(2000) Hope and Other Sacred Places in Kokorapa

Hope and Other Sacred Places in Kokorapa
Headhunters and an oru in Munda taken by an early Methodist missionary, George
Brown in the late 1800s. Courtesy of the Methodist Church Archives (Auckland).
Takuya Nagaoka
University of Auckland
New Zealand
2000
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NATURAL INTERIOR TERRACE
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Hope Enabanara
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Hope Kaleqe
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sacred Iblbu tree
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Figure 1. Hope and other sacred places in Kokorapa.
1
Piraka (chiefly ancestral shrine)
Ancestor worship held at ancestral shrines (hope [Figure 2]) was the most critical part
of pre-Christian Roviana religion, and was especially associated with headhunting (Hocart
1931), burial procedure, and the harvest of ngali nut (okete [Hocart 1922]). It is through the
ancestors' skulls kept at ancestral shrines that the priest (hiama 1 ) communicated with the god
(tamasa) for supplication (Schneider 1997).
The chiefly ancestral shrine (oru) of Kokorapa is located on the northeast point of
Piraka Island. This shrine is said to have three levels; the top layer for chiefs (banara) , the
middle layer for lesser chiefs and chiefly assistants (buko) , and the bottom layer for elders
It is said that the chiefs' skulls kept at Olobuki on the ridge (toqere) of Nusa
Roviana were first transferred to near Hio at Kinio and then to this shrine during the time
period between the establishment of the Methodist mission in Munda in 1902 and the late
(palabatu).
1910s when the Christianity was accepted on Nusa Roviana.
The triangular-shaped wooden (cover photo and Figure 4) or gabled roof skull house
(Figure 25) used for storing chiefs' skulls as well as the chiefly ancestral shrine itself is called
oru. Oru represents the upper portion of the decorated facade of the ritual house (zelepade
[Figure 17]), which also has the same name. The elaborate motif of the triangular wooden
board (leve [Figure 3]) which closes the oru describes a chief holding a tomahawk
(karamaho) and shield (lave) in his hands on a war-canoe (sometimes with two followers
Figure 2. Ancestral shrine in Munda in 1908. Courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library.
1 Supporting the chief by meditating with the ancestors and the spiritual world on behalf of the butubutu, it was
the hiama's main duty to prepare a head taken from the dead for keeping at the ancestral shrine and to take
care of tabu places, especially ancestral shrines and garden shrines (hope manim).
2
paddling).
An early Methodist missionary, George Brown described the ritual held by the
returning headhunting party at an ancestral shrine at Paramata, Munda in the late 1800s:
... as they [headhunters] reached the shore they marched in single file up to the grave of
Mia's [Miabule] father, on which each man laid an offering.... The offering consisted of a
betel-nut, a leaf, or anything indeed which they had picked up from the canoes....[we]
found simply a heap of stones with two small triangular boxes [oru], which evidently were
put there to protect the skull of the chief when it was originally placed there, lots of skulls
of turtles, some old rings, etc. In front there were the ashes of a fire on which they had
cooked food for the spirit before starting on the expedition to ask for his protection (Brown
1910: 164).
Figure 3. Wooden board (leve) for closing
triangular skull house (after Stohr 1972: 180,
Abb.427).
Figure 4. An oru on Kudu Island in Vonavona
Lagoon taken probably in the 1930s. Courtesy
of the Methodist Church Archives (Auckland).
Hope Manini 2 (garden shrine)
The garden shrine is located on the slope of the northernmost "hill (botU)" called
Marini, looking down on the fertile flat land of Kokorapa.
Garden shrines were one of the
earliest and most fundamental shrines in addition to ancestral shrines (hope).
The priest
(hiama) prayed to tamasa for the fertility of garden plots inuma (Schneider 1997: 97-98).
Offerings of shell valuables were put over a tree stump or root (reqe) at the shrine.
The
priest fell into a trance state (sabusabukal) which enabled him to chase harmful spirits away.
