Kunaypa historicity: Conceptual specificity of temporal reciprocity in the Sepik, Papua New Guinea

If we accept that anthropology of history transforms history into a subject of investigation rather than just a form of knowledge and social practice, then the ethnography of history must delve into local ways of thinking, living, and acting. The language of the people is key to gaining insight into the relational and temporal modes of existence of society. Among the Karawari people of Papua New Guinea, these modes play an important role in various aspects of cosmological and social life, all of which are intimately connected to land. The Karawari term kunaypa (debt, obligation, duty; moral value and law) underscores the view that relationships at all levels – cosmological, social, national, international – should be based on generosity and reciprocity. It is the undeniable quality of human and non-human agency. Kunaypa refers to the specific past (event, being, practice) and at the same time to the specific future. The multiple instances of kunaypi (plural of kunaypa) lead to multiple intergenerational commitments, as various emplaced historical experiences lie dormant. When these experiences are recalled and concrete actions are taken, they emphasize the interconnectedness, indeed equation, of past and future.