Meanings
- uncountableThe Melanesian cultural practice of relying on one's wantoks for any need, and of sharing the fruits of one's personal success with one's wantoks.
He thus had a broad view and no ‘tribal′ loyalties, with the accompanying baggage of wantokism and its inherent obligations.
2007, Ronald James May, Conflict and Resource Development in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, page 1023 more examples
The capture of a provincial bureaucracy by an ethnic elite and the practice of wantokism have had at least other grave repercussions for national unity and nation-building.
1988, James Cook University of North Queensland Committee of South-East Asian Studies, Kabar Seberang, numbers 19-20, page 35Many of these demands derive, RSL^([Ramu Sugar Limited]) believes, from the negative aspects of Papua New Guinean custom. These include wantokism, jealousy, exorbitant landowner-claims, and a handout mentality.
2004, Frederick Errington, Deborah Gewertz, Yali's Question: Sugar, Culture, and History, page 1972009, Sarah Dix, Emmanuel Pok, Combating Corruption in Traditional Societies: Papua New Guinea, Robert I. Rotberg, Corruption, Global Security, and World Order, page 249, Of course, wantokism, as it has been illustrated thus far, is not different from informal networks elsewhere in the world.[…]Traditionally, wantokism was rooted in custom, guided by natural laws, and informally enforced by the village.
Origin
Translations
French wantokisme
- wantokismeMelanesian cultural practice
Cite this entry
wantokism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wantokism
“wantokism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wantokism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wantokism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wantokism.
Source: wantokism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.