EEP Crowned pigeon number 4

EEP STUDBOOK CROWNED PIGEONS
Residents of the Lakekamu Basin
There are four groups of people living in the Lakekamu Basin: the Biaru, the Kurija, the
Kamea and the Kovio. They will be described shortly.
The Biaru live in several villages north of Kakoro, on the west side of the Biaru River. These
settlements are Kakoro village, Amamas Camp, Poian Camp and Meri Camp. The Biaru own
the land in the mountains Northeast of Kakoro. They also claim the land from the east side of
the Biaru River to the Avi Avi River in the west, but the Kamea do not agree with that.
Both groups probably made intermittent use of the resources of the area between the Biaru
and Avi Avi Rivers, although neither group has settled here. The Biaru also claim that the
land along the Sii and Nagore Rivers, south of Kakoro, belongs to them, although both the
Kurija and the Kovio dispute the assertion. The Biaru argue that the Kurija have no land
rights in the area, claiming that they only recently moved into the basin from the headwaters
of the Kunimaipa River, a distance of several days walk. At issue is the timing of the Kurija
migration into the lowlands. In contrast, the Biaru acknowledge the presence of the Kovio,
with whom they had long-standing trade relations.
The lowland-Biaru occupies an important position in the regional exchange system in the
Lakekamu Basin. In the past, they had regular trade relations with the Kovio, who controlled
the exchange between the coast and the highlands (Hau'ofa, 1981). This was an important
route for shell valuables central to the exchange economies of the highlands. The shell were
obtained form the coast and from lowland mangrove forests. They were traded from the south
through the Lakekamu Basin, becoming increasingly valuable with their distance from their
source. In return for the shell, the Biaru traded bird feathers, bark cloth and spears to the
Kovio. From the mountain Biaru, they acquired pigs and quarried stone used for axe blades.
Shells were central to Biaru exchange and for decades they used them like money, also for
bridewealth payments.
The Kurija are the most western group of the Kunimaipa, who live in the mountains of
Goilala sub-district in Central province (Hallpike, 1977). They consists of nine lineages, who
live separated but join each other when necessary (e.g. to fight). Kunimaipa lineages are
exogameous and after marriage the couple resides patrilocally. Both sides of the family are
expected to make small gifts of dog's teeth and bird of paradise feathers, but until recently, no
large exchange of wealth was associated with marriage. Today bridewealth payments of K500
to K 2000 are usually expected.
The Kurija used to live in the lowlands between the Kunimaipa, Sii and Nagore rivers for
over a hundred years (Kirsch, 1997). They claim the land between the Biaru and Kunimaipa
Rivers, including the territory between the Sii and Nagore rivers. They confirm the Biaru
assertion that the two groups did not have contact until recent years ago, although they claim
that the Biaru River is the Border between the two groups. Like the Biaru, the Kurija deny
having had any contact with the Kamea before the colonial period, or having ventured into
their territory. They traded regularly with the Kovio, sometimes learning to speak their
language, although the two groups did not intermarry. The Kurija did not understand the
languages of either the Kamea of the Biaru.
129