Wagang Village – Series 2 (Part3)

Wednesday, 23nd of November

Continued on from “Wagang Village : Series 2 (Part2)”

Day 3 in the village.

It rained all night – correction – it poured all night and all Wednesday morning. Rain in the tropics is awesome, the amount of rain that falls, the sound and of course the aftermath.

It was always my intention to leave Wagang on the Wednesday and return to Unitech. Unfortunately with the heavy rains the decision to stay or return was made for me by my friends from Wagang. The heavy rains would mean that the roads would be washed away and PMV transport back to Lae would be at least 5 hours walk from the village.

So I stayed…

The heavy rains continued for the remainder of the morning and by lunch time it started to dry up. Wednesday was a day for sitting around and telling stories. Watching the boys playing marbles and taking some photos of the village and it's people (see above).

Village life is hard. The physical work, the hard floors and therefore the sore arse. My body was hurting. It was a pleasant pain, I was staying in a village and I was loving it. On the Wednesday there were many moments, like just sitting sround, or sharing stories with some of the old people, or watching the kids play marbles, there were many moments when I experienced this resonance within, a resonance that suggested I was living my dream. To work and live with tribal people.

It certainly has not taken me long in PNG to get used to sitting around and not doing a great deal. On the Wednesday I got plenty of practice!   Apart from the toilet and meal breaks, most of the day was spent doing exactly that. I had plenty of visitors, one by one they come past, to check out the white man and perhaps share a story or two. I was to find out later in the day that a white man had never stayed in the village for a few nights in a row. I felt privileged.

Old man “Takue” whom is somehow related to “Jethro” has taken a liking to me. He is an old man that for some reason never married or had kids – very unusual in PNG. I get the impression that he tends to get ignored by most members of the clan. “Takue” is a true village man, never having lived elsewhere.

When the rain stopped I went for a walk with “Takue” to his garden. A garden is very special to the PNG men and women. There is certainly more to gardening than meets the eye. Tis more like a Zen thing. The garden to the PNG people is the source of life. It is therefore nutured and worked with intention and a sacredness. I have seen men and women work their gardens, they kind of lose themselves, they are one with their creation. “Takue's” garden was only 30 mins walk away from the clan area, a huge clearing in the middle of the jungle. Fences erected to keep out the pigs. Lots of food and an incredible variety. Just before heading back, “Takue” pulled me aside and said : “If you ever move into the village, I will give you some land and teach you how to make a garden”. Like I said before, gardening is not what it seems.

What will I do after April 2007 ?   Perhaps move to Wagang and learn to garden ?  More will be revealed !

On our way back, I cut my foot…  on my left foot and between the little and second toes. A deep cut and about an inch long. Certainly not a painful cut but I became concerned about possible infection. I figured the best thing would be to head back to the village, clean the wound and have a nap!

And so I slept….

After waking I wrote, some diary stuff and also some “Rantings“. Writing has become a bit of a hobby since landing in PNG. I think my style and what I write about is evolving, that's the feedback I get anyway.

My diet in Wagang?   Pineapple, yams and coconut juice !   You might be happy to hear that on this visit lizard and bandicoot were not on the menu (on my menu anyway).

And the rest of the day…  got some more practice at sitting around doing nothing, interacted, felt very sorry for my self….  by this time my arse was very sore. In fact my whole bnody was full of aches and pains. And loving every minute of it. I was in a village with these people!

For photos from this trip to Wagang – please view the “Wagang visit 21/11/05” photo album.