Yangutini, Yandape and Pumane tribes today are spread out over the area from west of Tumundane to Lauka, with settlements on both the north and south sides of the Lagaip. Pumane clans extend to Mulitaka. Yangutini, Yandape and Pumane clans hold a common origin tradition:
Long, long ago before there were people, there lived a cassowary on top of Mt. Kole, not far from Tumundane. The bird went down the mountainside to feed on fallen pandanus nuts and there it laid its eggs. When the eggs hatched, baby cassowaries came out of all the eggs except one, which hatched into a baby girl. The cassowary was frightened by this strange offspring, but since the child had come out of the egg, she cared for her. The child grew up to be a woman called Tamuiame.
One day when Tamuiame had grown up, she went to the forest to look for pandanus leaves to make a rain cape. There she found an egg from a malipu bird and put it in her mouth. The egg broke, she swallowed the contents and later became pregnant. When the child was born, she named him Yangutini.
Yangutini married two sisters from the Kokate clan of the Yamape tribe in the southwestern part of the Kandep region (others say they were from the Kokati tribe settled farther to the north). One sister was named Lakoeame and the other Neapeame. Lakoeame had two sons: Yanguta and Yanda, the forefathers of Yangutini and Yandape. Neapeame had a son, Ipa, who was the father of Pumane. Pumane married two wives, one from the Mango clan near Mulitaka and the other from the Tumundane area. Most of the Mango wife’s sons settled near Mulitaka and those of his other wife near Tumundane at Waimalama. The three tribes share two common Kepele ritual sites which are located at Waimalama and Takate where their ancestors first settled and made gardens.
(Compiled from information given by Pastor Alo Pitu of Pumane Kelyanyo, Tumundane; Aeapa Timuni Sakane, Pumane Balu, Tumundane; Lau Lamone, Pumane Kakanape, Mulitaka and Sakatao Waso, Yandape Konowai, Tumundane)
In contrast to the above tradition, which was accepted by elders from all three groups, we obtained a number of origin traditions for the individual tribes which were neither widely known nor accepted: that Yangutini was born from stinging nettles or from the forest demon Tombeama, that Pumane was born from Puma grass on Mt. Pusa near Tumundane or at the headwaters of the Lagaip above Laiagam.
There are four Pumane groups in Enga province: Pumane of Pumane-Aiele in the Kompiam area; the Pumane clan of the Itapuni tribe in central Enga; the Pumane tribe that was at the Keta and later moved to Porgera, where it was called Pulumani; and the Pumane tribe discussed here that has a branch in Maramuni. Pumane at Kompiam, Tumundane and Porgera share a common name but claim no relation to one another.
However, we collected three traditions that link Pumane at Tumundane to Pumane of Itokone in central Enga. The first narrated by Lau Laumone of Mulitaka, claims that Pumane in Mulitaka-Tumundane had its origin at Mt. Patopaisa near the headwaters of the Lagaip near Itapuni Pumane’s origin place and that they later migrated to Tumundane due to marriage ties. Pastor Alo Pitu of Tumundane mentioned that the first son and daughter of Pumane at Tumundane were involved in incestuous relations and fled to Waianda cave at the Lagaip headwaters. Waianda cave is the origin place of Itapuni Pumane.
Another tradition, told by Kandamaini Kaikenge of Itapuni Pumane near Wabag, is that Pumane and Nemani clansmen had a fight over a mangi pandanus tree at Kepakanda and continued to fight with staves all the way up to Tumundane. There, some of them remained to establish the Pumane tribe of today. He was told this tradition while on an early patrol in the Tumundane area. None of the above three traditions were confirmed at both ends, nor were they widely known. For these reasons, we propose that they apply to smaller groups originating from Pumane groups that migrated from central Enga to western Enga or vice versa. Pumane, Yangutini and Yandape appear to have originated in the Tumundane area and maintained strong ties with groups in western Kandep region.
Historical traditions for Yangutini and Yandape, go on to describe subsequent wars and migrations. While Yandape appears to have remained in the Tumundane area with only a few sub-clans moving to Porgera with marriage, a number of Pumane and Yangutini clans moved north to Lyeim. Today large segments of Pumane Pipianda, Kakanape and Tai clans are in Maramuni with the majority of Pumane groups near either Pasalakusa or Biaka. One Pumane segment claims to have left for Maramuni after being excluded from sharing cassowary intestines, and others to have left with the marriage of a sub-clan member to seek land at lower altitudes with a wider variety of wild and domesticated crops. Segments of Yangutini clans, Pepelyoko, Malapipi and Yolo, also migrated to Malaunda in Maramuni. Some of the reasons given are a fight over a bow with Yandape, a fight which broke out inside Yangutini at a sing-sing, and groups seeking better land. Migration to Maramuni appears to have taken place gradually, family by family, and so it was difficult to get any single reason as to why a particular group segment went north. Finally, Yangutini Kakaipu migrated to Lyeim in the northwestern corner of Enga after a tribal fight at Tumundane.
Pumane, Yangutini and Yandape were tied to other tribes in the Lagaip, Kandep and Porgera areas through the network of Kepele ancestral cult, amongst other rituals.
CLANS AND LOCATIONS
Yangutini
| Clan | Location | Nearest school or aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Tindikili | Pusa | Tumundane |
| Akipa | Pusa | Tumundane |
| Mioko | Pusa | Tumundane |
| Kisaipu | Pusa | Tumundane |
| Pepelyoko | Maluanda, Maramuni | Maluanda |
| Kakaipu | Lyaim | Lyaim |
| Malapipi | Maluanda, Maramuni | Maramuni |
| Puluma | Tombaipa | Tombaipa |
| Yolo | Maluanda, Maramuni | Maluanda |
Yandape
| Clan | Location | Nearest school or aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Kimaipa | Lauaka | Lauaka |
| Kipio | Tombaipa | Tombaipa |
| Walia | Tombaipa | Tombaipa |
| Konowai | Lauka | Lauka |
| Wapula | Lauka | Lauka |
| Ialap | Lauka | Lauka |
| Auwaupu | Lauka | Lauka |
| Kakame | Lauka | Lauka |
Note: Auwaupu and Kakame are clans from female descendants of Yangutini who reside in their own mothers’ lands. The Konowai clan may also have been founded by a daughter of Yangutini who married a man from Pumane Konowai in the Sirunki area and later returned with her husband or sons.
Pumane
Mango wife’s children
| Clan | Location | Nearest school or aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Pipianda | Mulitaka and Maramuni | Maramuni and Biaka |
| Kakanape | Mulitaka | Mulitaka |
| Lioko | Aeapa | Mulitaka |
| Waitapale | scattered | scattered |
Tumundane wife’s children
| Clan | Location | Nearest school or aidpost |
|---|---|---|
| Balu | Waimalama | Tumundane |
| Wambune | Waimalama | Tumundane |
| Kendakenda | Waimalama | Tumundane |
| Kelyanyo | Waimalama | Tumundane |
| Taia | Waimalama and | Tumundane and |
| Maramuni | Biaka |