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From the grassroots: Bernard Narokobi and the making of Papua New Guinea's Constitution

journal contribution
posted on 2020-01-01, 00:00 authored by Jonathan RitchieJonathan Ritchie
Bernard Narokobi's concept of the Melanesian Way was influenced by a variety of factors, including his own childhood in the village, his religion, and the understandings of the people around him. He also drew inspiration from his exposure to the views and opinions of the many Papua New Guineans who contributed to the work of the Constitutional Planning Committee (CPC) between 1972 and 1975 when he served as a consultant to the committee. He shared the belief in a specifically ‘Melanesian’ way of social organization and cosmological understanding with the others who took part in the CPC's work, most prominently its de facto chairman, Father John Momis. With Momis he drew on the people's contributions to formulate PNG's National Goals and Directive Principles, which, at least in part, embody Narokobi's understanding of what it is to be Melanesian.

History

Journal

Journal of Pacific history

Volume

55

Pagination

235-254

Location

Abingdon, Eng.

ISSN

0022-3344

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

2

Publisher

Taylor & Francis