Baining (Papua New Guinean people)

The Baining people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea; they currently inhabit the Baining Mountains, from which they take their name. They are considered a genetic isolate and speak the Baining languages, with each language corresponding to separate clan identities. The Baining are thought to have been relatively recently driven to an inland area by the Tolai tribes who migrated to the coastal areas. The Baining migration westward may also have been influenced by major volcanic activity occurring over the centuries around the present day town of Rabaul on the north-east coast.