2 Riko na manini is 'the patron of agriculture' (Waterhouse 1949: 149).
3
A ritual called sosope /a pa reqe was conducted before cultivating virgin forest (muqe [1997:
107-108]). A person who wanted to develop a new piece of land handed over a poata to the
priest. Offering a poata at the reqe of the shrine to tamasa ensured not only the fertility of
new garden but also the transfer of the control over the land. Soil and ashes were ritually
taken from the shrine to a proposed garden area. Sabusabukai was also performed at this
occasion. People prayed for a good harvest before planting taro, pana, and yam, and an
offering was made here after the harvest.
Kesoko (fishing shrine)
This fishing shrine is located on the point at Matakota. Kesoko is a male spirit who is
coupled with a female spirit Bolana. 3 Before a fishing expedition of kuarao (fish drive using
vine and stone wall trap), va/usa (bonito fishing), or kura (fishing for a large triggerfish
[makoto] with a basket trap), the shrine owner
performed a divination (sabusabukal) at the
shrine. He spoke to the spirit, saying "Oh!
Kesoko of Matakota.
We are going out
fishing.
Come and guide us to the things
which we are aiming for." He communicated
with the spirit while bending down respectfully
and swinging the sacred zip%
habu leaf to
which the answer came back. The leaf was
torn down in the middle and tied to his neck to
carry to the expedition.
Sometimes the
cooked fish is offered at the shrine after
fishing.
A black wooden statue (beku) of
Kesoko stood on this shrine facing the ocean
until the statue was removed to the southern
part of the island in the 1930s (Figure 5). A
stone enclosure for keeping turtles, which was
connected to another enclosure for male
bathing (bara huhuveana) , is located in the
inter-tidal zone nearby.
Figure 5. Kesoko taken probably in the 1930s.
(Auckland).
Courtesy of the Methodist Church Archives
A ritual called soboto was held at fishing shrines before the feast to celebrate the
return of a headhunting expedition (qeto minato) , the inauguration (vapeza, literally 'to make
wet') of a new war-canoe (tomoko) , canoe house (pae/e) or sleeping house (vetu
putaputana). On the first day, a bone of a deceased banara, pudding (rahl) , and a hinui/i
3 However, Hocart (1937: 35) states that "Mbolana [Solana] is a spirit in the net...and is a name for Kesoko, the
fishing god." The war-canoe (tomoko) prow figurehead nuzunuzu (Figure 7) is also said to be "an image of
Kesoko" (Seti 1977: 40). Kesoko bolana is referred to as 'the patron of net fishing' (Waterhouse 1949: 149).
4
were wrapped in a small basket and thrown to the reef to call fish. On the third day, during
the sorcery called betubetue, Solana came to shake the canoe. The man asked, "who are
you?" "I am Solana." "Why do you shake the canoe?" "You take the turtle net (morumoru)
and go fishing there." Fishermen placed a new morumoru on the shrine to empower it before
use, while used nets were left on the shrine.
Figure 6. Probably Kesoko in 1910. Courtesy of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Oru (bonito fishing shrine)
This bonito fishing shrine (hope inaru4-) is located on the southeast point of Pukuni
Island.
Next to a headhunting raid, bonito fishing (va/usa) was traditionally of marked
significance to Roviana men (Waterhouse 1949: 134).
Rituals were associated with "the
preparations, the actual fishing, and the return and distribution of the spoils" (1949: 134).
Fishing gear, such as bamboo rods (sasaburu) , pearl shell lures (gaili [Figure 8]) and lines
(taili) made of bark of pusi vine were left at the shrine. The shrine owner talked to the spirit at
4 Inaru raqoso is 'the patron of bonito fishing' (Waterhouse 1949: 149).
5
the shrine, "Let the bonito come out. We are going fishing."
The items which men took fishing, for example, custom
tobacco (tabaika elelo) , a betel nut set, were offered at the
shrine before the fishing expedition.
Figure 8. Pearl shell lure (gaili
[after Koch 1971: 41, Abb. 29]).
