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by Bernard Narokobi by Lise M Dobrin Yəhələgɨr, Wautogig’s founding father Why Yəhələgɨr had to seek a new home in new lands About Yəhələgɨr's wife's people, on whose lands he settled The places where Yəhələgɨr and his wife made their new home Yəhələgɨr befriends a man from Walanduom and creates lasting ties between their two villages Why Meliawi fled Kwangen How Meliawi and Yəhələgɨr met Meliawi and Yəhələgɨr learn to trust one another The former inhabitants of the lands where Wautogig was founded The clans that make up the village How Wautogig’s tribes are distributed over the land Description of the present-day village site Things that happened during the early colonial period How Anton Narokobi brought the Catholic church to the village The villagers’ earliest forays into schooling outside the village and work in trained occupations Key figures in the first generation of Wautogigem to advance through higher education Further discussion of Wautogig’s many educated, professional, and important men Important women from the earliest generations About women from Narokobi's mother's generation Women of modern times, with special focus on those who married in What the villagers experienced during the Second World War The return home and establishing of a new unified village site How the Wautogigem came to occupy their current village site Reflections on the village churches as both buildings and social institutions How land is owned and passed on Gardening, marketing, and the planting of cash crops Public presentations of wealth to other communities The words, actions, and histories of village song-dance complexes Traditional games and how they were played Expectations about the relations between men and women |
Chapter 5: Heimeri-Kapowia and the Yaimbon-Hula Road1One day, Yəhələgɨr left Dagububu and walked down the ridge, following Boduit Creek to where the creek meets Urieb river at Kuboina beach. Yəhələgɨr and his wife were on the beach at the riverbank, busy carving and grinding and polishing the wooden plates and bowls.2 As Yəhələgɨr was carving his wooden bowls, he heard a dog’s bark. He looked up from his work and saw a yeibon (Boikin yaimbon), a wallaby, cross Urieb river. He dropped his work, rushed across the river, and speared the wallaby. He took it to the beach, laid it out, and sat down to continue his work. The dog that he had heard barking raced through the river followed closely by two hunters, Heimeri and Kapowia.3 When they saw Yəhələgɨr and his wife, they stopped. By the ancient laws of hunting, Yəhələgɨr knew the wallaby belonged to the hunters and their dog. So Yəhələgɨr stood up, picked up the dead wallaby, and offered it to the hunters. It was their property, even now that it had been captured, as they and their dog had started the chase and it had come from their land. Heimeri and Kapowia made sign language to Yəhələgɨr and his wife that they could keep the prey. They had killed it. They could keep it.4 The two hunters were from Walanduom nation, where the Sausa or Boikin language was spoken. Their sphere of influence extended over parts of the northern banks of Urieb river. They were complete strangers to Yəhələgɨr who was a Buki or Arapesh speaker with origins from Kumunim to the west. Using sign language, the two hunters advised Yəhələgɨr to keep the wallaby since he had killed it. Again by sign language, they agreed they would have another meeting, at the same place. To aid their memories, they cut midribs of branches of a wild palm tree and indicated that for every day that passed, they would each remove a leaf until they came to the last leaf. When the last leaf was reached, they would reassemble at the beach at the riverside and exchange gifts. They parted ways. On the appointed day they met again and exchanged gifts. Yəhələgɨr gave Heimeri and Kapowia some wooden bowls. Heimeri and Kapowia gave coconut and yam seed to Yəhələgɨr to plant. In this way, the two nations and two peoples established diplomatic links with each other. Though they spoke different languages and belonged to different communities, the two became allies and close friends. Even to this day, the Walanduoms and the Wautogigem have a close friendship. The former Governor, Philip Taku, MP for Port Moresby Northeast and my brother Camillus and I are hulas, meaning we are the inheritors of the original relationship. Although we live in the city and hold state offices, we continue to uphold and honour the first-contact relationship. Although we belong to different political parties, we continue to honour our relationship today. We are trading partners, but not of filial relationship. We call each other hula.5 |
NOTES 1 The friendship between Heimari Kapowia and Yəhələgɨr that comes about through the events of this story is the origin of the Yaimbon-Hula trade road. Jacob Sonin and Tony Nindim liken this kind of formal friendship to their own relationship with each other today. Listen. 2 These were the exchange items traditionally made by Wautogig people for trade throughout the region; see Mead 1938:329. 3 Heimeri and Kapowia are two brothers. Listen. 4 Yəhələgɨr and the hunters don't share a common language so they have to communicate using hand signs. Listen. 5 The Arapesh name for this relationship is gəbəkin-kworiaɲ. Listen. |