| Description |
"Papua New Guinea’s population is made up of at least 875 cultural groups. Given this high degree of cultural diversity, Papua New Guinea is rich in many cultural forms. Unlike other parts of the world where there are monuments and other structures that form the main body of cultural heritage, Papua New Guinea has mostly intangible cultural heritage.
Recognising the important value of intangible cultural heritage to its people, the government of Papua New Guinea is interested in properly managing and maintaining its heritage. Over the last hundred years, there have been a number of instruments implemented for managing and maintaining culture, but until only recently, there had been nothing in place specifically for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. What is in place so far in this regard has been developed in only the last four years.
Background
Culturally, Papua New Guinea shares many traits with other groups in the Pacific and South-East Asian region due to the historical connections it has with these two parts of the world. In itself, Papua New Guinea’s cultural history dates back to about 30,000 years, the earliest dating of human presence in the country.
While most of the country is currently populated by non-Austronesians, who are believed to have arrived later in history, some parts of the country are inhabited by Austronesians, who were the earlier inhabitants of the region. The culture of Papua New Guinea is then seen in terms of the two main divides and they forms part of the basis for the work in the country’s cultural sector.
The culture service in Papua New Guinea has been in place since the British and German colonial eras, dating back to the early 1900s. This early legislation was mainly concerned with the protection of indigenous cultures forms of primitive art, which was lucrative for the colonists. These protective instruments were mainly " |
