Tribal Courts Can End War In Papua New Guinea
Image Caption: Enga tribal village court magistrates are shown here after returning from negotiating a cease-fire to a tribal war in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. In a new study of war and peace among the Enga, University of Utah anthropologist Polly Wiessner examined how an indigenous village court justice system, sanctioned by the state, sharply reduced wars among the Enga after 20 years of fighting killed 4,816 people during 1990-2010. Credit: Polly Wiessner, University of Utah. Traditions stem gunfire after 4,800 die in Enga, Papua New Guinea Mostly isolated from outsiders until the 1950s, Papua New Guinea’s Enga tribes fought with bows and arrows until 1990, when their young people and mercenary “Rambos” began using shotguns and semiautomatic rifles, igniting 20 years of warfare that killed 4,816 people. Wars diminished among some 110 Enga tribes when they tired of bloodshed and economic chaos. Clan and church leaders restored peace using traditional indigenous institut