Vengeance is Mine

Jared Diamond has written a superb article on how vengeance drives tribal fighting in the New Guinea highlands. The clans of the Nipa tribe, who live in Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, exist in a perpetual and shifting state of warfare and alliances with other clans and tribes.

"Fighting among the Nipas differs in several respects from fighting among other New Guinea Highland groups, such as the Baliem Valley Dani....Dani public battles emerged as somewhat ritualized, announced in advance by the issuance of challenges, confined to daylight hours, and abandoned in case of rain. By contrast, Nipa fighting is unannounced and takes place day or night, rain or shine, so clans must be always on the alert. Warriors post guards constantly, up to ten kilometres away from their village, in order to protect their houses, families, gardens, and domestic animals."

Diamond compares the non-state societies of the Highlands, where individuals and clans themselves seek vengeance for wrongs (either through violence or compensation) to modern western societies, where the state takes this role, often at considerable psychological cost to the victims.

>> "The Dawn of Warfare"

>> "In Praise of Peltasts"

Comments

[John]

Kotare, you might enjoy this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Child-Don-Richardson/dp/0830737847/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209403132&sr=8-1

[Kotare]

Thanks for the recommendation, John.