Province of Enga
The Enga culture is believed to be a diverse community with two important social groups: Family and Clan. The cultures primary mode of subsistence is horticulture. The people are fascinating in their beliefs and values, kinship, and social organization.
Enga Province is one of the seven Provinces of the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea located in the northern most regions of the Highlands. Enga Province shares a boarder with the Western Province that was divided to become a separate Province at the time of independence in 1975 (Resture, 2012). Enga is the highest and most rugged Province in PNG; covering an area of 12,800km with altitudes over 2,000 meters, and surrounded by rugged mountains, high valleys, and flowing rivers. Enga is the only province of Papua New Guiena that speaks a Mother-tongue-native language, in a country known for over 700 languages. They are also known as “mountain people” by other highlanders. Egan’s are the majority ethnic group with around 500,000 people living in Enga (Resture, 2012).
The weather in Enga is quite cold with rain that is continuous. There is a crater lake that is 3000m above sea level called Lake Rau. In the west there is a beautiful botanical garden with over 100 native orchids that tourist visit. Tourism is very low in Enga. The most important crop to the Enga people is sweet potatoes, making up more than 60 percent of all production (Waddell, 1972). They receive most of their food from growing sweet potatoes in which they plant in mulch mounds. The mounds are formed by piling large amounts of grass and covering the grass with dirt (Wohlt, 2004). The mound size depends upon the size of elevation. The functions of the mounds are to protect against frost, which frequently occurs in high altitudes. Sweet potatoes mature in about 9 months. When the harvest is complete, they pull apart the mound and mulch with the leaves and old crop. Once the mulch starts to decompose, the mound is then rebuilt for new planting.
Enga Province is one of the seven Provinces of the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea located in the northern most regions of the Highlands. Enga Province shares a boarder with the Western Province that was divided to become a separate Province at the time of independence in 1975 (Resture, 2012). Enga is the highest and most rugged Province in PNG; covering an area of 12,800km with altitudes over 2,000 meters, and surrounded by rugged mountains, high valleys, and flowing rivers. Enga is the only province of Papua New Guiena that speaks a Mother-tongue-native language, in a country known for over 700 languages. They are also known as “mountain people” by other highlanders. Egan’s are the majority ethnic group with around 500,000 people living in Enga (Resture, 2012).
The weather in Enga is quite cold with rain that is continuous. There is a crater lake that is 3000m above sea level called Lake Rau. In the west there is a beautiful botanical garden with over 100 native orchids that tourist visit. Tourism is very low in Enga. The most important crop to the Enga people is sweet potatoes, making up more than 60 percent of all production (Waddell, 1972). They receive most of their food from growing sweet potatoes in which they plant in mulch mounds. The mounds are formed by piling large amounts of grass and covering the grass with dirt (Wohlt, 2004). The mound size depends upon the size of elevation. The functions of the mounds are to protect against frost, which frequently occurs in high altitudes. Sweet potatoes mature in about 9 months. When the harvest is complete, they pull apart the mound and mulch with the leaves and old crop. Once the mulch starts to decompose, the mound is then rebuilt for new planting.
References: Dove, M., and Carpenter, C., (2008) Environmental Anthropology: A Historical Reader: Blackwell Publishing Everyculture.com Burke, A., Mckinnon, R., Barkhordarian A., (2012). Papua New Guinea & Solomon Island Meggitt, Mervyn. “Mae Enga.” Encyclopedia of World Culture. (1996) Retrieved April 7, 2013 from Encyclopedia. Com http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458000333.html The Europa World, 2008, 49th edition, vol.11, p.3586, 3587 Resture, 2012. http://www.janesoceania.com/png_enga/index.htm Waddell, E. (1972) The Mound Builders: Agricultural Practices, Environmental, and Society in the Central Highlands of New Guinea, University of Washington Press, Seattle. Wohlt, P. B. (2004). Descent group composition and population pressure in a fringe enga clan, papua new guinea. Human Ecology, 32(2), 137-162. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206002560?accountid=32521