Spirit Colonists in New Guinea Minds

ABSTRACT Just as people require territory to live and to develop traditions, spirit beings require human minds that can represent them as real in order to exist and develop distinctive characteristics. Both human beings and spirit beings tend to gather in mutual support groups, bound by cultural compatibilities to secure their needs. Like human societies, culturally different spirit groups can come into conflict over the same resources. In central New Guinea in the 1970s, Telefolmin Baptist missionaries introduced the Christian triune god, angels, and devil to the neighbouring Asabano people. As converts accepted this exogenous group of spirit beings as real, the native sprites, object spirits, witches, dual souls, and culture heroes of the pre-Christian tradition were displaced, distorted, or destroyed. In this case, the competition between established and incoming spirit beings for the same minds produced outcomes for spirit beings that are reminiscent of what happens to human beings in colonialism, when indigenous peoples face powerful settlers who challenge their sovereignty.