Cultural constructions of the meanings of violence and control among Papua New Guinea (PNG) Highlanders provide a lens through which to view the resurgence of tribal fighting that occurred there during the decade of the 1980s. Frequent government liquor bans, promulgated on the conventional wisdom that alcohol use causes violence, failed to stem the violence. Through an examination of nearly 500 PNG newspaper items we illustrate how Papua New Guineans discuss the relationships among tribal fighting, alcohol use, liquor bans and development. This shows a widely held belief that drinking leads to violence. We conclude that intoxication does contribute to some group violence, and that periodic bans probably reduce the overall rate of violence and the incidence of alcohol-related events that can precipitate or renew tribal fighting.
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