Papua New Guinea

Greetings

Men greeting Men – If you don’t know each other, a handshake is common. Good friends and family members usually give each other a hug.

Women greeting Women – If you don’t know each other, a handshake is common. Good friends and family members usually give each other a hug.

Greetings between Men & Women – If it is a man greeting a woman, they will usually refrain from hugging except if it is somebody they really know well over many years. A handshake is common in many situations and sometimes a nod of acknowledgment will suffice.

Note: Sometimes people will greet you, take your hand in a hand shake and hold it against their chest. This is a sign of friendship and respect.

Communication Style

• People tend to communicate directly on general topics, but they are culturally very sensitive and are easily shamed, so a more indirect style is common when it comes to sensitive issues.
• Most people will be offended if you walk by and greet without stopping for a chat. This communicates that you do not have time for them, do not care, etc.
• It is considered better to express a criticism through a colleague or friend, rather than face to face.

Personal Space & Touch

• More than arms length of personal space is best, especially with men communicating with woman and vice versa. Men need to keep an arms length distance from women they do not know. Not doing this may communicate some inappropriate interest and the man could be ‘courted’ for doing so.
• As you get to know each other better this space can be reduced to less than arms space. In family circles people get very close to each other.
• f business colleagues know each other well they may get closer when communicating, but normally they will remain at arms length.

• In PNG, people are not offended by appropriate touching. Men will often hold hands with each other even in public and this will not be strange. This will happen between strangers as well. For example you may ask directions, and the man will take your hand and walk with you. It’s a sure sign of friendship.

• People who know each other better will hug each other, touch shoulders and arms, and stroke each other’s calves. Once again this kind of touching will mainly happen between people who know each other better and men will not touch women in this way. It may happen that older women (grandmothers) may touch men, hug them, stroke their calves, etc.

Eye Contact

• Direct eye contact is appropriate in all situations. You will find that children are shy and therefore avoid eye contact but this tends to change as they become familiar with you.
• Avoiding eye contact will be seen as negative and communicates being sly.

Gestures

• You call people to come to you by pointing your fingers downward and making a scratching motion.
• When moving though a crowd that sits on the ground or back of a truck (taxi) you can bend down low, point downwards with a flat hand and start walking, they will then open up.
• You will find that some people will point with their chin instead of a finger.
• It is not good to point to people that are not part of your conversation. They may be offended and think that you are gossiping.

Views of Time

• Most people do not keep time and work according to the sun. They get up in the morning when it’s starts to get light, lunch at noon, visit when it’s dark and sleep at about 8PM.
• Usually nothing happens on time due to the fact that most people do not keep time. In general people are not offended if you are late, and you will need to be aware of the fact that people will come late or arrive early for appointments.
• Services like buses do not run on time, there is no time schedule. You can wait up to an hour or more for a bus. In general planes arrive on time but often they are late as well and sometimes will not arrive.
• People will usually offer their time freely; they love to serve and help and do not covet their time. This is a major sign of friendship and coveting your time will be s sure sign that you are not a friend.
• In business circles, people tend to be more on time, and may even be offended if you are very late.

Gender Roles

• In most rural areas, women do not have any status. Their names are changed when they get married and they exist to serve the men and work in the gardens. In general, a woman’s role is generally taking care of the home, cooking, etc.
• Women cannot challenge men in public or participate in public debates or court cases. This is true of foreign woman as well.
• In more developed parts of the country, women have more rights but will still be looked down upon for the most part.
• Women usually cover their thighs and most women will wear dresses.

Taboos

• Most people will be offended if you walk by and greet without stopping for a chat. This communicates that you do not have time for them, do not care, etc.
• To step over food is considered very rude.

• Homosexual activity is illegal.

Law & Order

• Due to the extreme isolated location of many tribes, laws are difficult to enforce in much of the country.
• There is no legal drinking age.
• Penalties for possession or use of, or trafficking in illegal drugs are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.
• Homosexual activity is illegal.

Other Observations

• The traditional Melanesian cultures (more than 200 have been identified) are kept alive in elaborate rituals involving deaths, feasts, marriages, compensation ceremonies and initiation rites. Visitors to country areas, especially in the highlands, will often find local variations in village construction, dialect and dress.