Stigma of sorcery violence: Paul Wolffram & Evelyn Kunda
5 Jul 2024
This article first appeared in The Post 12 July, 2024
This article first appeared in The Post 12 July, 2024
Sanap Wantaim – Stand Together features photographs by Wellington filmmaker and academic Paul Wolffram alongside hand-woven bilum string bags created by Papua New Guinea activist and artist Evelyn Kunda and members of her underground network that protects survivors of sorcery violence. We asked Paul and Evelyn about their work:
EK: Sorcery or ‘sanguma’ is a belief that has grown in Papua New Guinea in recent decades. My people have a traditional belief in magic and sorcery that goes back many generations, however, in recent years the belief has changed. People are now attacked and killed; accused of being sorcerers. Sorcery accusation-related violence is a rapidly growing issue in many parts of the highlands. It affects a wide range of people especially the most vulnerable members of the community. The highlands regions of Papua New Guinea are undergoing rapid social change as a result of economic pressures and changing social context, and these factors contribute to the belief in sorcery.
I’ve been working as a counsellor, supporting sorcery accusation survivors, for about 14 years. When I saw the extent of the problem, and the trauma that those who are attacked by their own people go through, I knew I had to get involved. I work closely with the Catholic church, which provides many of the social services in my community.
PW: I’d previously spent years working in the island region of PNG where these issues don’t exist. It was only in 2017, when I was teaching in the highlands, that I came face-to-face with the horror and ubiquity of sorcery violence. I decided to use media as a way to support the effort of people like Evelyn who are rescuing and rehabilitating survivors. I was impressed by what Evelyn was doing, without support or formal training. She has dedicated her life to helping these innocent people and does so at great personal risk.
EK: Bilum weaving is an important practice for women in the Highlands, and we learn to weave from our mothers and aunties. As we weave we ‘stori’/talk and share our knowledge. I teach female survivors of sorcery accusations to weave, so that they can earn money to survive, and sustain themselves.
PW: ‘Sanap Wantaim’ is Tok Pisin for ‘Stand Together’. The survivors of sorcery accusation violence are forced out of their home communities and outcast. The stigma of being a sanguma, or sorcerer, also passed onto their children. With no place to go, the survivors often end up in towns, which can be dangerous places in the highlands of PNG. Sanap Wantaim is a call for help and support from others to stand together and oppose sorcery violence.
EK: Few people outside of Papua New Guinea and Melanesia have any idea about the existence of ‘witch killings’ and sorcery violence in the 21st Century. The belief in ‘sanguma’ is so common, and the numbers of attacks and killing each year are sadly still growing. We are only at the beginning of our efforts to bring these issues to the world. We need help from our Pacific brothers and sisters, the people of Aotearoa and the world to educate and eventually bring to an end these senseless killings.
PW: In 2022, I released Wildfire, a short documentary that aims to introduce the issue of sorcery accusation-related violence. It explores the belief in sanguma, as those in the highlands understand it. Soon to be released, Marimari – the feature documentary – follows Evelyn as she struggles to rescue and rehabilitate survivors in the face of almost total belief in the communities around her. It is the story of one woman’s fight against violence and terror.