Figure 7. War-canoe prow figurehead nuzunuzu (after Waite 1983: 37, Plate 6).
Figure 9. Tomokowar-canoe (based on Woodford 1909, Plate XLI, XLII, and XLIV).
6
Hope Enabanara and Hope Soqiana (Mateana shrine)
Mateana are the ancestral spirits who are represented by natural phenomenon such
as meteors (also called mateana) , shooting stars (ilono), rainbows (Hocart n.d.). In the fort
(toa) on the ridge (toqere) of Nusa Roviana, for example, two shrines are associated with two
mateana ancestors. Gorabele died and after three days he broke open his wrappings and
flew up from Zare Ibibu where the feast for his memorial had taken place annually.
In
contrast, Taua (or Tagua) died and entered the ground at Zare after three days of mourning.
There are two mateana haunting places or mateana shrines in Kokorapa. When a significant
event such as the death of a chief was about to occur, mateana flew from a mateana shrine
on the northernmost "hill (botu)" named Marini on the ridge to haunt the grove of Hope
EDabaDara (ena means 'face up'), then a large kalala tree on Hope Soqiana which women
were prohibited from accessing. In Vuragare, mateana flew from the ridge to haunt at a large
tanovo tree at Suvuru.
Hope Kaluvesu (Kaluvesu shrine)
The Kaluvesu shrine is located at Sidevele. Kaluvesu is said to be a giant spirit with
long hair who had a walking stick (kolu).
The people of Nusa Roviana are said to have
invited him from Simbo to secure the island and Sidevele, a chiefly hamlet of Kokorapa,
especially along the coast from foreign enemies. If someone broke the tabu, he would go
back to Simbo unless the person was purified. Kaluvesu is said to be in Simbo now. The
wooden statue (beku) of another Simbo spirit, Sea, who protects Sidevele people from magic
sent from outside, stood at the western side of the shrine until the World War II. Sea appears
and stays on a dadao tree on the shore, if a person of
Sidevele gets sick. The area from Hope Kaluvesu and
Hope Soqiana to the wharf (hehipl) on the shore is a
tabu area where in-laws (roroto) were not allowed to
approach.
In the early 20th century, Rev. John F. Goldie
(Figure 10) came to Kokorapa to visit the places of
traditional worship.
When people showed Hope
Kaluvesu saying that this spirit was very powerful, he
held out his baby and said, "If you are really powerful
spirit, try to take this child." After they went back to
Kokeqolo, the baby died.
Figure 10. Rev. Goldie and a statue (beku) called "Reresana" of a hope at "Andi" or "Ade" in 1932.
Courtesy of the Methodist Church Archives (Auckland).
Hope Popoqu (leprosy shrine)
Leprous spirits as well as lepers and leprosy are called popoqu. Lepers were isolated
from ordinary people and close relatives left food for them without coming into contact with
them.
In Kokorapa, there are two hope popoqu where the shrine owner supplicated the
7
spirits to cure leprosy and to protect one's possession by causing the thief to develop leprosy
(property tabu [tokoro]). Approaching the shrine caused a person to develop leprosy.
Hope Naqoto (cleansing shrine)
There are three hope naqoto in Kokorapa, probably corresponding to major hamlets,
Pinipa, Matakota and Sidevele.
Virgin forest (muqe) is considered to be a place beyond
human control, full of malicious spirits (tomate) such as susu kure (woman spirit who has only
one breast), matemakata (the spirit of people who died by accident), hiramate (the spirit of
women who died during delivery), huqimate (the spirit of a person who committed suicide)
and boso lau (the spirit with no head). When people planned to settle such a place, the priest
(hiama) would cleanse the land so that harmful spirits could not harm the people. The priest
would chant magical spell to shut up the spirits in stone heap on which he was stepping. 5
This stone heap became a shrine to protect and secure the people from harmful magic sent
from enemies. Several behaviors are not allowed around the shrine such as making fire,
defecating, uttering garbage, and approaching by females. The violation of this causes the
resurrection of the confined spirits from the shrine. The spread of epidemic in Kokorapa in
the 1960s was thought to be caused by violating the tabu and a hedge was planted around
the shrines to prevent children from disturbing them afterward.
