Western Literature must not prevail in Papua New Guinea

Melanesians existed on the island of New Guinea for more than 50 000 years and still we, as Papua New Guineans just don't appreciate that fact and give away our developing art to the recent imperialistic cultures.

Art, in the like of myths, folklores and legends (including dramas, dances, paintings...etc) existed in PNG long before the Europeans reached our coastlines. But they ought to be given the respect for bringing to us the new culture (education) of reading and writing that has now given us a way for us to export our art into the world.

Europeans gave us the way to have our art forms known and traded for a little income. But, money, ought not be the basis of PNG art; however, national awareness or selling our identity must be the fundamentals of that old Melanesian art.

The artist, be him a poet, prose writer, novelist, painter or actor, must be developed from within the Melanesian environment and brought out there for the world to see and learn the Melanesian world. It must not be the 'neo-colonialist' that must streamline our art for his own benefit. The Africans did show us the way to go with the 1960s Negritude movements in Europe. They called for all African writers to bring African values or symbols into their art forms. The reasons, as I see it, is to make sure that Africa was 'known' and 'respected'.

Coming back to PNG artists, especially writers, they are always being subjected to 'outside' scrutiny. A western editor must streamline his or her art (PNG) to suit the western readership. It is acceptable since, in PNG we still lack a culture of loving our own art. But, do we really have in our heart, a love of PNG art in its purest form?

A writer's style, in PNG, must be his or hers. This is a art that really reflects who this artist as a person and from which corner of PNG he or she is from from.

A piece of poetry or short story that has no 'western' salting, but blessed by a Papua New Guinean like Russell Soaba, is what I as a Bougainvillean shall, whole heartedly, call it a piece of PNG art.