Processes of modernization experienced by the Abu' will be
examined under five broad headings: education, health, transport,
economic and political. These are discussed in detail as follows. 2.1.2.1 Education
The first non-traditional form of education the Abu' were exposed to was religious instruction. This was introduced by the Society of
the Divine Word (SVD). The parish priest of Ulau, Father Edmund
Kunisch, who built a station there in 1930, was responsible for
spreading Christianity among the Abu' (in their terms) "pagans".
Realising that the pastoral duties were beyond his individual capacity to cope with, he and his fellow congregational member, Father
Richard Kunze, who was stationed at Yakamul at the same time,
established a catechetical training centre at this parish. Young men from the coast and inland were selected, taught smatterings of pidgin English and were told to go to Yakamul for two or three years literacy and pastoral training. Promising students, as noted in chapter 1, were sent off for further pastoral training at St.Xavier's on Kairiru
island. The rest returned to their respective villages to teach
religion, simple arithmetic, reading, writing, simple history, and
geography (mainly of Europe and Israel). The medium of instruction
was Tok Pisin. Attendance was compulsory until the day students
passed their religious tests and were baptized. A few brighter
students continued to attend classes, or became asistant catechists to the established salaried catechists until such time as they were able
to open up a bush catechist school and run it on their own. For the
majority, baptism was the end of their formal non-traditional
education.
It was not until the late 1950s and 1960s that a handful of Womsis and Amom children were fortunate to have themselves enrolled in
a few of the English-medium schools outside the Abu' area. Nearly all of them have proceeded to become members of the educated Papua New Guinean elite.
The example and sheer hard work shown by this group, including
the author, have become models, as it were, that many Abu' parents
want their children to emulate. Consequently, many Abu' children,
especially from Womsis and Wolum were brought down to the parochial English-medium school at Suain in the 1970s. During that period, the Abu' student population constituted about 30 per cent of the total Suain community school enrolment.
Other Abu' children attended schools at Aitape, Dreikikir and Maprik where they could find a place and protection.^
Although some succeeded in getting enrolled at the two Sandaun
provincial high schools at Aitape, and subsequently at different
tertiary institutions, for the majority, grade six was the end of their formal non-traditional education. Most of them returned to their villages and continue to live village life, although it is not always
appreciated by ambitious members of the group. Many feel that the
state has unjustifiably denied them the right to continue their schooling beyond the primary level.
-'’The author, for example, started his formal education at the Womsis
catechist school in 1955, then at Raihu, about six kilometres from Aitape township, and went to Bongos in 1957 to attend the catechist school there. He was baptized there and was then to be sent by his uncle, Joseph Ubaim (the head-catechist at Bongos then)., to attend an English-medium school at Warabung near Yangoru. Instead of going to Warabung, he returned to his parents who were patients at the leper colony at that time. He continued his education there and eventually
got himself enrolled at the St. Anna Catholic Mission School, and
then on to St. Ignatius primary (both are located in the Aitape environs) . He was then sent over to do his secondary schooling on Seleo Island. After completing Form 2, he went on to St. Fidelis College in Alexishafen, north of Madang town. There he finished his Form 6 in 1970 and was then sent down to the major Catholic seminary
in Bomana, near Port Moresby. After a couple years of priestly
studies, he left and enrolled for studies at the University of Papua New Guinea. After graduating with a B.Ed., and a B.A. Honours in 1976 and 1977 respectively, he was sent to the University of Hawaii where he obtained his M.A. in 1979*
It is not only the children who are dissatisfied. Many parents became very discouraged when their children failed to reach the high school entry level exam or if their children obtained the required grade but were not chosen to go on to high school. The degree of dissatisfaction is now further heightened by the recent Womsis school grade six exam and subsequent high school students selection. Because of the quota system imposed upon all schools by the state, only 25 per cent of the grade six finalists will find a place in high schools. The
rest have to contend with village life. Interestingly, the trend
is now slowly changing. Parents and children are now accepting the fact that the national and provincial governments do not have enough
money for compulsory universal high school education. This
realization probably explains why Abu' parents '"particularly those
from Womsis) continue to co-operate and support the maintenance of
their community school. 2.1.2.2 Rate of Literacy
Literacy, defined here as the ability to recognize written words
and to be able to write (anything from a few words to a letter),
is not found amongst all Abu'. Among the Womsis, the following
broad estimates were made. About 75 percent of the total Womsis
population of 320 is literate. Grade six school leavers make up
approximately 12.9 percent,^ secondary and tertiary students make up