Hope Kaleqe and Ugugu (purification shrine)
A person who violated tabu through adultery (barabarata)6 or theft was considered
"smelly (fumana)," as it was believed that evil spirits (tomate) would spoil the person.
In
Kokorapa, there are two purification shrines (hope vinulasa) for men and women separately.
The purification men's ritual took place at Ugugu on Pukuni Island until Christianization
in the late 1910s.7 The chief and elders, except for the sinner, would participate in the
ceremony. Pigs, bonito, puddings of taro and ngali nut (okete) which were cooked by the
shrine owner were brought to the shrine. The priest prepared sweet yam (pana) cooked with
coconut milk (poholo) for the ritual. A sprout of zoni tree is put into poholo and swung on the
shrine. 8 Then puddings crushed in a stone bowl (tolu) with a stick (tutu) were thrown to the
shrine. "All the spirits, you have already been cleaned. I came here to offer you food. Eat
it." The participants ate together afterward.
5 The meaning of naqata, 'to put a weight on an article to prevent being disturbed or blown away' (Waterhouse
1949: 79) seems to be related to this ritual.
6 The purification ritual for adultery (barabarata) called vulasa was made to propitiate spirits (Waterhouse 1949:
142).
7 After his father Belakera's death, James Pitu (Figure 16) returned from the Methodist mission school at Kia to
be the chief and to introduce Christianity to Kokorapa in 1914. However, in addition to other areas in Roviana
(such as Dunde, Munda, and Vuragare), disputes between the Christians and heathen people arose on Nusa
Roviana in 1917 when James Pitu's house was attacked with spears and bows and arrows (Pitu n.d.: 96-97). It
was until in the late 191 as that the people of Kokorapa were fully christianized.
8 This ritual was held to purify a contaminated house or shoreline. Another informant describes the relatives of
the sinner as being purified by sweeping the smoke of a sacrificed turtle toward themselves at a canoe house
(paele). Later, the ashes of turtle were deposited at the shrine. Hocart (n.d.) also documented a similar
purifying ceremony of adultery, using the smoke of sacrificial pig at the first day and pahala at the next day in
Roviana.
8
/
The women's ceremony took place at Hope Kaleqe at Sidevele on the same day as
the men's ceremony.
The sinful women joined the ceremony, hiding their faces with
traditional "umbrella" (poro) made of Pandanus (poro) leaf. Offerings, especially the first fruit
of ngali nut (okete) , were also given to the spirits at this shrine by women led by the male
priest.
Hio
A shrine of the giant clam shell (hio) is located at Kinio. One side of hie came from
Java on Vella Lavella where the other shell with the meat attached is said to be still in the sea
there. If a person removes dirt from the shell, a large storm will come and last for several
hours. When the enemy is accessing the island, the dirt is cleaned so that the storm would
attack them. It is said that even if it rains, the shell does not collect water. No tree cutting is
permitted in this grove.
Pature
If someone clears around Pature, there will be drought (dada).
In the case of long
rain, Pandanus trees (dolo) there will be cut to stop the rain. It is also said that those who cut
trees develop a skin disease (rumihl) and their hands get spoiled (geqi lima).
Haratana
There is a shrine at Haratana related to Ididu-Banara (Figure 11). Thirteen to fifteen
generations ago, the Kazukuru-Roviana people resided in the interior of Munda, such as Bao
and Tirokiaba, and it was Ididu-Banara who initiated the migration to the coast.
Luturu-Banara made a feast to celebrate his son's upcoming installation as chief of Bao.
