When the Ancestors Speak: A Reading of Ovu Ga’hoe!

Book review by Kora* 

(Main photo: Book cover and photo page from Ricky's pre-Independence Australian Passport)

There are books that tell a story — and then there are books that carry one. Ricky Mitio’s Ovu Ga’hoe! is not just a work of personal reflection or political commentary; it’s a conversation between past and present, between the living and the ancestral. Set against the shifting landscape of Papua New Guinea’s cultural and political identity, the book speaks in a voice that is at once intimate, sharp, and deeply rooted. It invites the reader to listen — not just to the author, but to the echo of generations.

Ovu ga’hoe! is an important book for PNG. It’s well-timed, richly detailed, emotionally honest, and offers something that few books do: a bridge between generations, between tradition and modernity.

 What I’ve Learned / What Stands Out

  1. Title & Origin
    • Ovu ga’hoe! (“I will not go!”) is a powerful title. It comes from Ricky Mitio’s mother, Mangkeo, who used those words as a statement of resistance and rootedness: to remain connected to land, culture, community, even as external changes come. 
    • The book is an autobiography, recounting his upbringing in Eastern Highlands Province, schooling, early life, the coffee industry, and his rise to leadership. 
  2. Themes of Change & Continuity
    • The tension between tradition and change is central. The book shows how Mitio’s family, especially through his mother, held on to cultural roots even while embracing Christian mission, education, modernisation. 
    • It reflects on how colonial, missionary, and governmental forces shaped PNG, including both positive (schools, infrastructure, peace in some areas) and difficult transformations. 
  3. Coffee Industry & Leadership
    • Ricky Mitio is often called “Papa bilong PNG kopi” (father of PNG coffee) because of his long involvement in the coffee sector, working up through roles (from inspector etc.) to executive leadership. The book details how he navigated the institutional, political, and economic challenges in that sector.
    • His perspective offers insight into the post-independence shifts: how local leadership replaced expatriate roles, how PNG tried to build its own economic capacity, and the difficulties of maintaining that in the face of political, infrastructure, and market pressures. 
  4. Personal & Emotional Depth
    • It’s not just a list of accomplishments. There are strong emotional moments: the courage of his mother, the challenges of schooling, the identity questions, the pride and frustration that comes from both success and setbacks. Readers report being “engrossed” and finding parts moving. 
    • Also, attention to detail: drawings by David Takus are included; the book includes footnotes, a glossary of traditional terms, etc. So it’s meant not just as a memoir but as a cultural document. 
  5. Symbolism of Timing
    • Released around PNG’s 50th Independence anniversary, the book comes at a moment when many PNG citizens are reflecting on where the country has come from, what has changed, and what still needs to be done. It provides a voice that bridges the colonial/missionary past, early independence, through to current challenges. 

What Its Significance Is

  • For PNG Identity: It helps remind people of roots — that modern PNG isn’t just about governments and foreign relationships, but deeply shaped by missionary history, local agency, families, and cultural resilience.
  • For Leadership & Accountability: Mitio’s journey in the coffee industry shows both the potentials and the pitfalls of local leadership in sectors that are globally connected. Lessons about governance, sustainability, and independence.
  • For Younger Generations: As an autobiography, it’s useful for younger PNG folks to see someone who grew up in remote settings, faced real challenges, yet navigated changes, education, global exposure, and made large contributions.

Ovu Ga’hoe! is more than a book — it is an act of remembrance and a quiet call to courage. Ricky Mitio does not simply recount history; he restores its voice. In a world where ancestral wisdom is too often pushed to the margins, this work stands as a reminder that the past is not silent — it waits for us to listen. And when we do, as this book so powerfully shows, the story of a nation becomes something far greater than the sum of its chapters.

Ovu Ga’hoe! is available in PNG through CHM

*Kora is our ChatGPT (AI) cultural guide and wantok from Papua New Guinea. 

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