Trobriand Islands (Papua New Guinea). Losuia District Administration - Archives of the Losuia District Administration, Kiriwana, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, 1920's-1974

PMB 1177

fonds

441531

Microfilm : PMB 1177

microfilm reels 35 mm

Dr Leach selected documents as they related to his research interests. The photographs are 35mm negatives from a Pentax Spotmatic spliced together into rolls. Lighting conditions were far from ideal so some of the exposures are hard to read. Most of these papers are district and local government administrative records. They include annual reports along with files on taxation, chiefs, health, censuses, statistics, patrol reports, mission relations, World War II, village councils and the Kiriwina LGC, cricket, court cases, education, and village constables and officials. See also PMB 1165

While carrying out fieldwork in the Trobriand Islands for his doctoral dissertation, the anthropologist Jerry Leach (producer and narrator of the renowned ethnographic film Trobriand Cricket) surveyed and microfilmed important archives kept in the archipelago's main centre, Losuia. These records were drawn upon for Dr Leach's research on the Kabisawali Movement, which had emerged in 1972 in opposition to the last years of Australian colonial rule. Kabisawali promoted Trobriand control of their own economic and political affairs
Between 1972 and 1977 Kabisawali opened and operated trade stores and invested in copra, transportation and tourism. While it enjoyed political support and some economic success through the mid to the late 1970s, the movement as a whole had gone into decline by 1980. However, its legacy was significant, reflected in changes such as the decision to abolish the Kiriwina Local Government Council in 1990 and replace it with a Kiriwina Community Government that includes a chamber of traditional chiefs (see PMB 1165 for further details). While most of these papers do not directly concern the Kabisawali movement they do provide an historical context for understanding the formation of Kabisawali. As Leach wrote in 1982 (287-288) : "For over eighty years, a set of islands made up of relatively or potentially self-sufficient units without overall organisation or a socio-economic centre have been undergoing uneven centralization". These papers help document these historical processes

PMB (Australian National University. Pacific Manuscripts Bureau) ; 1177
Available for reference
Microfilm. Canberra, A.C.T. : Produced for the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, Australian National University. 2 microfilm reels
Some papers since lost or destroyed. Others held with the archives of the Losuia District Administration, Losuia, Trobriand Islands, PNG. The master negatives of the microfilm are held by Dr Jerry Leach, 2147 Colts Neck Court, Reston, Virginia 20191, USA
Descriptive list available (2 p.)