The early oral history of Gipini, Ulidane and Aiamane is intertwined with that of Sikini. In addition to his two sons Lokai and Londeale, Sikini had a daughter or granddaughter who married a man from the Mendi area. Gipini and Ulidane interviewed were not absolutely certain of her husband’s name but felt that it must have been Tangai, for the major Gipini ceremonial grounds in Enga are called Tangaimanda and Gipini clans who move back and forth from Mendi to Enga are also called Tangai.
As the legend goes, Sikini’s daughter first went to Southern Highlands to live at her husband’s place but then returned to Enga with her family and settled at Tangaimanda not far from Pumakosa in the Tsaka valley. There they had three sons, Gipini, Ulidane and Aiamane. As with most Enga historical traditions, the history of Aiamane, Gipini and Ulidane is simplified into a family history, but subsequent legends suggest they were sizeable groups when they arrived. It is not certain why Sikini gave them land, although it is likely that Sikini was recruiting allies to hold ground against the expanding Yambatane tribe. If this was the case, Sikini’s plan did not work, for the three groups fought with one another with the result that the greater part of them were forced out of the Tsaka. After the departure of Aiamane and large segments of Ulidane and Gipini, Yambatane drove half of the Sikini tribe out of the Tsaka.
Some six to seven generations ago, a fight broke out between the brother tribes of Aiamane and Ulidane over a cassowary stolen from a trap. The result was that Ulidane, with the help of Sikini, drove Aiamane out of the Tsaka, over the ridge into the Lai and eventually into the Kompiam area. Despite being uprooted, Aiamane flourished in the Kompiam area and grew into a very large tribe (Aiamane History is discussed separately in the history of the Kompiama area).
Soon after Ulidane had driven Aiamane out of the Tsaka, Ulidane, a fight broke out within Ulidane after which many members of both the Ulidane and Gipini tribes migrated back to their area of origin, Utumba in the Mendi area.
After Ulidane had driven Aiamane out to Kompiam, they gathered together to hold a large feast called the sowalya. They brought all kinds of food and roasted it in oven pits. When the feast was over, two Ulidane men from different lineages started to argue over the leftover firewood. One of the two men was from the Tangaimanda area and the other from more central Tsaka near Pumakosa.
The man from the central Tsaka said to the man from Tangaimanda, “You live near the bush where there is plenty of firewood, so you should let me take the extra wood home.”
The man from Tangaimanda replied that it was too late for him to go out and chop firewood, so he wanted to bring the extra wood home.
After quarreling for a long time, the man from Tangaimanda picked up all the wood, put it on his shoulder and started on his way home. Annoyed, the other man tried to pull some pieces off his shoulder and, in doing so, scratched him. The Tangaimanda man became enraged, took his axe and chopped the Tsaka man’s shoulder. The relatives of the two men took sides, some Gipini men joined, and the fight escalated. The men from Tangaimanda were driven towards the southeast and slept at Milyopemanda. Early the next morning, they started fighting again, and the fight continued until they were driven down towards the Mendi area following the Yamatepa route which goes to the southeast from Pumakosa.
When they reached Utumba in the Mendi area, from where their forefather had come, the people welcomed them and gave them land on which to settle. As a result of this fight, most of Ulidane and some of Gipini returned to their father’s area in the Southern Highlands where they live today. Only some descendants of Ulidane and Gipini remained in their mother’s place in the Tsaka.
(Musket Kutingi of the Ulidane Kalua clan, Tangaimanda (Pumakosa))
Unlike other groups that migrated into eastern Enga, Aiamane, Gipini and Ulidane never established a strong foothold in the Tsaka, perhaps because of the expansion and political goals of larger tribes such as Yambatane, Aiamane moved on to Kompiam to become one of the largest and strongest groups in what was then a very sparsely populated area. Gipini and Ulidane clans that remained in the Tsaka stayed on the southern edge of the valley, keeping one foot in their area of origin to the south.
members interviewed
Gipini and Ulidane
(for Aiamane, see Aiamane History).
- Musket Kutingi and Kataeo Mapya of Ulidane;
- Pyagatai Lita and Peter Pupaka of Gipini.
- Other Gipini and Ulidane were interviewed to confirm the information given here, but there was little disagreement on the history of these three tribes. Names of some of those interviewed were lost when our cassettes were stolen.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Ulidane and Gipini
Sons of man from S.H.P. (Tangai?) and Sikini’s daughter (Kalya?)
- Aiamane (see Aiamane History, Kompiama)
- Gipini
- Ulidane
Sons of Gipini
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Langilyau | Lokainasa | Pumakosa |
| Ambulyane | Kepakanda | Pumakosa |
| Polyau | Pimasa | Pumakosa |
| Other sons at Utumba in the Mendi area, S.H.P. |
Sons of Ulidane
| Clan | Location | Nearest school/aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Kalua | Tangaimanda | Pumakosa |
| Other sons at Utumba in the Mendi area, S.H.P. |