KEITH JACKSON
Curse of the Lamisi by Baka Barakove Bina, 90pp, $8.50, CreateSpace
Haffies are made; they are not born by Baka Barakove Bina, 38pp, $6, CreateSpace
IT has been a long time between drinks, so to speak, for Baka Bina. His last book, Zymur, was published by Oxford University Press in 2003 and the high school teacher turned lawyer has been greatly anticipating his next effort.
Well, the time has come, and Baka has produced two interesting books which are now available through Amazon subsidiary, Create Space.
Baka is from Kotiyufa village near Iufi Iufa in the Eastern Highlands. He originally trained at Goroka Teachers College as a high school English teacher then, in 2003, completed a law degree at the University of Papua New Guinea.
Before becoming Assistant Registrar in Common Law with the National Court he had spent 20 years as Deputy Sheriff in the same jurisdiction.
Baka, 52, has four adult children and, he says, “a growing number of grandchildren.” His partner in crime as illustrator is the talented Eddie Kanaupa, a young self-taught artist who was in Year 11 when the drawings for the books were done.
In Curse of the Lamisi the author interweaves a local legend explaining why a papa is still a bachelor boy with the dilemma of why a growing number of families have a large number of girl-children.
Perhaps they are living under the curse of the Lamisi!
Haffies are made; they are not born is a story about schoolkids who are addicted to smoking marijuana.
In the tropics, the land is lush and fertile. Marijuana plants grow profusely wherever the seeds are scattered, so they are readily available.
“What the smokers don't have,” says Baka, “is proper knowledge of the effects and the harm of smoking marijuana.
“Children are vulnerable as they copy the adults. In rural areas of Papua New Guinea, they have very little choice of role models.”
Baka hopes the book will be used in schools to stop young children from smoking cigarettes and marijuana.