“Small pigs ain’t good enough for politics”

For Christina Yamba, pigs are serious business.   Christine comes from a long line of   women who have raised pigs over   generations for various purposes. For her, it is a lucrative income source.

“I look after pigs for sale. I feed them with kaukau and feed. Large pigs are sold for K5000.”

During election time, the price of pigs rise as candidates come looking for gifts to woo voters and build alliances   before the polling happens.

It has become standard practice as ancient customs are blended with 21st century politics in Papua New Guinea.

Christine explains, candidates don’t come looking to buy   small pigs. .

“Election people don’t want small pigs,” she says. “We don’t sell small pigs worth K1000. People want them.”

During the 2012 elections, Christine made 15 thousand kina from the sale of three pigs. Each pig was bought for 5 thousand kina by intending politicians.

For this election, she won’t be selling any of her pigs. They’ll too small. A pig worth K1000 Kina just isn’t good enough for Western Highlands politics.