Depe
From here, you can often see a rainbow. People say that this rainbow also could be seen in times past. The rainbow that I will describe is one that existed before and still does today. If you look across the sky, you can see that one end of this rainbow lies at the border between Depe and Lyipini and the other at the border between the Depe and Kandowalini tribes. In former times when we saw the rainbow in its usual position, we said that no Depe man would die, but if it changed its position, we would say that one of us from the Depe tribe would die.
To understand this, you must realize that the rainbow is none other than the snake itself. The snake can change itself into a man, a pig, a possum or anything at all.
It was not said by our forefathers that the snake gave birth to us but rather that it guides our fortune and misfortune, for example, the fertility of the land, the growth of our children, the success of our warriors and so forth. It is for this reason that we roast food ritually for the snake.
(Gati Kanga of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa)
The mythical Depe snake which unites Depe clans under a protective rainbow, is closely associated with Depe tribal identity, although, as Gati Kanga explains, the snake is not the forefather of Depe clans. Depe history begins before the snake when Depe was but a small group of people at Yopoposa at the headwaters of the Aiyele River. Nothing in Depe history tells where Depe tribal founders at Yopoposa came from, whether they had always been there or whether they migrated from Kandepe or the Yandapo in times of frost and remained. What is told in Depe oral history though is that Depe always had strong ties with Kandepe and was a middleman in the trade network between Kandepe and the Lai in the past. It is said that Depe met with traders from Kandepe and Laiagama near Lake Rau (Crater Lake) in the range which separates the Lai from Kandepe. Although located just south of the Lai valley, early oral traditions place Depe as a group somewhat apart from others in the Lai. Early Depe oral history does not mention strong ties with other Lai groups nor do Lai groups mention such ties with Depe.
Early in oral history, Depe grew by incorporating families from tribes in Kandepe, the Tsaka Valley and Sirunki. It also invited the Lyipini tribe, which had left the Laiagama area after a dispute, to remain with it as a “brother” tribe. Having incorporated new members and allies, Depe fought its way down into the Lai valley to take the fertile land around Biripa:
Before, this place Biripa belonged to people who live in Kompiama today. Waingini, Tinilapini, Lyongeni, Pumalini and Aiamane lived at Biripa, Pina and Akoma. They left and went to Sau (Kompiama) where they are today. Depe originally lived in a bush place at Yopoposa. They fought with the owners of the land at Biripa, Pina, and Akoma for the land. Most of the clans living here now came from long distances away, but this place where I am standing right now (Biripa) originally belonged to people who are now living in Sau.
(Apakasa of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa)
There are a number of myths and legends concerning people from the Kandepe, Sirunki and Tsaka that became incorporated into Depe. Amongst these is one concerning a group leaving Kandepe:
Depe lived in the Lyumbi tribe near Patoli (Kandepe station). He had one sister with whom he shared a house. One day there was a pig feast in the Kaumbi River valley which Depe decided to attend. Before he left, he said to his sister,
“Do not leave the house while I am away. Stay inside and drink the water that I have fetched for you and eat the sweet potatoes that I have put in the house but be sure not to go out. Do as I say until I return from the feast with pork for us to eat.”
While her brother Depe was still at the pig feast, the sister’s provisions ran out. The girl got very thirsty and, ignoring her brother’s instructions, went out to fetch water. Since Depe was always the one who fetched water, she did not know where to go. She searched for his footprints thinking that they might lead to a spring. She followed them out of the courtyard and down a path to a place where there stood a lipame pandanus tree. There she found traces of a spring. The water was dripping out of one of the roots of the pandanus, a root which had not yet grown into the ground.
The tip had a hole in it that was plugged up by a piece of tree moss. She was quite sure that this must be the place where her brother usually fetched water, so she removed the moss plug and a stream of water gushed out. She took the container, filled it with water, and then tried to plug up the hole. Try as she would, she could not stop the flow of water with the moss plug. The water just continued to gush out. The girl sat down not knowing what to do. Soon the house and courtyard were flooded. Her eyes grew wide with terror as she sat there stunned.
Just then Depe arrived from the pig feast, bringing pork with him. When he saw the flood, he knew that his sister had ignored his advice and had taken the plug out of the spring. He wasted no time and rushed to close the hole in the pandanus root. The damage had already been done, however, and the water did not drain but remained there as a small lake. It is called Lyumbi Lake today.
