Hiri Motu: The fascinating trade language that became a police force's secret code

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born from ancient maritime trade routes, Hiri Motu evolved into a vital lingua franca across Papua New Guinea. Once the standard language for colonial police, it was later rebranded to honor the Motu people's historic voyages. Today, this unique linguistic bridge faces a quiet decline in favor of English.

Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, is a simplified derivative of the Austronesian Motu language. Its origins predate European contact, emerging from the Hiri trade cycle where the Motu people exchanged clay pots and sago with neighbors along the southern coast of New Guinea. During the colonial era, the Royal Papuan Constabulary adopted the language, cementing its status as a widespread lingua franca by the early 1960s.

The name Hiri Motu was officially adopted in the early 1970s following a Department of Information and Extension Services conference. The committee sought a title that reflected the cultural legacy of the Motu people rather than its association with the police force, which had largely abandoned the language in favor of Tok Pisin after the 1946 unification of the New Guinea Police Force. The language itself features two primary dialects: the 'Austronesian' dialect, which remains closer to the original Motu, and the 'Papuan' dialect, which served as the standard for official publications starting around 1964.

Grammatically, Hiri Motu is defined by its flexible word order, where subject-object-verb and object-subject-verb structures are interchangeable. Because this flexibility can create ambiguity—such as whether a boy killed a pig or a pig killed a boy—speakers use the subject marker 'ese' to clarify meaning. The language also lacks a direct verb for possession, requiring speakers to use phrases like 'I with my dog' to express ownership. While it once served as a primary language for children of public servants, its usage has steadily declined for decades, with current speakers primarily concentrated among the elderly in the Central and Gulf provinces.

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