Christianity and Spiritualism in Papua New Guinea

 (Photo: Saint Mary's Catholic Cathedral, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea)

Many self-professed Christians may turn to spiritualism to address problems that arise in their respective societies. In this respect, it appears that many people have parallel belief systems between which they can switch in the face of changing circumstances.

Ill-health of a person is often blamed on a "bad spirit" ("masalai" in Tok Pisin) that has entered his or her body, sometimes by the affected person standing on, or walking over, a particular piece of ground, or through the work of a "Sorcerer" (see later). Masalai are thought to inhabit all manner of physical items - trees, stones, water-holes etc.

People known as "Healers" or "Gifted People", both male and female, take advantage of the general population's belief in masalai by offering their services to restore good health to invalids. The fee for this service may be paid in cash (as much as K100 per "healing") or in store goods such as tea, instant coffee, sugar etc.  Should the "healing" be ineffective, the "healer" can usually produce a reason to explain why this happened, but if this isn't accepted, the "healer" may need to hastily leave the vicinity to avoid being beaten up by those who paid for the "healing".

"Healers" don't limit their services to curing people's ill-health. They also offer to revive the trading revenue of village stores that haven't been achieving expected profits. They are adept at "finding" malign objects buried near such a store, usually near the entrance.  The offending object, declared by the "Healer" to contain a masalai, is then burned with great ceremony in front of the store's owners and curious villagers.

The widespread belief in masalai even extends to the mechanical breakdown of motor vehicles.  In a recent case a "Healer" was called to exorcise a masalai  from a utility vehicle that had broken down on a return trip to a village from the nearby town. The vehicle hasn't been sighted on the road since then, so perhaps the "Healer" may have had to go into hiding for his own protection.

A person's death, if not caused by violence or a natural disaster, is usually ascribed to the use of sorcery, the "dark side" of spiritualism, even if old age, a non-communicable disease or infection is the logical cause.  While general ignorance of human physiology and the nature of human diseases contributes to these beliefs, it is compounded by the lack of medical services and non-existence of autopsy services, particularly in rural areas.  Given the PNG Government's lack of financial support for these services, spiritualism is likely to continue to flourish for the foreseeable future.