ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the Influence of the Catholic and Protestant missionaries and local government officials in respect to the absence of wife-beating in Wapeland. All Wape villages are under the influence of either Christian Brethren or Franciscan missionaries while, more recently, an indigenous fundamentalist church, New Guinea Revival, has also gathered considerable support. Western journalists, film makers, and anthropologists working in New Guinea have made the island famous for head-hunting, cannibalism and male-female antagonism. The ethos of Wape society is markedly pacific. Although the society is not without its points of stress and the people not without passion concerning their personal relationships, the overall affective thrust of social life is to keep emotions, especially those that might lead to violence, under control. A husband also knows that his wife's agnates as well as her classificatory mother's brothers are concerned about her welfare and, if he mistreats her, may resort to their ancestors or sorcery.
