George Ambo
|
The Most Reverend George Ambo |
|
|---|---|
| Primate of Papua New Guinea | |
| Church | Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea |
| See | Port Moresby |
| In office | 1983-1990 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1958 |
| Consecration | 1960 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 November 1922 near Gona |
| Died | 6 July 2008 Popondetta |
Sir George Ambo, KBE (November 25, 1922 near Gona, Territory of Papua – July 6, 2008 in Popondetta, Northern Province, Papua New Guinea), originally named Ambo Arukaba after his father and grandfather, was an Papua New Guinean Anglican Archbishop. He who was the first South Pacific native to become a bishop, in 1960. He was also known for his role in a "cargo cult" in the months prior to his death.
He was born among the Somboba people, one of seven children (with five sisters and a brother), the son of the clan's specially trained and initiated master of traditional dances. He learnt to dance in turn, and "had become a leader of the dance [...] before he started school", which he did in 1934, at an Anglican mission school. He was baptised and given the name "George" the following year.
He subsequently became a teacher at All Souls school in Gona, then, in February 1942, attended St Aidan’s College at Dogura in Milne Bay, to train to become a "teacher-evangelist". In July 1942, the Second World War came to Papua in the form of a Japanese invasion. The college remained open, despite being close to the fighting, and Ambo remained there throughout the war. In 1945, he returned to Gona, his home village, as a parish teacher. In the latter capacity, he taught the people of Gona to maintain most of their customs, including traditional dances and what he called "good traditional stories", but also to embrace Christianity and reject their "belief in witchcraft and sorcery". He taught the stories of the Bible through "traditional dancing, singing, drumming and miming".
He married in 1946, and, in 1949, was transferred to Eiwo in the Kokoda hills. In 1952, he began training as a deacon at Newton Theological College at Dogura, and was ordained deacon in 1955, then priest in 1958. In 1959, he was registered by the government as a teacher, and was posted to the mission in Boianai. To spread his teachings and reach the people of the area, "scattered through the rugged southern reaches of the Owen Stanley mountain range, Ambo often swam storm-swollen rivers in his shorts".
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