Luturu-Banara was old and needed somebody to succeed him. He called his tribe
(butubutu) and that of sister Sogaduri who were living at Hia Gore to come together to
install Ididu-Banara. He called the Kazukuru people of Tirokiaba, Patu Kuti, Patu Kuna,
and Zorutu [Kazukuru settlements]. Bao was a big settlement and there big feasts were
celebrated. Before the feast, the chief told his people that when the Kazukuru dancers
came nobody should laugh because their descent line [tuti-na] was one of leper [tie
popoqu]. The Kazukuru came and danced, some had no hands, no eyes, and no ears.
One woman from Maqala Qanaqana laughed, hihihihi! and zaaaa! The dancers sank into
the earth and became stones, snakes, and other things. But some Kazukuru people
remained and returned to their inland settlements. Therefore, Ididu-Banara became a
chief and began his move to the coast (Aswani 2000: 46-47).
Ididu-Banara came down to the Bareke River and crossed to Nusa Roviana Island by a raft
(bana).
He arrived at Haratana and made a shrine to place eighty spirits for protection.
There was a large kalala tree here where spirits stayed.
Women are prohibited from
accessing the shrine. Then, Ididu-Banara climbed the hill (toqere) and named the island after
his grandmother, Roviana. There, he built a shrine "Hope Roviana" where he transferred the
eighty spirits. At that time, the Koloi people resided on the barrier islands from the eastern
part of Nusa Roviana to Reregana.
9
1540
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1570
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1600
Ididubanara
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1630
1660
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1690
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1720
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1750
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1780
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1810
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1840
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1870
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1900
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Vagimate
Saikile
Zoropo
Mata Siqam
Hiqava
Kekehe
Sasabeti
Kokorapa
(Dugaha)
Dunde
Resana
Belakera
Kokorapa
(Heriana)
Roni
Kalikoqu
Lepe
Kindu
Figure 11. Genealogy of Kazukuru-Roviana chiefs (based on Schneider 1997, Figure 4).
After Ididu-Banara settled Nusa Roviana Island, the Koloi people called his people to help
caulk [tita] their tomoko war-canoes. His son Peupeu-Banara went to Koloi to help
because they were relatives. Two Koloi boys followed the coast back to Peupeu's
settlement and found old blind Ididu-Banara near the shore grinding bakiha. They took a
branch and tickled his face. Ididu-Banara thought that flies were bothering him so he
rubbed his face until it was covered with shell sawdust. During the evening, while people
were still feasting at Kosianae, the boys returned and told of their prank. Peupeu-Banara
heard of the story and told his old man. Ididu-Banara was angry and told his son to bring
his basket [seki pagara]. He told his son, ''you will take this bakiha and go to Kazukuru."
Peupeu-Banara went to the mainland and presented the bakiha to his close relatives who
accepted the compensatory payment. The qeto minate [war party] of Kazukuru began
killing the Koloi at Zare Ibibu in Nusa Roviana and continued throughout the barrier
islands of the Roviana Lagoon. Then, they crossed into the mainland and continued
killing until they reached the Biribiri River where they saw a standing axe [turu karamaho].
This was the location where Ididu-Banara had said that the killing should stop. Some
Koloi survived because they went to Vuragare and hid from the warriors (Aswani 2000:
48).
There are still statues of the two Koloi brothers who turned into stone at Kosianae because of
Ididu-Banara's magic.
10
Miho Hope
The ritual of feeding two sacred shark (kiso) , Voseiviri and Titiu, which are the totem
(kokolo) for the Kokorapa people, was held at Miho Hope. The two sharks were fed with first
fruit of various crops and pigs.
Paele (canoe house)
Canoe houses (paele) , where tomoko warcanoes were kept, were the center of religious and
social activities such as assemblies and feasts. Prior
to pacification, there were several paele in Kokorapa.
They were owned by chiefs and predominant seniors
(palabatu) , for example, the paele of chiefs at
Sidevele for the whole of Kokorapa, the one at Kinio
belonged to Eazama, and at Soqiana to Gesoraqomo
(Figure 16).
