Places, loss and logging among the Kamula.

This paper outlines some of the relationships between Kamula understandings of embodied personhood and place. It seeks to supplement existing accounts of place in the Bosavi region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Such understandings have largely been based on song, poetry and myth ( Feld 1982 ; Schieffelin 1976 ). By way of contrast, this paper describes comparatively mundane Kamula experiences of place. The Kamula talk I consider emphasizes socially mediated forms of unification of person and place associated with notions of shared 'appearance', 'equivalence' and 'enhancement'. Such terms are further explained by reference to Kamula understandings of the effects of losing a relationship with place. I conclude by showing how such understandings of loss are being deployed in Kamula demands for compensation from the state and logging companies. Through a discussion of these themes the paper contributes to the growing literature on the relationship between personhood, place and development in Papua New Guinea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]