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Totems of Rotokas Clans
The abbreviations in the foregoing chart stand for the following totems: Ovu = ovuveo The
hornbill Tai = taisuiri The
hornbill Kur = kurue The
dove Sur = suriketo
The sunbird also sureko Ura = urakava The
sunbird Oro = orokui
Black bird which builds a hanging nest Sis = sisorui
Black bird which builds a hanging nest Kak = kakata The
cockatoo Sik = sikopio The
honeyeater siikui?
Vik = vikuroi The crow
Utu = utuuko The owl
Kuv = kuuvato The all-green
parrot Ait = aita The
crow Mat = matova also
vatova Ker = kerakera
The Brahminy kite ? It should be mentioned that the Ovuveo and Orokui clans are primary to the clan system two moieties.
Kakata is a subclan of Ovuveo and Suriketo a subclan of Orokui. The Suriketo clan must ask permission from the Orokui before organizing activities, or using property, etc. It is obvious from the number of clan totems
recorded on the chart that there are many subclans in the Rotokas area. I do not know, however, to which of the two primary clans these subclans belong.
Unfortunately, at the time of our visit in each village, there was not always a knowledgeable adult present who could name all the clans represented by people living there.
Some clans and their totems are as follows: a Clan Name—Usore vara, Totem—Ovuveo
b Clan Name—Sisoo vara, Totem—Orokui c Clan Name—Vuirao vara, Totem—Suriketo
d Clan Name—Vai vara, Totem—Kakata Most of the clan names describe different types of grass.
Members of the last clan listed, Vai vara, are still considered outsiders in Togarao village, therefore, it is not proper for them to organize mourning feasts and their Upe initiates cannot take part in the village’s
singsings.
6.3 Taboos within the Clan
It seems that taboos against inflicting bodily harm or death, or engaging in adultery are stronger across clan lines than within a clan. The reason given is that, if a killing or adultery occurs across clan lines, the chief
spirit of the offended clan will retaliate. The offender’s blood will become “bad,” resulting in his becoming sickly for a time and possibly for the remainder of his life. Within the clan, the head spirit is not as quick to
bring punishment upon a member of his own clan.
One must not even strike a member of another clan. For this reason, when two clansmen are arguing and about to come to blows, a member of another clan will step in between them to arbitrate. The two clansmen are
ashamed or afraid to strike the arbitrator because of the taboo. A story tells about two men engaged in a fight. Because they were members of the same clan, they did not
fight to the death. We once observed two men of the same clan almost to the point of exchanging blows. A young man stepped between them and held them off, then others joined in and separated the two men. Later, a
meal was prepared and the two men were invited to “talk it out” peacefully while eating together.
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6.4 Land Rights: The Opossum Family
The manner of passing on land ownership rights is called koora aao, which means “opossum family.” The opossum koora and its family aao get their food from only one tree. This implies that a clan should have a
single location with which it identifies as an entity, and that the identification should continue through succeeding generations or families.
Rotokas people tell an old story about the origin of the present day system: Two sisters-in-law agreed to exchange their offspring in marriage. Later, they told these children, “Give me of the ‘tambaran’s door’ when I
die there.” Referring again to their land, they also said, “My children, bury my clan when I die”. By this, the father or administrator of the land would know the instructions to be followed, so that when his offspring
first generation would marry someone from his father’s clan, his offspring second generation would again be in line to own his grandfather’s land.
The “tambaran’s door” refers to the area of the jungle to which a clansman feels particular allegiance and where his clan’s chief spirit tambaran resides. In the past, clan members were buried there.
The phrase “bury or drop my clan” refers to the birth of a grandchild who would be eligible to own the property. It actually means to confirm the eligibility by burying the child’s placenta in its clan’s property, as
was the custom of the past. The Rotokas people say, “Rasi iare kakae kavauro” he bore a child to the ground. This means that a
child is born to rights to own property. Even though the system of koora aao seems quite straightforward, there are many loopholes which can
give rise to disputes over land ownership. The following is an account of one such dispute, which will illustrate reasons behind these disagreements, ways of resolving the situation, and features of clan properties.
Five members of the Orokui clan had fathers who came from Keriaka on the west side of the island to marry the women of the Rotokas area, who belong to the Ovuveo clan. Land is still owned in the Keriaka area
by many of these men, the rights having been passed on to them by their mothers, who were inhabitants of the Keriaka area.
Quite a few other men are members of the Ovuveo clan whose fathers are from the Rotokas area. This is attested to by the well-known story of the Tambaran, which relates that one father lived in the village of
Kakareraia, located towards the Pipipaia side of Mt. Balbi. The land on which Togarao village is situated and the surrounding area, Sureko rasi, was given in a large block [see map] by the father A. to his son R. before
World War II. After the war, the government moved the village of Togarao down from higher up on the slopes of Mt. Balbi, and it was resettled in approximately the center of this block of land.
