Maulu was said to be born from a Molopai python at Maulu Pau at the southern tip of the Kandep swamps. No more has been passed down concerning Maulu origins. People could not say if the Maulu Molopai python was related to that in the Bipi legend or not. Early in their historical traditions, Maulu was located between the Atone tribes to the east of the Lai and Kaumbo rivers, the people of the bark belts with links to Mendi, and the Katinja tribes to the west, the people of the rope belts with links to Tari. Maulu’s oral history begins with Maulu caught in the middle of the Atone-Katinja conflict. Early in the conflict, there was a fight within Maulu in which Maulu divided into two parts, Katinja Maulu who chose long shafted arrows and went to help Yamape in the fight and Atone Maulu who chose the short-shafted arrows and helped Aimbatepa. Thus, Maulu was split in half.
The Atone-Katinja war was said to be a long and destructive one, with much of the fighting taking place at Maulu Pausa or in other areas of Maulu land. At the end of the war, those who helped Yamape, the descendants of Takone, left for the Tari area. Some say that they left because of the war, and others that they were seeking better land. Those who helped Aimbatepa, the descendants of Lua, remained and received the land around Kaupa in the Kaumba valley according to the following legend (for another version, see Aimbatepa history):
Once in the land of Polopeya, there were two boys. They lived near a place called Muni Pausa. The two boys fought over a bow. The bow was divided into two pieces. The thick part of the handle was taken by Aimbatepa and the thin end plus the string by Yamape. Part of Maulu helped Aimbatepa and fought Yamape. At the end of the fight, Maulu compensated Yamape for men killed by both Aimbatepa and Yamape. Later Maulu went to Aimbatepa and asked him for compensation as was tradition. Aimbatepa compensated Maulu with kina shells and pigs. Maulu was still not satisfied. He picked a piece of polya grass and a pandanus leaf and wrapped them around his forehead. Aimbatepa thought he wanted his forest lands at Konda, so he gave them to Maulu. Maulu rejected them. Aimbatepa then gave Yutipaka in the northern Marient, but Maulu also rejected this. Aimbatepa then asked him what he wanted, and Maulu told him that he wanted Kaupa (Aimbatepa’s agricultural land in the Kaumbo valley). Kaupa is where Maulu is today.
(Dia Kasa of the Maulu tribe, Lakalapa)
In moving from Maulu Pausa to Kaupa, Maulu moved from high country of approximately 2300m to the frost free Kaumbo valley at approximately 2000m, the land that was noted for its taro, bananas and sugar cane. Aimbatepa moved from Kaupa Kondo, which lies at approximately 2300m. Looking at other details of Aimbatepa history, it becomes apparent that Aimbatepa gave the land to Maulu without much resistance because the arrival of the sweet potato had made it possible to expand into higher altitude areas. This is also the time around which groups such as Aimbatepa, Maulu, Yalipuni and Timitopa claim to have gone northward to the land of the Bipi tribe to seek laborers to help them clear land for new gardens. As the myth goes, through their association with Bipi, they began to hold the Kepele ritual.
As in most Enga conflicts, the Atone-Katinja conflict did not end with Aimbatepa’s move to Konda but was renewed in many smaller incidents throughout oral history. For instance, in the fourth generation, Aimbatepa is said to have paid a Maulu man to cut off the ear of a man from the Yalipuni tribe (an ally of Yamape in the original fight) to use in Aimbatepa’s Kondo Teke fertility ritual. This was unusual practice, as human parts to be fed to the sacred stones were supposed to be procured from dead bodies of members of Katinja tribes. This incident is said to have provoked a second war between the Atone and Katinja and was undoubtedly one of several such incidents.
After Aimbatepa gave Maulu the land at Kaupa, Maulu and Aimbatepa remained on good terms and some Aimbatepa families kept gardens at Kaupa or went there in times of frost. However, because of the location of Maulu clans, they continued to form a bridge between the Atone and Katinja, the east and west sides of southern Kandep.
members interviewed
Maulu
- Mulai Andai and Joseph Tilya of the Maulu Atetealya clan, Akulya, Lakalapa;
- Kapu Upa and Talyi Kupa of the Maulu Kone clan, Pepakae, Matata (Kaupa);
- Pepe Kisambu of the Maulu Kupu clan, Kapu, Lakalapa;
- Dia Kone and Pungunu Pombata of the Maulu tribe, Lakalapa;
- Yamini Pakapu of the Timitopa Maulu clan, Titipa.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Maulu
Sons of the Molopai Python
• Maulu (other genealogies place Maulu as a son of Lua)
Sons of Maulu
• Lokai
Sons of Lokai
• Takone
• Lua
Sons of Takone
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Takone (Atamealua tribe) | Sikipi | Tari |
Sons of Lua (some say that Lua had 2 wives and others)
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Kone | Pepakae | Matata (Kaupa) |
| Atetealya | Akulya | Lakalapa |
| Kupu | Kapu | Lakalapa |
| Anduipa | Sambalya | Lakalapa |
| Pipula | Sambalya | Lakalapa |
| Tondo | Pongema | Wataipaka |
We found 10-11 generations in Maulu genealogy.