The Man Who Would Not Die

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Over the past thirty years, Lucian Vevehupa told me many stories about his life, the past and the present, religion and politics... Every time, I was fascinated that so many things could happen to a man. Of course, all Papua New Guineans of his time went through tremendous undertakings that led them from the encounter with a violent colonial power to the need to fight against gigantic international companies to defend their land and way of life. Retaining this background, Lucian's stories contained, however, other formidable accomplishments as well: he died and was resurrected repeatedly, he established several mission stations and schools in remote places, he has been a priest, a politician, and an outstanding traditional dancer. Most people would need five lives to accomplish all this. However, what impressed me even more is that Lucian has a comprehensive coherent vision of the world. This gift is generally very rare among humans and, in the West for example, only a few outstanding philosophers have proven to possess it. Lucian's coherence may seem all the more exceptional because PNG, the country he lives in, is currently confronted by several major ruptures: between old religions and new ones, between the former form of governance and the democratic state, between the morality of the gift and individualism... In 2011, I asked Lucian whether he was willing to write an autobiography that I could publish. He agreed. He is such an active man that I was unsure he would find the time to do it. However, when I returned in 2012, he led me to his office and entrusted me with the manuscript of this book. When I first read it, I was surprised to find out that the first two-thirds of the text concerned his ancestors' life and the customs of his people, the Orokaiva. His personal story only came later. However, while enjoying his stories, I was once again captured by Lucian's powerful coherence. Indeed, how could anyone seriously talk about one's life, without first presenting the people, the ideas, the customs, and the beliefs that made him be who he is? - André Iteanu, professor of anthropology in France