Sinyi, Pyaini, Tokopetaini, Lyakani, Matea, Waipalini, Petale, And Minyanakuni
The wide fertile valley of the middle Lai is the home of some of the largest and wealthiest tribes in Enga. As the Lai River takes a sharp swing to the north near Wapenamanda, its gorge narrows and deepens, creating a strikingly beautiful landscape, but one of steep and rugged slopes. Here live a handful of clans who claim to have originated there, and others who migrated from expanding tribes to the west. Many migrants stayed only temporarily in the lower Lai before moving on to the Baiyer river area. The social and political complexity of the Lower Lai is reflected in the fact that the Yae Tee exchange cycle splits into four parallel routes as it passes through the Lower Lai, while in other wider parts of the Lai valley it follows one or two major routes.
Most clans of the Lower Lai do not have the origin and historical traditions found in other areas of Enga. The origin traditions we were able to record in this area only give a rough outline of events in the past. We will begin with the clans that claim to have originated in the Lower Lai.
Sinyi, Pyanyi and Tokopetaini
According to their origin traditions, Sinyi occupied much of the land around Yalisa on the west side of the Lai, claiming Elyai as its origin place. Tokopetaini inhabited the east side of the Lai tracing its origins to Kuma rockshelter near Yuka across the river from Yalisa. Pyanyi was at Pokati near Yuka. People also say that there were a number of other small clans living in the area that moved into the Baiyer region as the large tribes of Yandamani and Lungupini expanded into the lower Lai. We did not collect the names of these or their current locations.
Elders from Sinyi, Tokopetaini and Pyanyi expressed strong ties with groups in Western Highlands Province but were not sure if these associations stemmed from common origins or long-standing intermarriage, trade, and exchange of rituals. Whatever the case, numerous trade and ritual connections between Enga groups in the lower Lai and groups in the Western Highlands were confirmed in our interviews. For example, the myth underlying Tokopetaini ancestral cults is one which is virtually identical to that recorded by Strauss and Tichner (1962) from the Poiaka group near Tomba. The Tokopetaini Yainanda sacred stone was said to have been stolen by a woman of the Wisini clan in the Mt. Hagen region; Tokopetiani later went there to hold the Yainanda ritual together with Wisini and Nenaini clans.
It was beyond the scope of our project to trace the origins and associations of groups in the lower Lai with those in Western Highlands Province, for this would require opening up a whole new area of research. We can only say from our findings that Sinyi, Tokopetaini and Pyanyi had their strongest ties with groups to the east. Only with the influx of people from the middle Lai valley and the development of the Yae Tee Exchange Cycle did peoples of the Lower Lai develop stronger associations with groups to the south and the west.
Lyakani and Matea
As far as we could determine, the first immigrants into the Lower Lai from the west were people from clans of the Sikini tribe who had migrated into the mid-Lai arriving in approximately the eighth generation. The founder of the Lyakani clan came from Sikini Wapai in the Milyatesa (Pina) area of the mid-Lai valley, according to the following tradition:
One day, approximately seven generations ago, Sikini Wapai men prepared food for a ritual. As was common practice, they cooked sweet potatoes and bananas before they cooked pork and possum. While they were doing this, they asked Lyakani to fetch some water. When he arrived back at the ritual site with the water, he found that the others had taken the sweet potatoes and bananas out of the oven pit and had eaten them all up. Nothing was left for Lyakani. He took this as a sign that the Wapai clansmen wanted to exclude him, otherwise why would they not have set aside some food for him?
The more he thought about it, the surer he felt that it was intentional. He knew that he was not wanted and so decided to leave. He took his net bag that was hanging on an akaipu tree and went down into the valley heading eastward. When he reached Itokone land, he considered settling there but realized that he had not gone far enough and might run into his clansmen there. So, he kept going. He continued on to Wapenamanda and considered staying there, but the thought of his clansmen kept him going. He crossed over the Lai River into the grassland of Yukupame where a man by the name of Keokosane was living.
Keokosane gave him a warm welcome saying, “I am glad that you have come, because I live here alone. Why don’t you stay and we shall live together.” He invited him into his house where Lyakani spent the night.
The next morning Lyakani went up the ridge to hunt for possum and when he arrived at Langanemanda, he decided to build his first house there. Later he got married and had a son, Ainakini. As Ainakini grew up, his father cleared the land and made houses and gardens for him. Then Lyakani moved to Awasamanda where he lived when his second son, Lameakuni, was born. He had a third son whom he named Wapai, in memory of the Sikini Wapai clan that he had left so long ago. He had a fourth son named Tembene who died early and left no descendants.
In the time of Lyakani’s grandsons, a relative of Lyakani named Matea joined him in the Lower Lai. Today Matea is regarded as the brother of Lyakani, although the exact relationship between the two has been forgotten. Matea had six sons, four of whom left for the Baiyer area after a fight over a possum trap. Only Singini and Yakalyemene remained in the lower Lai.
(Pyatoa Goea of the Lyakani clan of Aisamanda (Yuka) and Makua Ipua of the Matea clan, Tombesa (Yalisa)
Although Sikini Wapai clansmen do not generally have contact with Lyakani and Matea today, they confirmed the story of Lyakani’s departure and added that he came from the Tembe sub-clan of Sikini Wapai, thereby explaining the name of his last son. They also said that Matea followed his clansman Lyakani to the Lower Lai because he was looking for fertile land.
