Enza, Pima, and Yamatepa are clans from the Southern Highlands that migrated to the Weta area in the northwest corner of the Marient valley. Like many other tribes of the Marient, their links to the Mendi area are much stronger than those to Enga. We did not have time to go to the northwest corner of the Marient valley and so the following information comes from Enza, Pima and Yamatepa men we were able to interview near Kandep station and could not be confirmed with others in the clan. Nonetheless, it does complete the general picture of migration and settlement of people from the Mendi region in the Marient.
Enza
The following origin and migration legend for Enza was told to us by the Enza councilor, Polya Pasulu:
In Uli Kongatai near Soba in Southern Highlands Province some 8 generations ago, there lived a man named Enza. Some of Enza’s fellow clansmen went hunting for cassowary and brought home the meat and intestines to roast. They did not give any of the intestines to Enza. He understood this as an act of rejection and left his home in Uli Kongatai. From this point on, he was named Laima, cassowary, in memory of the incident with the cassowary intestines.
It is not known if he was single or married when he left, but he is said to have crossed the ridge between the Lai and Mendi valleys and settled at Kambitepa near Bela in the upper Mendi. From there he went a short distance to the empty land around Nene where he decided to settle. At Nene, his six sons were born.
Time passed and Enza Laima’s sons grew up. Tondo, the eldest, went hunting and exploring to the north. He took the Tikili bush track and followed it northward through the hills and forests that separate the Mendi valley from the Marient. When he reached a place called Anjipata, he turned back and went home. He told his brother Wapo of the good land he had found and together they went back to Anjipata. There they built houses and gardens and did what they could to make the place comfortable. Tondo then left Wapo at Anjipata and went on to Pundia. Seeing that the land was good there as well, he returned to Nene and got his brother, Kaeipa. He brought Kaeipa to Pundia and told him to clear the land while he went over the next ridge to Munji. Tondo described the good land at Munji to Kaeipa and told him to go work on that land as well. Later they claimed the flat land at Tanji. In this way, the descendants of Enza claimed the land in the northeastern Marient.
Today, three clans of Enza Laima are settled at Nene in the upper Mendi valley and three near Weta in the Marient. Since Enza in the Marient settled near Aimbatepa, the two are closely associated. Nevertheless, links with other brother clans in Nene are still strong and we still support each other in warfare and do not intermarry. Enza frequently move back and forth between the two areas, and we used to go to Nene to hold our major rituals for the ancestors such as the Pimandaka.
(Polyo Pasulu of the Enza Polyo clan, Pundia, Weta)
Pima
Pima, like Enza, was originally settled near Nene. They trace their origins to the general myth of Laepo Awalya (Sundo Owil in the Mendi language) which is also the origin myth for the Pimandaka fertility ritual. We did not find out why some Pima clans migrated northward from the Nene area to Weta in the northern Marient, but since they settled near Enza, they may either have come looking for land or been invited by Enza. Like Enza, they regularly move back and forth to visit Pima clans in the North Mendi where they also keep gardens.
Yamatepa
Yamatepa at Weta is a very small section of the large Yamatepa tribe in the Mendi area. According to Pastor Michael Paul, who only knew a brief outline of Yamatepa history, the tribe originated at Wilipetea southeast of Mendi Township where most of the Yamatepa tribe is today. Clans of the Yamatepa tribe migrated northward to Sutumbea, Yatea, Kalapulya and Sumea with parts of Yamatepa clans settling at each of these places. From Sumea in the north Mendi area, two men, one named Weta Kopal and a relative migrated northward to the Marient seeking new land. There they founded the Yamatepa clan of Weta which today has two segments, Yamatepa Mange, who are the descendants of Weta Kopal and Yamatepa Tenge, the descendants of the man who came with him from Tenge. Pastor Michael Paul was unable to give a complete Yamatepa genealogy.
members interviewed
Enza, Pima and Yamatepa
- Polyo Pasulu of the Enza Tondo clan, Pundia, Weta;
- Sap Kaemb of the Pima clan, Weta;
- Pastor Michael Paul of the Yamatepa clan, Weta.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Enza
Sons of Enza (first wife)
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Tondo | Pundia | Weta |
| Kapitia | Nene | North Mendi |
| Kaeipa | Munji | Weta |
| Ombea | Nene | North Mendi |
Sons of Enza (second wife)
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Wapo | Anjipeta | Weta |
| Kolopena | Nene | North Mendi |
We found 8 generations in Enza genealogy
Pima
Sons of Owil Awelya
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Pima | Kepla | North Mendi |
| Wepa | Kepla | North Mendi |
Sons of Pima
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Wasant | Weta | North Mendi |
| Waol | Weta | North Mendi |
| Kewae | Weta | North Mendi |
| Tutup | Weta | North Mendi |
| Kanj | Weta | North MendI |
* We did not get exact clan locations for Pima. Most of the above Pima clans are in North Mendi. We found 7 generations in Pima genealogy.