Depe took a pig and, leaving all his other possessions behind, he climbed part way up a tree and then jumped over onto a rock to escape the flood. The pig followed him, and its footprints can be seen on the rock until this day. He went through the forest, passed Lake Lau (Crater Lake) and followed the Muanga route to the Lai valley with his white pig. When he reached Pyaulama, he stopped and settled there. Depe left his sister behind because he was angry that she had not done as he had told her. What became of her is not known.
(Leto Naneo of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa)
Although this legend refers to Depe himself, Leto Naneo, who told the legend, later agreed that it must refer to a segment of Depe and not the origin of the entire tribe. This legend is a variant of the well-known Paiapakali legend from the Porgera area, which was most probably borrowed by a group of Kandepe emigrants to describe their leaving Kandepe in a time of environmental failure.
In addition to the above legend, there are several more factual accounts from the Ima tribe near Kandepe station that tell of marriages between Ima and the Depe Waipalini and Waia clans. It is said that one can still see the pig stakes today on Mt. Wambomanda between the Aiyele valley and Kandepe where a Depe man paid bride wealth for an Ima woman long ago. The relations created through these marriages paved the way for related Ima families to move to the Lai and be incorporated in Depe after periods of starvation.
Depe in the Aiyele valley not only recruited new members from Kandepe but also from other areas. The Kiotani clan was adopted by Depe according to the following legend:
One day Depe and Sikini went to a pig feast at Laiagama in the Tsaka valley. When the feast was over, they noticed that a child had been left behind and was sitting in the grass covered with mud and crying. They brought the child home with them, and Depe adopted him. They named him Kiotani. It is for this reason that the descendants of Kiotani live on land between Depe and Sikini.
(Tuni Mungi of the Depe Kiotani clan, Lakopena)
Another similar version of this legend told by Kopio Tindipini says that the pig feast was at Kiuamanda in Tambul. Both versions of the legend probably refer to the adoption of a small group from the Saka or Tambul which was for some reason an outcast in its own area.
There is another tradition in Depe history that points to the incorporation of people from the Sirunki area and with it the beginning of important rituals and exchange. It takes place after Depe and Lyipini had moved into the area around Biripa station:
“I, Liala Apakasa, would like to tell a short tale of how Lake Biripa came to be. Actually, the land where the lake is today, belonged to Kepeo clansmen at the time. One fine day, the Liala and the Kepeo women prepared a garden for planting taro. In the evening, they went home and slept, planning to return and do the planting in the morning.
At the time, there were two lakes, Lake Gupe and Lake Ivea, which were next to each other at Sirunki. There was a dispute between the two lakes and Lake Gupe said to Lake Ivea,
“You stay here in the land of frosts. I will go down to where I will see pigs and people.”
With that, Lake Gupe came down to Biripa, where today it is known as Lake Biripa.
The next day, the owners of the garden returned to plant taro and saw the lake where their garden had been. They tried to drain away the lake, but the drain became clogged up by pigs’ hooves, cowrie shells and kina shells, so they left the lake where it was, killed pigs, and held a ritual.
It might be added that when Lake Gupe came down, it rested at Kanpitu and Waimalemanda where there are two lakes today. Two young women and the snake also came with Lake Gupe, which is now known as Lake Biripa. The women came in full traditional dress with their faces painted in red, yellow and black. They were not ordinary women. If one of these women appeared to anybody in our tribe, then we knew that it was time to slaughter pigs and hold the ritual for the snake.”
(Apakasa of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa)
Because this legend is told in symbolic language, we can only suggest an interpretation – that the dispute between the lakes represents a dispute in the Sirunki area which forced some people to leave and migrate to Biripa, perhaps bringing valuable exchange ties with them. The coming of the snake almost certainly refers to the spread of the elaborate rituals of Kandepe and the Lagaipa into the Lai with groups of immigrants. Leto Naneo and others of Depe also said that they heard that the snake came from the Sirunki area. The snake’s coming is remembered in the following tradition that tells of its first appearance to Depe clanswomen:
One day two Depe women went to their garden to harvest taro. In this garden they found a kepa possum hidden under some mina leaves. They killed the possum and roasted it with the taro they had harvested in an earth oven. While the food was cooking, they continued to harvest taro. When they uncovered the earth oven, they were surprised to find that the possum was gone and the food in the oven was uncooked. They could not figure out what had happened and, bewildered, they went home. On the way home, they discussed the matter saying how disappointed they had been that the possum had been stolen or escaped. They came to Waimalama where they met a man who asked,
“Was your food well-cooked or raw?”