Waipalini, Petale and Minyanakuni
Waipalini, Minyanakuni and Petale were originally from the Depe Waipalini clan at Takeanda in the mid-Lai. Their forefather left Takeanda and settled in the Lower Lai approximately 6-8 generations ago. The details of this migration are no longer remembered, except that a man named Naunau Pambuti of the Depe Waipalini clan became involved in a fight over a garden and left for the Lower Lai. This was confirmed in the Lower Lai and by Depe Waipalini in the mid-Lai. Naunau Pambuti settled between Yalisa and Tupikoresa and had three sons, Minyanakuni, Waipalini and Petale, who are the founders of current sub-clans. Minyanakuni, Waipalini and Petale did not keep up ties with Depe Waipalini in the mid-Lai valley. Another clan, Komaini, is also associated with Waipalini, but we were unable to interview any Komaini, to collect further information on them.
Yandamani and Lungupini Expansion into the Lower Lai
Some 6-8 generations ago, and perhaps even earlier, the large tribes of Yandamani and Lungupini expanded into the Lower Lai, seeking new land (see Yandamani and Lungupini History). They came into conflict with each other and with groups already settled in the Lower Lai. The best known of these conflicts is Yandamani’s fight with Sinyi following the rape of Sinyi’s granddaughter by a Yandamani man (see Yandamani history). Sinyi was driven out of its fertile land at Yalisa and was pushed back to Beta where they live today. Lungupini also fought hard to gain its foothold in the lower Lai; for example, Lungupini Yambalekini clansmen mentioned that Lungupini had fought with nine different groups, mostly Yandamani sub-clans, in the Tupikores area. They obtained land from each of these nine clans – three of these were completely displaced and driven out to the Baiyer and six dwindled due to prolonged fighting and epidemics.
Migrations of Clans in the Lower Lai to the Baiyer
With the arrival of clans from large tribes in the mid-Lai, the lower Lai became an area ridden with conflict. As a result, most groups in the Lower Lai have segments that migrated to the Baiyer rivers area. Tokopetaini and Minyanakuni both have sub-clans in the Baiyer, although we could not find out the reason for their departure. Four of six Matea clans moved on to the Baiyer after a conflict that broke out over a possum trap. A sub-clan of Pyanyi left after a conflict over land. Yandamani and Lungupini clans in the lower Lai also claimed to have sub-clans in the Baiyer river area, although these groups are so large and divided into so many sub-groups that we were unable to get any systematic information on them.
members interviewed
Sinyi
- Doa Laminao, Itakaipu of Sinyi, Beta, Yalisa and others.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Sons of Sinyi (sub-clans)
| Sub-clan | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Pyaukini | Beta, Yalisa |
| 2. Sapikini | Beta, Yalisa |
| 3. Kakaukini | Beta, Yalisa |
| 4. Akakini | Beta, Yalisa |
| 5. Memekini | Beta, Yalisa |
We found nine generations in Sinyi genealogy.
members interviewed
Tokopetaini
- Yaiale Mailya, Toalo Kone and Seme Pyalyandao of Tokopetaini Yuka
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Tokopetaini’s sons (sub-clans)
| Sub-clan | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Lokai | Yuka, Lower Lai |
| 2. Mapunau | Maekomanda, Yuka |
| 3. Maluwamini | Watipa, Yuka |
| 4. Siakuni | Kasisa, Yuka |
| 5. Tokopetaini | Baiyer River Region and Munjini, W.H.P. |
We found eight generations in Tokopetaini genealogy.
members interviewed
Pyanyi
We were unable to get adequate information on this group that came from Western Highlands and was associated with Kumbi, Lyakani, and Matea in the area of Yuka community school.
- Pitu Paia and Taosa Kakea of Pyanyi, Yuka
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Sons of Pyanyi
| Sub-clans | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Kolane | Sanga, Yuka, Lower Lai |
| 2. Watane | Amabusa, Yuka |
| 3. Lanyi | Sanga, Yuka |
| 4. Pyanyi | Baiyer River region at Tuli |
We found seven generations in Pyanyi genealogy.
members interviewed
Lyakani
- Pyatoa Goea and Makua Lua of Lyakani and others
- Forefathers of Lyakani in the Lai and Saka valleys (see Sikini history for more detailed genealogy)
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Lyakani from Sikini Wapai
Sons of Lyakani:
| Sub-clan | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Ainakini | Aisamanda, Yuku, Lower Lai |
| 2. Lameakini | Aisamanda, Yuku |
| 3. Wapaiakini | Aisamanda, Yuku |
| 4. Lembene (died with no descendants) |
We found 13 generations in Lyakani genealogy starting with Saka Pembe.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Matea
Matea is descended from Sikini Wapai, although exact links have been forgotten.
Sons of Matea
| Sub-clan | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Singini of Tombesa | Yalisa, Lower Lai |
| 2. Yakalyememe | Tombesa, Lower Lai |
| 3. Matane | Baiyer River region |
| 4. Saikini | Baiyer River region |
| 5. Pupuni | Baiyer River region |
| 6. Waimbini | Baiyer River region |
We found five generations in Matea genealogy starting with Matea.
members interviewed
Waipalini
- Opa Kepoli and Kamapi Lyakene of Waipalini, Yalisa;
- Kalipa Yangao and Kopo Kondeme Sambai, Waipalini Minyakuni, Yalisa and Lepolao Takalaini of Depe Waipalini, Takeanda (Biripa).
- Forefathers of Waipalini in Lai valley from the Depe Waipalini clan.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Sons of Waipalini
(see Depe genealogy for further details)
Naunau Pambuti, many other sons of Waipalini in mid-Lai near Biripa)
Sons of Naunau Pumbuti
| Sub-clan | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Petale | Yalis area |
| 2. Minyanakuni | Yalis area and Baiyer |
| 3. Waipalini | Yalis area |
We found 10 generations in Waipalini genealogy from Depe until present.