Anyan was born in the mid-1920s into the pre-metal culture of the Tairora of what is now called Papua New Guinea. Her early life was rooted in the traditions of her remote village, where she worked the land and took part in the rituals connected with raising food, but she lived at the time of first contact between her people and those from "outside" and she saw the traditional ways begin to change. At her marriage she moved to the government station at Kainantu, where she was exposed to more Western influences, even as she tried to hold on to her past and her ties to her village. Before...