“The taro was uncooked and somebody removed the possum which we roasted,” answered the women.
The man nodded and said, “Okay,” and then went and sat by the side of the path and the women went home carrying their taro.
You should understand that the man in this story was no other than the snake itself. The snake has the power to transform itself into a man, a pig, a possum or anything. The snake comes for food when it is hungry. It first changes itself into another form and appears to Depe tribesmen. So, when one sees a possum destroying a garden or a pig rooting for worms in the bush, you never know, it can be the snake. When you give food to a stranger, it may also turn out to be the snake. When you come across a pig that has gone wild and you corner and kill it, if it mysteriously disappears, then you know it was really the snake.
When you are quite sure that you have seen the snake, you must tell others and they gather food, slaughter and roast pigs and hold a ritual feast. Also, when there is a shortage of food or many children become sick or some other misfortune strikes, then we know that the snake is hungry and it is time to hold a ritual feast to feed it.
(Gati Kanga of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa)
The combination of the above two traditions, that of the two lakes and that of the snake, may appear confusing to many readers but is in fact typical of myths describing the spread of the Kepele ritual for the ancestors, eastward from northern Kandepe and the Lagaip. The concept of a snake as the protector of a tribe comes from the origin myth for the Kepele ritual amongst the Bipi tribe. The words of the snake after he has escaped from the oven, “Was your food well-cooked or raw?” are very similar to those of the Bipi tribe’s mythical snake. The fact that the snake comes from Sirunki and not Bipi Lende is also not particularly surprising, as tribes in the mid-Lai generally refer to all events which occurred far to the west as having occurred in Sirunki or the Yandapo. These are the westernmost points which most mid-Lai people know well and went to for feasts, sing-sings and trade. It is also worth noting that the ritual which unites Depe and assures its well-being as a tribe, was adopted after Depe clans moved down into the Lai valley and had grown to the point where they sought new ways of strengthening tribal unity.
Lyipini
Lyipini history begins with a fight between Lyipini and his “brother” Kunalini somewhere in the Laiagama area, in metaphorical terms describing a dispute over firewood. It does not specify how Kunalini and Lyipini were related nor exactly where the fight took place; it only tells of how Lyipini came to the Lai:
It is said that Lyipini and Kunalini were “brothers” and that they lived in the west. They lived in one house and in this house Lyipini kept his firewood on one side and Kunalini kept his on the other.
One day Lyipini went to the forest to trap bush rats. He asked Kunalini to take care of the house and watch the pigs while he was away. Lyipini returned home from his hunting trip on a rainy afternoon with the possums and bush rats that he had trapped to find that Kunalini had made a fire with his wood and was fast asleep by the blazing fire. When Lyipini saw that all of his firewood was gone, he asked Kunalini, “What happened to all my firewood?”
“My brother, I burned it because it was raining and I could not go out to get any for myself.”
“You could have burned your own,” Lyipini replied.
Kunalini and Lyipini began to quarrel, and the conflict became increasingly heated. Then they started to fight. Forgetting all about the possums, they fought for the rest of the day and evening until their eyes were red, and their tongues hung out from exhaustion.
Finally, Lyipini decided to leave. He packed up his possessions and headed for the ridge. From the ridge top, he went down and arrived at Lakemanda. His brother Kunalini, regretting the quarrel, followed him for a while to convince Lyipini to return. When he realized that Lyipini was far ahead and intent on not returning, he went home weeping for the loss of his brother.
Lyipini climbed up to Yawalimanda and to the top of Mt. Munimanda. There he planted the tato stick he had brought with him and today tato trees grow on that spot. Dawn was breaking when he came down to Lepalemanda and in the early morning light, he could see the valley below. He saw smoke rising above the treetops in the distance and felt sure it was a sign of human life. He hurried down in the direction of the smoke and came to a house. The door was closed and nobody was home. Overcome by exhaustion, he pushed aside the door of banana leaves and went in. With his eyes red from lack of sleep, he found a suitable spot inside the house and went to sleep.
The house belonged to Depe who had gone to his garden when the first rays of sunlight shone through the leaves of the trees. Depe returned from his garden to find Lyipini’s possessions lying outside the house and the door to the house open. Depe was surprised and wondered who could have gone into his house. He went inside and saw Lyipini asleep. He went over to him and tapped him gently on the shoulder.
