ABSTRACT
In a recent visit to the field I couldn’t help noticing that many Kewa people often equated their rich and flexible communicative practices, which were based on a form of indirection, with deceit and tradition, while they associated straight, direct talk with modernity. During one dispute, Simon, the local Evangelical Church of Papua pastor, interrupted the debate with these words:
This is the sort of talk that will consign us to the flames. God is not happy with the way we talk, we say the same thing over and over again. We don’t express ourselves clearly and truthfully. Lisette and Marc [the anthropologists] are waiting to hear the real point of our talk, but instead you talk rubbish. We are a really rubbishy clan. Others in Papua New Guinea have learned good ways, but you carry on with this rubbishy talk. Lisette and Marc know we are just wasting time, repeating the same bad arguments. White people don’t waste time like this.
