of exposure to them.
Despite the spread of Christianity, many declared Bedamuni Christians drew on
their customary beliefs to explain the 2018 Highlands earthquake rather than invoking
the Christian God or science. The main explanatory story relates to the mountain
spirit’s wife leaving and travelling down the Nomad River (Fig. 5.1). GJ first heard
this story in Fumanibi village (09-08-2018) when a woman named Nanebe claimed
she dreamt the spirit’s wife was travelling down the river saying:
Namone [“I’m sorry”], as the fish spoke our language, [it continued to say] it’s me the mother.
I’m going to die today. If it was the father, there would have been big changes but because
it’s me, I’m not going to do anything.
Many other participants, from villagers, young and old, to the vice president of
the Local Level Government believed this to be the cause of the earthquake. Yet a
few pastors and other Christians suggested the drought of 2015/2016, the earthquake,
and the overall decline in food security (see Jackson et al. 2020) were punishment
for past practices (e.g., cannibalism, warfare). Conversely, in Adumari and Safibi
villages, informants suggested that sometimes earthquakes are caused by people
who had lost loved ones, with one mother suggesting “they start playing around to
make earthquakes, some of them know how to make earthquakes”.
Regarding climate change, almost every Bedamuni informant recognised that the
dry season (traditionally August and September used as a time for clearing gardens
and planting) is starting later or not at all, and that the temperature, particularly
between October and February, is becoming much warmer than customary. There
has been a significant increase in garden pests and diseases, although whether this is
driven by climate change is uncertain (Jackson et al. 2020). When asked if they knew
about climate change, only the few who studied at high schools outside the Bedamuni
territory suggested they had heard of that concept. As part of the earthquake response,
CARE International ran several DRR sessions but only teachers and other educated
people attended. Speaking with some teachers afterwards, they claimed to understand
some of the natural causes of hazards. GJ also discussed the causes of drought with
many participants and, although many suggested that God and/or spirits controlled
all phenomena, they seemed very interested in the discussion of scientific knowledge
regarding climatic cause and effect. It appears Bedamuni may hold many competing