Evaluando la Ciencia Política en Colombia

The first agents of Western colonialism considered the Admiralty Islands as a wild and dangerous place, even in comparison with other coastal Melanesian societies that were colonised in the latter quarter of the 19th century. Parkinson (1911) writes that the state of war was more permanent here than else- where (see quotation above) and Schnee (1904: 195) compares the character of the Manus warriors with that of his own soldiers from other places in New Guinea in the following way:

Vielleicht dämmert auch in den braven Neumecklenburgern und Bukas das Bewusstsein, dass sie es hier mit einem von Natur intelligenteren, hinterlistigeren und in jeder hinsicht gefährlicheren Gegner zu tun haben, als sie selbst es ihrer natürlichen Anlage nach sind.3

Similar observations abound and there is no doubt that warfare played an important role in the Admiralties from the perspective of outsiders. The earliest relevant sources stem from the short visit by the English ship ‘The Challenger’ in 1875 and two longer visits by the Russian explorer Mikloucho- Maclay in 1877 (two weeks) and 1879 (four weeks). The Challenger expedition resulted in a number of reports (Spry 1877; Swire 1938), the most detailed

ones ethnographically coming from the naturalist H.N. Moseley (1876; 1879). Moseley observed a for- tified village on one of the islands and noted that each small island appeared to have its own ‘chief’, whose ‘power seemed to depend on his fighting qualities’ (1876: 414). Even though one of the chiefs obviously had considerable power – for example, he was able to take goods given to some of the men away from them for redistribution in the group – Moseley noted that no ceremonious respect was paid to him at all. The inhabitants were most eager to trade for (hoop) iron and must have known about and obtained some of that material through previous contact and exchange (1879: 451).

Mikloucho-Maclay’s descriptions are extremely interesting as an early form of field anthropology: he stayed and slept in the villages instead of return- ing to the ship for safety. He tells about his close escape from an ambush and relates the killing of a trader who was set ashore during his first trip to Manus, while he was able to free another who was robbed but survived thanks to the mercy of an old Manus man. Mikloucho-Maclay provides detailed observations and also receives information from a Malay man who had been held captive in a village and whom he freed by paying a ransom. Among other things he tells about a recent native raid on a village where seven men were killed (1879: 174), but also about an attack on a Western trading vessel by a great number of warriors on canoes from the vil- lage where one of the traders was killed. The captain and crew were able to ward off the attack and appar- ently killed or wounded more then fifty native war- riors, who appeared unfamiliar with the lethal power of Western firearms (1879: 156-57). Mikloucho- Maclay asserts with certainty that cannibalism occurred on the islands. He observed a young woman tearing off and eating pieces of flesh from a human bone and he received corrobatory accounts from the men who were held captive on the islands that it actually happened frequently (1879: 147, 176). Concerning the issue of leadership, Mikloucho- Maclay doubts whether there actually were chiefs on the islands. Some men clearly had more authori- ty than others but he ascribes this to personal qual- ities and character rather than to position (1877: 79; 1879: 176).

In 1885 the Admiralties were declared a German protectorate, thus formally becoming a colony of the German Empire. Subsequently, the stream of

Westerners visiting the islands increased considerably; this stream included administrators, missionaries, and other people with an interest in native affairs. In the colonial journal Deutsches Kolonialblatt (DKB) a lot of information can be found about the popula- tion, but the most comprehensive descriptions con- cerning the last part of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th are provided in Parkinson 1911, Schnee 1904 and Nevermann 1934. The latter provides a compilation of all the available sources (including DKB), most of which are in German. One could rightly criticise some of these descriptions as coloured; for example, Schnee shows great admira- tion for the fierceness of the Manus warriors. But on the other hand his descriptions are so detailed and informative that it was possible for me to compare his story of the murder of a German trader and the subsequent punitive expedition with oral evidence I collected on the islands, allowing me, by combining and interpreting evidence, to give an alternative explanation of events, alliances and motives (Otto 1991: 89-98).

What picture emerges of warfare in Manus from the combined evidence of these historical sources? The main weapon used in fighting was the spear, which had a point of obsidian or hard wood. There were no bows and arrows and no shields. Warriors would throw their spears and dodge the ones thrown back at them. Another weapon was the dagger, but this was mainly used for ambush. Warfare ranged from open combat to surprise raids and ambushes. Peaceful gatherings, such as markets and feasts, could turn into violent clashes, and participants normally carried their weapons along. If a whole village was attacked, the defeated enemies would be killed, their pottery and other property destroyed and the houses set afire. Useful booty was taken and the dead bodies eaten or exchanged with other villages. Some people were kept alive: women would be taken along to serve as prostitutes, especially for the young men (see also Mead 1963[1930]: 221), and men were sometimes taken as a kind of slave. Parkinson describes the occur- rence of sea battles between warriors throwing their spears from canoes. The main strategy was to kill the steersman and capsize the canoe, and thereafter spear the enemies lying in the water. The Western sources mention frequent conflicts and villagers were apparently on guard all the time. Villages were built on small islands or on hill tops or surrounded by palisades for defence purposes, and paths to the

villages often had booby traps with hidden spears and points. We get a picture of a time in which war in its different forms was a common occurrence, per- meating daily life and the organisation of society.