In Simbo, men slept in canoe houses
during a period of celibacy prior to headhunting and
bonito fishing (Dureau 1994: 273), and were thus set
apart from ordinary life (state of hopena) , while
women had limited access to these houses (Hocart
n.d.).
A smoked enemy's corpse called virivirikana
was hung in front of paele where the supplication for
the spirit 9 to gain the power for fighting was held
(Schneider 1997: 92-93).
Skulls (batu boso) taken Figure 12. Hiqava (after Edge-Partington
1907: 22).
from headhunting raids were displayed at canoe
Figure 13. A paele at Sisiata taken by C.M. Woodford in 1886. Hiqava, Wange, unknown person,
and Gemu from right to left (after Price 1980: 13).
9 The spirit of fighting is called Liqomo vovoso (Waterhouse 1949: 150). Liqomo (Figure 18c) and vovoso are
also the charms for fighting (Schneider 1997: 92-93).
11
houses (Figure 15) as well as ritual houses (zelepade [Schneider 1997: 89]).
The first
Resident Commissioner (1896-1915), Charles M. Woodford wrote about a paele at Sisiata
(Figure 13), Hiqava's (Figure 12) village in 1886:
It is about seventy feet long by tllirty feet wide... The house contains two large canoes
and several smaller canoes. In racks above my head are stowed away all sorts of gear;
fishing nets ... are suspended by wooden hooks from the roof. Bones of fish, pigs'
jawbones, and turtles' heads are hung along the rafter of one side, and from the other a
row of eight human heads look down upon me... (Woodford 1890: 152)
On one occasion I saw the inauguration of a large trough [hao, Figure 22] for preparing
and pounding food, the ceremony taking place in the chief canoe-house of the town
[Sisiata] ... Twenty-two men were seated on each side of the trough ... They had all their
ornaments on, and wore their shields over their shoulders, while their spears and
tomahawks were close behind them ... Ingova [Hiqava, Figure 12] then advanced from
the interior of the house, and, placing one hand on the crocodile's head, began a speech
... At a given signal the men began pounding the food ... the pounding was continued for
over half an hour (1889: 479-480).
C.M. Woodford also visited a paele on Nusa Roviana and took a photograph (Figure 15):
[We] crossed to the small island of Rubiana proper [Nusa Roviana], where we found
nearly all the men away on a head-hunting expedition to the island of Ysabel. I here
photographed the interior of a tambu house, the post of which was carved to represent a
crocodile. Along the rafters was a row of heads (Woodford 1889: 478).
Figure 14. Gemu wearing a white mop-like
wig (Woodford 1890: 159) and a tomoko warcanoe taken by C.M. Woodford in 1886.
Courtesy of the British Museum.
Figure 15. Skulls placed on the rafter of a paele on Nusa Roviana taken by C.M. Woodford in 1886.
Courtesy of the British Museum.
12
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Dugaha line to present Dunde chiefs
Heriana line to present Kokorapa chiefs
Figure 16. Genealogy of Kokorapa chiefs 10 (based on Schneider 1997, Figure 4).
Ze/epade (ritual houses)
The ritual house (zelepade)
was closely related to chiefly authority
associated with headhunting raids
(qeto minate) and funeral procedures
(Aswani 1998: 22-23). The zelepade
was a small highly ornamented
structure (for example, one fathom
long by one fathom width and two
fathoms high [1998: 22, 26], Figure 17)
constructed by craft specialists (mata
zona11), which was used by men for
organizing
their
headhunting
expeditions to prepare for sacrificing or
burial and the heads (batu boso) taken
back from raids were strung there.
Kovakovala
Barava and
Pangusja shell
ornaments
Supa
Figure 17. Decorated facade of the zelepade (after
Aswani 1998).
10 Nusa Roviana Island was the political center of the Munda-Nusa Roviana "confederation" of KazukuruRoviana people (Figure 11) and consisted of three districts, Vuragare, Kokorapa and Kalikoqu, which became
separate polities in the early historic period. The genealogy of the Kokorapa chiefs suggests that Kokorapa
became a political entity two generations after the influential Qutu died in the early 19th century (Figure 16).
