Heinrich Küper

Küper was married to a respected and influential local woman, Kafagamurirongo, and was the only aefaka (white) who ever reached the arafa (high person) status within a Melanesian community.

According to Küper the customs of the Solomon Islanders were full of ancient wisdom, unfathomable to the European visitor, and in harmony (im Einklang) with their surroundings.

Therefore, Küper mistrusted European influence as a whole, warning local people in Owaraha against certain missionaries, whom he accused of breaking down the ancestral authority structures and bringing about a moral breakdown, as well as against all Overseas Chinese traders, for he felt that non-traditional material possessions in the island context promoted greed and brought about conflict.

Even so, Küper insisted in observing Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) at his home every year with great pomp and solemnity, according to time-honored German tradition.

In time the island ended up becoming christianized and opening to the market economy, Küper's influence having contributed to the prevailing acculturation, rather than to his avowed goal of the preservation of the traditional culture.