THE HEAVY WOODEN SHIELD OF MISIMA, PAPUA 
By H. K. BARTLETT 
Summary 
The island of Misima (St. Aignan) stands a little apart from the other islands of the 
Calvados Chain in the Louisade Archipelago, south-eastern Papua. Its coral cliffs rise 
abruptly from the sea. Mount Oiatau (oia=mountain, tau=man) rises to about 3,400 
feet on the narrow western end. Just off-shore charts record sea depths of 900 
fathoms. The mountain range traverses the island, dwindling to a series of lesser 
peaks on the eastern end, where gold-bearing reefs have been located. 
Misima today carries a population of about 2,800 people of Papuo-Melanesian stock, 
all of whom live in coastal villages. However, stories have been handed down of days 
when densely populated villages were numerous inland, as well as on the coast. Prior 
to the appearance of the white man, constant raiding and intervillage fighting appears 
to have been the order of the day. 