The chieftainship of Kokorapa split into two lines derived from different wives of Qutu. One chiefly line resided
at Heriana and descends to the present chief, while the other line which dwelt at Dugaha moved to found the
Dunde polity after the attack by H.M.S. Royalist in 1891 when she shelled villages in the Roviana Lagoon in
retaliation for a murder of a white trader (Schneider 1997).
11 They had special power and knowledge and served for the chief having the responsibility for producing such
important things as shell valuables, war-canoes (tomoko) , triangular chiefly skull houses (oru) , canoe houses
(paele), and ritual houses (zelepade).
13
Sacred charms related to fighting (Iiqomo [Figure 18c], vovoso, serubule [Figure 18b], etc.),
weapons (spears, karamaho, lave, vedara flat shaped clubs, bows and arrows, etc.), and
ornaments (dala [Figure 18a], butu, pono, etc.) were stored in this structure (1998: 26-28).
Figure 18. Items kept in the zelepade. a: dala head ornament from Vella Lavella (after Brake et al.
1979: 28, Photo 11), b: serebre charm (after Edge-Partington and Joyce 1904, Plate I), c: liqomo
charm (after Western Province Cultural Affair Office 1991: 14, Photo 19).
The zelepade was located at Heriana where the chiefs such as Belakera and James
Pitu lived.
The first church (also called zelepade at that time) was built there in the late
1910s. Interestingly, the motif of zelepade and oru (Figure 3) was applied for the decoration
of the front wall of the early church buildings 12 (Figure 19).
12 This phenomenon is also observed at early church buildings in Hunda (Kolombangara) and Saikile
(photographs owned by the Methodist Church Archives [Auckland]).
14
Pavasa (dancing grounds)
The dancing ground (pavasa) was a round cleared, level area where the feast and
dance took place. "Following the return of a successful headhunting expedition (qeto minate)
with the blow of conch-shell (buki hogoto) and the warrior's welcome with dance and songs
by expectant village (peka aqa), the victims' skulls (batu boso) were placed in a tabernacle
(patu kevuana) in the centre of a pavasa" (Aswani 2000: 63).
Figure 20. Headhunters holding
lave and karamaho in 1895 (after
Festetics de Tolna 1903: 328)
Figure 21. Welcoming a headhunting party in Munda in the late
1800s. Courtesy of the Methodist Church Archives (Auckland).
,
o
&.~
~@
••
~
...
),(
~"-
--
e-.~"
••••••
Figure 22. Ceremonial food trough 13 (hao [based on Edge-Partington 1903: 160]).
13 This hao was taken from Kalikoqu on Nusa Roviana by Captain Davis of H.M.S. Royalist in 1891 during his
punitive raid on villages in the lagoon (Edge-Partington 1903).
15
The pavasa was located at the coast of Sidevele where the chief James Pitu invited
the chiefs of the whole New Georgia Group for a large feast called hibara in 1916 after the
first one held at Sisiata. There was a line of stakes in the middle on which the puddings
(gurapa) were hung.
Oogolo (Figure 23) is referred to as 'the raised platform around a
pavasa, upon which the qeqese ('food placed on the dogolo at a festival') is placed'
(Waterhouse 1949: 19,151).
Figure 23. "Native puddings on high platform (dog%) ready for a feast at Sisiata." Courtesy of the
Methodist Church Archives (Auckland).
Vahori (childbirth place)
"-
The separation of delivery from the secular world attempted to protect the village from
harmful spirits (tomate) who were lured by the "smell" of birth. For example, the after-birth
(pokopoko komburu) and unbilical cord (tito) cut with a bamboo knife were buried so that the
tomate would not smell it (Hocart n.d.). There were several tabu for a pregnant woman to
avoid her "uncleanness" before and after the delivery.
Her food was separated from the
men's oven. She had to stay at the vahori for fifteen nights after the delivery (this period is
called horahora). After coming back to her village, she had to sleep in a small hut (iPf) and
could not garden or draw water.
