Life Writing

The Account of the Life of Ligeremaluoga (1932) and The Reminiscences of Ahuia Ova (1939) were the first examples of indigenous life writing in the colony. Ligeremaluoga, PNG’s first Methodist minister, wrote in his own language; the piece was then translated into English by a missionary. It has the distinction of being the first book written by a Papua New Guinean. Ahuia Ova, former court interpreter for Sir Hubert Murray and informant for anthropologist, F.E. Williams, wrote his reminiscences at the urging of Williams, who then published them in the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Journal.