Mulapini

Today there are three major branches of Mulapini which are widely dispersed in space. The first and largest is the Tukusanda Mulapini to the west of Laiagam on the north side of the Lagaip river. The second is the Yoko Mulapini groups west of Mulitaka and south of the Lagaip. The third is the Wage Mulapini group north of the junction of the Wage and Andabare rivers between Imapiaka and Panduakae. Mulapini is the only tribe in Enga which has three branches in different places, each of which has its own origin legend. The only conclusion we could draw from this is that Mulapini dispersed long ago and that each branch later adopted its own origin myth. We have no way of knowing if Mulapini was a united group in the distant past or which segment is in its original place of origin. Mulapini at Yoko has a tradition suggesting that Mulapini dispersed from Yoko. Below we will give the Mulapini origin tradition as told to Roderic Lacey by Pangia. Pangia was considered to be the most knowledgeable elder on Mulapini history and an eloquent speaker:

The origin tradition for Mulapini at Tukusanda states that a woman named Yuu Andate, ‘original inhabitant’, lived at Yakayele rock shelter near Pipingusa. One evening when she was resting, a bat (tiitii) came and landed on her stomach and made some squeaking sounds. After it flew away, her stomach began to swell, and she realized that she was pregnant. She gave birth to Mulapini. Mulapini had two sons, Landi and Yati, who in turn had many sons, the descendants of whom today make up the tribes of Mulapini. Some Tukusanda Mulapini claim that the Yoko Mulapini left Tukusanda for Yoko with the marriage of a clan founder to a Yoko woman, but Mulapini at Yoko knew nothing of this tradition.

We were unable to visit the Wage region to collect origin traditions for the Wage Mulapini so we will draw on the work of Mervyn Meggitt (1957). The Wage Mulapini have their own origin myth, that they were descended from an earthworm, and claim that their founding ancestor lived near Pandanjio near the Lagaip. Since the Wage Mulapini are also called by the tribal name Huparupa after Mulapini’s Huli wife, it is likely that their forebears group migrated from the Lagaip to the Wage upon the marriage of one of their members to a Huli woman.

Throughout Mulapini history, clans or sub-clans from the Tukusanda area continued to move northwards, particularly into the Maramuni. Reasons given for dispersal of Mulapini tribes give some interesting information on conditions in the Lagaipin the past. To mention but a few, a very early migration of segments of Mulapini Yolo ans Maiwambi to the Maramuni area is said to have occurred after taro beetles devastated crops in the Tukusanda area. In the seventh to eighth generation, the Mulapini Liukiki clan migrated to Maramuni after a tribal fight broke out with its brother clan Paiti over the ownership of posts to build a new house. In a subsequent war which began over a digging stick used to make ditches to keep pigs out of gardens, Mulapini Aiakane moved to the Maramuni area. In approximately the fourth to fifth generation, the Imakete Mulapini clan left the Lagaip for Maramuni after a plague called sambe ravaged the area, severely reducing pig populations. Others left in search of good land at lower altitudes. Some 5-6 generations ago, Mulapini clans to the east began to feel pressure on land from the expansion of Kunalini which had left Laiagam after the Sambe-Kunalini fight:

All in all, the picture painted by Mulapini historical traditions from the Tukusanda is one of a shortage of good land at higher altitudes, tribal wars, plague and epidemics. These problems were shared by many other groups in the Lagaip Valley.

CLANS AND LOCATIONS

Mulapini Landi

Mango was a Mulapini woman who married a Sakate man and he came to settle on her land. Their land is on both sides of the Lagaip near Yakenda.

Yolo is considered to be Lyaini by some. The Maramuni Yolo group may be made up of Mulapini and Lyaini segments.

Mulapini Yati

Mulapini Yoko

The following are the Mulapini Yoko clans who claim to have their own origin story but are considered to possibly be sons of Yati by the Tukusanda Mulapini.