The facility for giving birth was located on Miho Vahori in the bush between two major
hamlets, Matakota and Sidevele. There were two huts: vetu vahori or kivi (childbirth hut) and
vetu madina (helper's hut).
Madina was a helper who tied sacred zipolo and zovi leaves
(which frightened evil spirits) around her neck to be blessed by an elder (palabatu). There
was fence for bath (bara huhuveana) for women at the vahori in the inter-tidal zone. The
vetu vahori was used until the 1950s.
16
Figure 24. Women and girls wearing pukepukete at Sisiata in 1895 (after Festetics de Tolna 1903:
321).
Sacred ibibu tree
In Roviana, burial procedures traditionally took two stages.
Structures such as
wooden frameworks or stone platforms (or enclosures called era) on which a corpse was
placed to rot, were set up
under the gema, ibibu or
pidiki trees
on
off-shore
islands, isolated from the
settlements.
In Kokorapa,
if a chief died, the body
was hung on a wooden
frame under a large ibibu
tree
at
Kinio
near Hio.
Shells were put under it to
collect the liquid from the
body.
rotted,
After
the
the
body
bones
were
taken to Piraka Island. The
skull
priest
was taken
(hiama)
by the
after
brain rotted away.
the
The
liquid was poured into the
"Chief's grave" in 1910. Courtesy of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
17
coral cobble circle at coastal side of the ibibu tree at Kinio and covered with coral cobbles.
The zipolo plants were planted around this circle later to signify it and in-laws (roroto) were
told not to visit this area.
Hehipi (wharves)
Wharves functioned as markers of sacred areas associated with particular shrines. In
the case of the Sidevele section on Nusa Roviana, in-laws (rorato) were prohibited from the
coastal area between Hope Kaluvesu and the wharf as well as the two places related to
funeral procedures at Kinio as discussed above.
Some wharves also functioned as land
boundaries, shrines and landing places of the headhunting party.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This booklet is an outcome of a four year-archaeological project, New Georgia
Archaeological Survey. The funding for the project was obtained from the Marsden Fund
(New Zealand Government), National Geographic Society (America), and two New Zealand
universities Auckland and Otago. In addition, my fieldwork in 1997 was financially supported
by the grant from the Skinner Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the courtesy of
the Solomon Airlines. The permission for the project was kindly granted by chiefs and
landowners of Roviana Lagoon, Roviana Regional Council, Ministry of Culture and Tourism
(Western Province), Solomon Island Research Committee (Department of Education), and
the National Museum.
Especially for this booklet, I would like to thank the Chief of Kokorapa John Lamihi and
the Deputy Chief John Pitu for allowing me to carry out archaeological research in Kokorapa.
The Village Organizer Alex Lianga kindly assisted the project in various ways. Thank you,
Alex Lianga, Arthur Bannilinga, Bei Talesasa, Berenda Ngela, Faletau Leve, Ikani Taqara,
James Ungehlo, John Lamihi, John Pitu, John Rasi, John Riakevu, John Roni, Joseph Kama,
Luke Ziru, Napitalai Tozaka, Nepo Lernemaena, Rachael Tini Tona, Ronald Bei Talesasa,
Sae Oka, Silas Zuzu, Steven 110, and Terry Talesasa for sharing valuable information.
Special thanks to field boys (too enormous to name) from Paparaka for assistance and fun in
the bush and Conelius Rigeo Family and others in the Nusa Roviana village for providing
warm home during my stays on the island. Peter Sheppard, Shankar Aswani, Kenneth Roga,
Chris Wright, Hamish McDonald, and those institutes acknowledged in the text provided
various supports to this booklet. This is a part of my Master Thesis (Nagaoka 1999), a
product of what I learned from knowledgeble elders in Kokorapa and Roviana. I am very glad
to present this small contribution for your help and encouragement. Leana hola!
The material contained in this booklet is not to be used in any legal proceedings nor
cited without permission of the author.
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18
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19