Robert@PNG

Continued from yesterday.

- On the 30th of December I got a visit by four elders from the
neighbouring Keto tribe. They came to Wara-guma to discuss issues around the forming of the Association and to share their views on the “things” from a Keto perpsective. We are aiming to setup an association made up of 8 clans from to tribes: Keto and Tapasi. To date there has been much interest and work and meeting held by the Tapasi folk but minimal input so far by the Keto folks. The four leaders contributed there thinking around the whole effort and it was most welcomed. The four men that came to our “hut” that morning were:

Elvis Kono (Longi-Ku clan)
Tom Kurakipa (Nondo-Ku clan)
Rambi Kono (Longi-Ku clan)
Martin Irapa (Nondo-Ku clan)

One of things to come out of this meeting was the decision to hold our next monthly meeting (this coming weekend) at the “Haus Man” at Mangiro, which is located in Wapu-ku clan territory. I have prepared a bunch of doco which I have been working on lately and hand out an information “pack” to each of the eight clans.

This whole association thing is hard work and challenging to say the
least - agreement and consensus is difficult to achieve within one clan, let alone eight! My role as mediator and middle man is evolving and slowly but surely I seem to be gaining the t rust and confidence from the leaders of all eight clans. My vision around how the association will run and make decisions is slowly crystallising and at the center of it all is the “Haus-Man”. Most associations is PNG end up failing due to the white-man way of doing things getting pushed on to the locals. I figure that if we can retain their existing form of governance the the idea might have half a chance.

- During our stay in the village over the xmas/new year break we always had kids staying over. They are over the moon when they are allowed (by their parents) to sleepover and on top of that they eat a much needed hearty meal. The two weeks we were in the village - I think it was just one night Eli and myself had the “hut” to ourselves. Communal living and sleeping is very Highland-ish and the isolator that I have been in the past is certainly taking his time to get used to this custom. But as they say (somewhere) - change is inevitable - like it or lump it!

- A young girls came to visit us one afternoon and hung out with us for a few hours - her name: “Vadima”. We have seen her a few times on our visits and her face as become familiar as she is one of those PNG kids that is absolutely terrified of white skinned folks (or was). On this particular afternoon during her visit she opened up and I got to see her smile for the first time. Needless to say it was an absolute joy to see “Vadima” shed that scared look and smile and interact with the two of us.

- One of the first days during our stay we walked to Chuave Station.
About a three hour hike back to the main road and then up the Highland's H'Way towards Kundiawa. My feet were killing me from walking on the rough bitumen when I got back but the exercise was most welcomed. As a result of the walking and healthy diet during our stay - I reckon I probably lost a stone all up - which probably brought me down to around 85kgs. Back in town - I'm probably back up to 90kgs or so. The lighest I've been since late teens.

- Witnessed a “Wasim Lek” ceremony (for Jack from the Kumo-koko clan). This was new to me - I had heard of “Bride Price”, “Het Pei” and compensation settlements but “Wasim Lek”was a new one to me. Don't ask me to explain what it was all about - the explanation involves understanding inter-clan connections and the white person that I am - I tend to get confused when extending beyond 1st cousin. The “Wasin Lek” ceremony involved the mandatory pig, lots of chooks, a tonne of “Kau-kau” and other vegies and of course a couple of beers. I reckon I could live in this country for another 30 and years and never fully understand many things. Once a white always a white. But then again they also say - when you've tried black… you can never go back!!

- Our “Haus Kuk” is now taking shape and almost complete. This means that once complete all our cooking will be done outside of the house. It's made of 100% bush materials of course - with the odd nail thrown in for good measure. The fire inside the “hut” will be used for heat generation and to generate that “cosy” feeling. Our next project after the “Haus Kuk” will be the building of a “Haus Win” - I suppose you could call it a sort of Gazebo a la bush style. A meeting place for
daylight hours and a place for those well earned afternoon naps!

- And finally… I now fully understand the benefit of having fred
flinstone sized feet! The skill of the locals the walk over slippery,
muddy and wet surfaces is just amazing. It's hard enough to manoeuvre a flat muddy surface when it's wet but walking up and down steep surfaces??? All the visits that I have made to the village have been done bare foot (”lek natin”) and slowly my feet and toes are learning the ropes. The soles have become like a leather but as big as my feet are (by western standards) - they come no where near the size of the locals. Note that in recent trips - I have not fallen once! The locals say that the ground, dirt and insects are getting to know me. I want fred flinstone feet for xmas!!!

That's about it folks - Part 3 is the final instalment of this
story.