In 1977-78 right after Papua New Guinea had achieved its political independence Derk van
Groningen was living among the Kilenge people on the north-west coast of the island of New
Britain. Originally his ethnographic field research centered on the circular migration pattern
in the Kilenge area. Being permitted to take photographs of their daily activities his focus
became much broader. Groningen's work presents a photographic documentation of many aspects of
Kilenge life during the transition period from colonial rule to self-determination and
governance. His original observations and photographs are published here for the first time.
