Men at work : masculinity, mutability, and and mimesis among the Gogodala of Papua New Guinea

This thesis explores images and expressions of masculinity among the Gogodala of Western Province, Papua New Guinea. I propose that, in contrast to anthropological studies that emphasise how men in PNG were rendered powerless and suffered bodily detumescence in response to colonial authority, Gogodala men experienced colonialism as part of a complex process of mimesis, of mutual appropriation and empowerment for both Europeans and the Gogodala. Gogodala masculinity is based on the display of internal strength through external appearance and action, or performance, and it is particularly through work that inner capacities are demonstrated, social relations maintained, and gender made known. Through an analysis of contemporary understandings of early colonial contact and the evangelical mission project, I explore the way colonial endorsement of the local work ethic has been interpreted not only as confirmation of Gogodala ela gi, or lifestyle, but as an attempt by Europeans to appropriate Gogodala bodily efficacy. The early colonial practice of collecting vast quantities of Gogodala artefacts, for example, not only acknowledged the skill of the carvers, but also reinforced male autonomy and many ritual practices. Canoes, canoe imagery and canoe designs form the basis of Gogodala social life by expressing an embodied relationship with the ancestral past, and contemporary canoe races provide a link to this past. Through a study of canoe races, and the relationship between canoes and the introduced sport of rugby league, I demonstrate how Gogodala men emphasize continuity with the past, despite colonial transformation. In addition, I argue that, just as work continues to define male strength and produce an ‘ideal’ body type, this work ethic also exhibits community strength and a Christian cohesion that, it is hoped, will ultimately produce an ‘ideal’ type of development