An Orokui clansman S. came to the area and later married an Ovuveo woman and he began planting cocoa within the boundaries of this block of land. She also owns other clan land, in addition to this area of her
husband’s cocoa within the Sureko rasi block. On the third of August, 1969, about forty to fifty men of both clans gathered together in the village of
Togarao to discuss a boundary dispute arising from his claim S. that the land had been divided at point A [see map], Another R. said he knew nothing of this boundary. The first man S. had used this boundary to
establish his own “area” in which he was going to plant more cocoa. The dispute ended when all the men went to the area on the following day and marked out a boundary at
point B. All of the area between point B and the end of the block was for the first to use. This was established by the witness of men from both clans. The name of this block of land is Ririko kuvui a tree used as the
landmark. During the course of the dispute, which had been planned as a peaceful discussion, the question of another
man’s D. holding ground in the block of Ovuveo ground Sureko rasi came up. He D. and his brother P. had claimed to “buy” the ground by giving several large feasts for Ovuveo clan members. The first man S.
claimed that he had no knowledge of the payment and that he himself had given some feasts…long mekim dai graun to finish off payment for the land. The other D. produced a receipt with the food prices listed [see a
copy of this receipt in appendix C] to prove that he had given the last feast. The first S. had nothing to show for his claim. After several hours of talking, about 8:30 p.m., tempers began to flare, and eventually the first
S. challenged the other D. to fight. He said that he would gather all his clansmen together to “cut” their opponents. The other D. replied that he could gather his clan brothers as well, if they wanted to have it out.
Later, he told me that this was just talk and that they really wouldn’t have done it because of the law. In days past, however, this could have meant a fight between the clans.
The two men faced each other ready to fight, but were physically restrained by others in the group. One man put both his hands around the first man’s S. throat, saying that his talk was always making problems for
76 the men of the village. Later, the other D. scolded this man and others who had gone “over him” to make
things worse. Originally, the conflict was between the two men only. The dispute was partially solved when a “payment” of food was made towards another large block of land
being transferred. This land, Opove, would be divided up between several of D.’s clan members. The rest of the large block of Sureko rasi would be mutually “paid for” by the two clans exchanging money, food, and
other gift items. This being done, the ground “belonged” to the village. It was divided up for all to use for food gardens only. No one person was to be able to use the land for the purpose of planting a cash crop, such as
cocoa.
On the following day, the dispute was settled. Betel nut and koavaa a fruit of pepper vine chewed like betel nut with lime made of snail and clam shells were used. The betel nut was cut into small pieces and
passed around to all gathered in the house. Members of opposite clans exchanged pieces of the nut. While the betel nut was being chewed, members of opposite clans went to each other and shook hands.
A map of the disputed property concludes this section. It has several names which need explanation. These pieces of properties are guarded toki by spirit beingstambarans tugarato. The Sureko rasi is guarded by one
named Pokoe pura because he was the leader of the Upe initiates. He also is said to have made Upe hats or pokoe. The word pura means “to make.” An alternate name for this spirit being is Katai kokoto one leg.
This was given because of a large slender stone which resembles a leg. It exists today in the area of eri ovi or rasiva [the iron spring described in section 2.2.4].
Another spirit being who guards an area of ground above the Sureko rasi, and also which is the chief spirit of the Orokui clan, is named Koakoa uvuoto. He resides in a spring which is the source of the stream Reparu, a
small creek which flows by Ibu and which is crossed on the way to the Kovava cave [see section 2.2.3]. The name of the block of land which this spirit guards is Varupata ipa, a ridge between Togarao and Ibu.
It seems that there has been a progression towards organized and formalized land ownership. First, in the distant past, it was “every man for himself.” When a man died, his belongings and his garden land were taken
by anyone. Then came ownership through the matrilineage system in which a husband worked his own clan land, while the wife and children worked her property. Because these more or less isolated working situations
could lead to suspicion of infidelity between marriage partners, it did not lead to desired family stability. In part, this led to the next step towards formalized ownership, i.e., families as units working the father’s clan
property while not ignoring the wife’s property. Due to family irregularities, however, and the small clans which were springing up within the two primary clans, confusion of ownership was commonplace. For this
reason, the provincial government and local council stepped into the picture and began to survey boundaries, recording parcels of ground, legalizing ownership, etc. The final move was for the government to establish a
Land Board which is responsible for resolving disputes, accepting applications for sales and purchases, etc. The system seems to be working in a satisfactory fashion at this time.
In August of 1968, David A. and his brother Matiu P. signed a purchase contract for property they subsequently owned. The proof of purchase was worded as follows:
To Whom It May Concern: Togarao Village
Re: Payment of Ground August 12, 1968
Pe bilong dispela graun Togarao olsem hia Boitari i bin givim Aturato long 6 3 paun insait long yia 1952. Bihain long dai bilong em, mi tupela i bin wokim wanpela kaikai long moni inap long 74 37 paun
insait long yia 1964. Bihain long dispela kaikai mi givim 13 6 paun 10 long Vaveveori bilong Pipipaia. Olrait bihain long dispela 13 6 paun 10 mi tupela wokim moa pela kaikai insait long yia 1965 long moni
inap long 7 37 paun. Bihain long dispela, mi tupela i wokim moa wan moa kaikai insait long 1968 long moni inap long 40-10 20 paun 10. Nem bilong mi tupela olsem:
David A. and Matiu P. Signatures
Long olgera pe inap olsem 168.10 [84 paun 10]
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Map of disputed property
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6.5 Inheritance
