Decolonising the Mind: The Impact of the University on Culture and Identity in Papua New Guinea, 1971-1974 (review)

I often asked whether Ulli Beier would write a book that would tell us all about his role as a catalyst in the emergence of Papua New Guinean (PNG) literature in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The question is now answered with his recent book, Decol­onising the Mind. This is an appropriate title that reveals all that Ulli and his wife, Georgina, worked so hard to see happen in Papua New Guinea—especially their tireless commitment tosee that Papua New Guineans use literature and arts as weapons of resistance to colonialism. That the chosen title comes from the work of the renowned Kenyan writer and social critic, Ngu˜gı˜ wa Thiong'o (Decolonising the Mind, 1986) is also apt, as it leads us to consider the strategies that Papua New Guineans employed to decolonize themselves, even before independence arrived. Under Ulli Beier's guidance, young Papua New Guineans used writing, drama, poetry, and arts to capture national sentiments and to promote PNG cultures.

Decolonising the Mind is not just a memoir that recalls the Beiers' time in Papua New Guinea; it also tells of the activities and people with whom they associated during the period leading up to independence. It covers the vibrant period of literature, art, performance, writing, and publishing at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). This was a time of quick planting and harvesting of the literary and artistic talents that the Beiers stumbled into, waiting as it were to be nurtured, given impetus, and made to bloom. From subtle nationalism to fiery anticolonial resistance; from imagining one's own community to living in one that is about to be independent—those were the moods of the period. Those Papua New Guin­eans that the Beiers influenced—such as Albert Maori Kiki, Vincent Eri, Kumalau Tawali, Leo Hannet, Mathias Kawage, Akis, Taite Aihi, and Ruki Fame—have all shown that the arts and literary culture have a purpose to serve the people of Papua New Guinea.

The main thread of the book is about the impact of the university on culture and identity in Papua New Guinea between 1971 through 1974. Ulli wants to tell us his story about what happened in between those years. After spending many years working to promote the art and literature of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, the Beiers came to Papua New Guinea in September 1967. Here, Ulli took up a UPNG lectureship—excited with the possibilities of embracing, nurturing, and promoting a rich artistic and ­literary culture.

One of the first Papua New Guin­eans they met on their way to the country, late at night in the departure hall of the Brisbane Airport, was Sir Albert Maori Kiki. Ulli recounts that encounter: "On the plane we had a brief conversation. His name was Albert Maori Kiki, he said. He had been a patrol officer to the Australian administration, but he had recently resigned from that position in order to become the secretary of a new political party. I asked him what part of the country he was from and he said: "Well, you wouldn't have heard of it, it's a very small place on the Papua Gulf called Orokolo" (22). Such openness on the part of Maori Kiki led Ulli Beier to help Kiki publish his autobiography, Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime (1968), a book that would trigger a wave of excitement, not only in Papua New Guinea but internationally as well. The second autobiography that Ulli had a hand in was Sir Michael Somare's Sana (1975). (Somare served as PNG prime minister from independence in 1975 until 1980, from 1982 until 1985, and from 2002 to the present [2006].)

Ulli Beier...