BOMAI D WITNE
An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism
THE idea of nation building can be promoted and realised in different ways in Papua New Guinea.
One that captured my attention recently was a church wedding I attended in which a Simbu man tied the knot with a woman from Western Highlands Province.
The couple also arranged for their two sons to be baptised at the same time.
Baptism and marriage - two of the seven sacraments that strengthen the Catholic faith.
Family members of the couple came from Simbu and Western Highlands and joined with expatriate and local friends and colleagues to witness the wedding.
In the tradition of the Catholic Church, there were four readings including one from the book of Psalms.
In church, Father Franco revealed in his homily that he allowed the husband, Gabriel Kuman, to choose the first reading and Susan Tepra to choose the second.
The first reading from the book of Sirach told the story of a happy marriage as a source and foundation of contentment.
The second reading, from Paul’s letter to Rome, talked of God’s mercy and the need for people to offer their lives to God. To do this, one has to try to be different from others in words and deeds.
The gospel from the book of Mathew said people are like a light and that they should strive to shine for others and allow others to see the goodness in them.
Towards the end of the mass, Bishop Francesco was invited to give a talk to the couple. He recalled the wedding statement of the emperor of Austria who said to his wife, “From now on I will try to make you holy and you must try to make me holy”.
The Bishop challenged Gabriel and Susan to try to make each other holy in their lives. This message also stirred the thoughts of other married couples attending the wedding mass.
Following the marriage vows, Gabriel and Susan exchanged bilums and placed them around each other’s neck. The bilums signified the promise and bond between them. This was a truly highlands way, replacing the wedding ring.
After the mass Gabriel invited me and the parishioners of Mary Help of Christian Parish to a small wedding party he organised at the Melanesian Institute where he works and lives with his family.
Conversing with Gabriel, I learnt that he hailed from the Graiku and Sambugla tribes in the Kerowagi District. He attended Bogo Primary School and went on Rosary Secondary School and entered priesthood studies in Madang, Fatima and Bomana.
He left priesthood studies and joined the PNG Institute of Medical Research and later joined the Melanesian Institute. Recently, he completed a master’s degree in International Public Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
His wife Susan is from the Mugmana clan of the Jika tribe of central Hagen. She works as a nurse at Goroka base hospital and the couple have two sons Joseph Arpi (4) and Stanley Kipla (2).
According to Gabriel, both share the Catholic faith which made their wedding and baptism of their children easier. He had to pay some money and a number of pigs in the tradition of marriage in Simbu and Western Highlands to the parents and relatives of Susan.
Gabriel offered a dish of food to the youths of Mary Help of Christian Parish as a gesture of appreciation for their role in the wedding mass. The youths sat around and joined others in enjoying the meal.
We pray that God will continue to protect and guide Gabriel and Susan’s family and work.