“Who are you?” Depe asked when Lyipini awoke.
“I am Lyipini,” he answered in a shaky voice. “My brother Kunalini and I fought over firewood. He had burned my firewood, we fought about it, and he drove me away. I came this way and was planning to go further when I saw the smoke from your house. I was so tired from my long trip that I went into the house and fell asleep. That is how I ended up here.”
“I am glad that you have come. I, Depe, have been living here alone on this land. Now that you are here, we can live together. In the course of time, we shall be known as Depe and Lyipini,” Depe said enthusiastically.
With these words, he embraced Lyipini and took him to the top of a hill to look over the landscape. They could see that there was plenty of land for both of them and were satisfied.
“I’ll work the land to the left, and the land to the right is all yours,” Depe told Lyipini.
Lyipini built his house at Pyolapya on the land Depe had given him. He married and had Diuapini, Malo, Ambetani, Kepeokini, and Wiokini. His sons grew up and became the founders of the clans of Lyipini. Wiokini was a trapper and claimed the forest land around Yawalimanda. Kepeokini was a gatherer of mushrooms of pearls shells in the trade. Diuapini was a gardener and wore kyangali leaves to identify him as such. Malo and Ambetani were also gardeners.
(Lanyia Kingi of the Lyipini Diuapini clan, Rakamanda)
There are two sides to the story of any conflict, and another version of this legend told by Walia Lelya of the Lyipini Diuapini clan says that Kunalini was the industrious hunter and Lyipini a rover, and that it was Lyipini who burned Kunalini’s firewood, not vice versa. The result was the same; Lyipini fled to the Lai where he was welcomed and given land by Depe and married Depe’s daughter. Today Lyipini clans also have land at Kombomanda in the Yandapo near Pumasa. Lyipini residents of the Yandapo did not know whether this land was originally Lyipini’s land or whether it had been acquired after Lyipini settled in the Lai valley. Lyipini’s daughter became involved with an Aluni man and moved to Sambakamanda where she gave birth to Kepeo, the founder of the Aluni Kepeo clan.
Depe and Lyipini lived as brothers and allies for some time, but later trouble broke out not only between both tribes and their neighbors, but within the tribes as well. Both Depe and Lyipini thus had a long history of fighting, from the time that Depe and Lyipini moved down into the Lai valley until the present. Nonetheless, most Depe and Lyipini remained in the Lai, and only one small segment of Depe moved to Tsakamanda in the Baiyer River area about three generations ago, and another segment of Depe Waipalini moved to the lower Lai near Yalesa.
The trend found in Depe oral traditions of recruiting other smaller groups from high altitude areas and building up a tribe strong enough to take land in the more fertile valleys is not unique in Enga oral history. Very similar patterns can be found in the history of the Sambe tribe from the Laiagama area, which recruited new segments and then drove its brother tribe, Kunalini, out of Laiagama. The same theme is found in the history of the Lyaini tribe, which gathered forces in Sirunki and then took land in the fertile area in the upper Ambumu.
members interviewed
Depe
- Leoplao Takalaini and Puku of the Depe Waipalini clan, Takeinda;
- Tuni Mungi and Kopio Tindipini of the Depe Kiotani clan of Lakopena,
- Pimbini Amia, Apakasa of the Liala clan,
- Leto Naneo, Gati Kanga of the Depe Liala clan, Biripa, and others.
Lyipini
- Lanyia Kingi, Walia Lelya, and Waione Pupu of the Lyipini Diuapini clan, Rakamanda and Imia;
- Lyangoama Patesa and Mose Tima of Lyipini, Pumasa and others recorded on tapes which were stolen. (Kakio Paene, Naepeo Mambaka, Kiangala Kano, Maso Tangu).
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Depe
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Kumba | Ketapusamanda | Ketapusamanda |
| Liala | Biripa | Biripa |
| Koepa | Wapomanda | Wapomanda |
| Waia | Piaulama | Takeanda |
| Kundu | Lungitapu | Kerepusamanda |
| Waipalini | Takeanda | Takeanda |
| Kiotani | Lakopena | Lakopena |
Lyipini
| Clan | Location |
|---|---|
| Malo | Wanema |
| Diuapini | Imi |
| Ambetani | Naputisa |
| Kepeo | Kanepitu |
| Wio | Makupemanda |