This is Kainantu town. Anybody want a peanut? Or an egg?
Gift giving in PNG is an interesting thing. According to the books, if an adult gives a gift to a PNGian, it creates debt for them. But in reality, if the adult giver is an ex-pat (waitskin), it doesn't create as much debt because as we are seen as more wealthy, it is expected that the more wealthy will from time to time share. Most often by throwing a party or a feast of some kind.
The one time of year in which we can impart a gift without causing debt, is Christmas time. Each Christmas employees and friends are accustomed to receiving a bonus (we call it Amamas which means - happy).
So, how to give the perfect gift? Most often, the perfect gift is something unwrapped, and very practical. A bag of sugar, a bag of rice. That's the perfect gift.
A dear friend of ours has been a loyal worker for us, and each year we do give her her Amamas pay, her bonus gift, but we also try to find something nice to give her children. This year, Calvin and Sydney were in charge of picking something out, and they chose a toy for each child. PNG kids don't have toy collections. They have "A" toy if that.
(Most of these rules change depending on where it is they live, the more 'bush' (remote from town) they are, the more these rules apply)
Often you can see kids running around with makeshift toys. A wheel they found, they will attach to a bamboo rod with strips of rubber they found, and run around with it. Or maybe you see them skidding down a hill of dirt on a banana leaf. Maybe it's a coconut shell they're kicking around.
Getting to know some of these PNG kids because of the relationships our children have forged, has been a delight. One thing we notice is that every PNG kid hits an age in which they stop smiling by default, and it becomes VERY hard to elicit a smile.
I was asking around about this, and I assumed it was because of hard work, a loss of childhood, or tragedy at the loss of loved ones. All those may be true, but I've found that culturally, smiling, is often perceived as being flirtatious in young girls and men.
And so they don't do it.
So what's Christmas like in PNG?
Not really any gifts to open, not many smiles, and yet, there is family and love, and in some houses, a recognition that Christ was born. (and at least in 2 houses this year , a present to unwrap)
