ANTH 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Heredity, The White People, Porgera Gold Mine
Mountains of Gold: The People of Porgera
Porgera:
● Porgera used to be a remote village located in a valley, surrounded by mountains. It is
located on the island of Papua New Guinea. It used to be very difficult to live there, and
only the toughest survived. Due to its high elevation, it is extremely cold and wet. The
people were hunter/gatherers and maintained pigs and gardens. The soil was very poor
however, limiting agriculture.
● The people who live in Porgera were called the Ipili. Nearby are two other peoples: the
Huli tribe and the Enga tribe. Many Ipili people are outcasts from these two tribes and
their ancestors have descended from one or both tribes. There is a lot of conflict in and
among these tribes
● Until 1938, Europeans had never been to Porgera
● The leaders of the tribes were not assigned based on heredity. The leaders were the
strongest warriors with the most wealth. Wealth was measured in the number of wives
the man had and the number of pigs, shells, feathers and axes he had
● There was a legend about a particular mountain that was near their valley called Mount
Waruwari. It was said that that mountain would bring the Ipili people great power and
wealth
Gold:
● It turns out that Mount Waruwari had rich gold deposits. Now, there is a large mining
operation there. The Ipili people have learned to adapt to the new world that they now
live in. They have become the wealthiest people in the country due to this mining
operation. Most have welcomed the mining operations because it has made their lives
easier and it has provided them with wealth and power, just as the legend said it would
● While it has brought them wealth, the mining operations have also forced the Ipili
people to give up their land. The land is very sacred to these people, and they believe
that the land belongs not only to the current generations but also to their ancestors and
future generations. They have chosen to give this up in order to have a better life
● The Huli and Enga tribes have watched the Ipili people become wealthy with a great
deal of envy
The Beginnings:
● When white Europeans entered into the area, the Ipili saw them as “white angels”. The
native people who traveled with them were believed to be their ancestors that had
been brought back from the dead by these “white angels”. According to their legends,
their ancestors would come back to them as spirits when the world was going to end
● The white men that they encountered wore full pants, which the Ipili thought was very
strange. In fact, they followed one man around for days because they didn’t understand
how he could possibly use the bathroom with full pants because there were no openings
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ANTH 1000 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Porgera used to be a remote village located in a valley, surrounded by mountains. It is located on the island of papua new guinea. It used to be very difficult to live there, and only the toughest survived. Due to its high elevation, it is extremely cold and wet. The people were hunter/gatherers and maintained pigs and gardens. The soil was very poor however, limiting agriculture. The people who live in porgera were called the ipili. Many ipili people are outcasts from these two tribes and their ancestors have descended from one or both tribes. There is a lot of conflict in and among these tribes. Until 1938, europeans had never been to porgera. The leaders of the tribes were not assigned based on heredity. The leaders were the strongest warriors with the most wealth. Wealth was measured in the number of wives the man had and the number of pigs, shells, feathers and axes he had.
