The return of the ambush: 'Raskolism' in rural Yangoru, east Sepik province

Over the last 15 years or so, 'raskols' have become a prominent feature of the cultural scene in Papua New Guinea and have prompted a number of academ ic studies, focussed mostly on urban crime. This paper documents and analys es a dramatic rise of raskolism in a rural setting, the Yangoru Subdistrict of the East Sepik Province. It seeks to describe how interactions between raskols and the population they exploit evolved, and it focusses on why Yan goru raskolism emerged when it did. Although a conjunction of rising materi al aspirations, failed economic programs, and the erosion of traditional an d modern sanctions probably are important explanations, what seems critical to understanding this sudden rise in crime is the experience some young Ya ngoru men gained in raskol gangs in urban environments, experience that fac ilitated their recognition and exploitation of pre-existing but hitherto un acknowledged weaknesses in the systems of control back home.