The Power of Mary in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

In this extract from her ethnographic account of devotion to the Virgin Mary in Papua New Guinea, Anna-Karina Hermkens illustrate many of the general principles outlined by Jo Hendry in the previous text. As she shows, the figure of Mary, and the powers ascribed to her, have taken many forms at different times and in different places, and they have occasioned controversy within the Roman Catholic Church. Hermken's analysis powerfully shows how Mary in Papua New Guinea becomes a figure of on-the-spot protection, especially for women, in the face of their specific experience of domestic violence, rape, HIV/AIDS and war. She also points to contradictions inherent in this global-local axis: how, for example, Mary's local powers as a protector of women are in tension with her globally emphasised qualities of submission and acceptance.