Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A battle of languages: Spirit possession and changing linguistic ideologies in a Sepik society, Papua New Guinea

2012; Wiley; Volume: 23; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/taja.12002

1835-9310

Darja Hoenigman,

Linguistic Variation and Morphology

In O ctober 2009, a dramatic event shook the existing sociolinguistic setting in K anjimei village in E ast S epik P rovince of P apua N ew G uinea. Possessed by a C hristian spirit, a woman harshly reproached the most important village leaders. The ensuing verbal fight between ‘the spirit’ and the village prayer leader became a battle of languages: the C hristian spirit spoke the community's native language, A wiakay, overpowering those in authority, who are the most frequent users of the national lingua franca T ok P isin. As it was believed that it was the spirit of the V irgin M ary who channelled herself through the possessed woman, it was legitimate for people to discuss her words. The spirit possession thus enabled the otherwise condemned social practices: gossip and public criticism, which have the power of changing existing power relations in the village. The analysis of this event shows the complexity behind the ever‐changing linguistic ideologies.