Documenting Garden Fencing Structures in Northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea

PI: Graeme Were | Collaborator: Adam Hunt Kaminiel | Project ID: 2021SG07
Location of Research: Northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea | Host Institution: University of Bristol

This project documents plant-based garden fence structures amongst the Nalik of northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, erected to protect crops from marauding pigs. These structures are fabricated using locally sourced timbers, cordylines, leaves and palms, and employ a range of cordage and lashings techniques in their design. Garden fences are becoming increasingly rare in Nalik communities due to lifestyle changes and the practices used in their construction have never been recorded in detail. Fences are erected in the forested interior by households in anticipation of mortuary feasts and so they are linked to key elements of the ritual lifecycle.

This project documents the different types of materials, tools, and techniques used in assembling fencing. It pays particular attention to their stylistic variation and the wider cosmological significance of their design, especially in relation to how certain types of materials are selected for their relation to land, genealogy and identity and so might be considered informational. Visual documentation of the materials, processes, techniques and fences creates an enduring record of the knowledge that has been handed down through generations, but today is under threat from imported materials and changing lifestyles. This project employs participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and recording (audio-visual and photography) to identify, map and document the garden fencing design. The results—distributed widely in association with the local chiefly organisation—provides a lasting digital record of plant-based enclosures of use to community and scholars.

Methodology

From 28 June to 27 July, 2023, Were and Kaminiel conducted fieldwork in the Nalik and Kara area of northern New Ireland where garden fences are known to still be constructed, albeit in their endangered state. Based in the east coast Nalik village of Madina, Were and Kaminiel spent four weeks conducting intensive fieldwork trips to neighbouring villages on the east and west coast of the island, together with interviews with senior men and women, and participated in making activities. Villages were selected on the basis that there were existing fencing practices currently in use as well as knowledgeable men and women who could share information. The team documented—using video, photography, notetaking, and drawing—material knowledge involved in the construction of bamboo and timber fences used to protect gardens from marauding pigs and other predators (e.g., humans).

Were and Kaminiel used the following data collection methods:

Interview format / digital storytelling: 6 key practitioners were interviewed on film, asked to speak about garden fencing design, techniques, and specifications. The aim was to provide first person testimony about experiences of using materials, technical know-how, participation in making activities, and to verbalise their knowledge;

Participant observation: This involved filming and photography of enclosure building activities, undertaken by a clan unit on clan land, over a few hours, led by a knowledgeable senior person. The method involved accompanying a group of men to the forest and gardens to locate materials; observing participants prepared materials such as locating specialist materials, cutting, shaping, and stripping plant fibres.

Photo-documentation: Detailed photographs of cordage making, binding, pleaching and pollarding and other technical details of plant preparation and activities of building. The aim was to create a series of photographs that will support the analysis of the operational sequence—a step-by-step photographic document as the fence was produced. The intention was to provide a visual guide to enable future making.

Selected Assets

The following assets provide an overview of the garden fence production process.

Acknowledgements from the Project Team

The work in this project would not have been possible without the contributions of communities in the Nalik and Kara speaking areas of New Ireland, especially those in Madina, Lugagun and Panamafei villages.