ABSTRACT
In terms of formal structure the Yali movement has only one intermediate level between the individual and the whole organization, namely the village. Cult members within a single village usually have their own appointed lo bos, hold regular meetings on Tuesdays and are jointly responsible for assembling financial contributions. Of those who do not support Yali, all Christians and an indeterminate number of those who neither attend church nor support Yali are actively hostile to him. Two of the five student sample members interviewed at Tusbab High School in Madang Town declared themselves in favour of Yali, and a third said he supported Yali in the village and went to church when away. It is not easy to explain the incidence of individual support for Yali by differences in access to his cult, since all 17 villages have had roughly the same opportunities to become involved, and all but one village attended Yali camps immediately after the war.
