The Lihir Destiny: Cultural Responses to Mining in Melanesia (review)

For roughly two decades, the gold mine on the island of Lihir in Papua New Guinea has been one of the most important mines in the Pacific in terms of its size, environmental and social impact, and the cultural significance of the area in which it is located. Despite this fact, very little has been published about the mine until now. Nicholas Bainton's new book, The Lihir Destiny, is a welcome corrective, providing a broad and worthwhile overview of Lihir and its mine in a format that is clearly written and available free of charge through the ANU E Press.

Papua New Guinea is well known in the anthropological literature for having a history of "cargo cults"—a term that many scholars feel exoticizes and reifies a wide variety of indigenous social movements. Lihir is no exception, and the central question of Bainton's book is, what happens when the cargo comes? The mine has brought a massive influx of wealth and social change of the sort predicted by early prophecies of "Lihir's Destiny," and contemporary Lihirian life is marked by the rise in popularity of "personal viability" movements—a form of self-help and personal development imported from Australia and the United States. What counts as a "cargo cult," with all the irrationality that the term implies, when the cargo has actually arrived? And where is the line between the exotic cultural practice of others and seemingly normal Western cultures of self-help? By putting Lihir under a microscope, Bainton both humanizes Papua New Guineans and challenges the simplistic analyses of past anthropological theorists.

Unfortunately, the book is not as problem driven as it could have been, and the overall arc of the story that Bainton wants to tell sometimes gets lost in his general ethnography of Lihir. Luckily, that ethnographic work is superb. After an introduction laying out his general theme and his situation in the context of the wider anthropological and geographical literature on mining in Melanesia, Bainton moves directly to a second chapter describing the mine and its creation. A third chapter deals with the history of Lihir and prophetic movements antedating the mine. The next chapter provides a basic background of Lihirian culture focused on social organization, customary exchange of shell wealth, and mortuary ceremonies. It is only with this background in place that Bainton documents social change in Lihir and the rise of the personal viability movement in the final two chapters. A conclusion summarizes his argument.

Though the inclusion of all this background means that Bainton saves the best for last, the ethnography and history is of the highest quality. The chapter on Lihirian history shows a mastery of the historical sources. It is particularly worthwhile because it allows Lihirians to speak for themselves (and without pseudonyms) by extensively quoting prophetic documents and public statements—often for the better part of a page. The chapters on the creation of the mine and its social impact show a superb grasp of the large body of unpublished literature the mine has generated. Bainton's long history with the mine, as both a student and a social impact consultant, has clearly positioned him well to write the definitive account of Lihir.

At the same time, Bainton is not a presence in his own ethnography and is not overly reflective. This prevents a certain amount of navel-gazing, although I am sure some readers would like more discussion of his role in the events he describes. Overall, I feel his personal involvement strengthened rather than detracted from the book. Bainton treats extremely political and potentially explosive topics carefully, and while he humanizes mining executives and apocalyptic prophets in prose that is evenhanded, he is honest and straightforward in his presentation...