Mothers are not allowed to see kids who have left the village when they are 10 years of age or above. Only older women who know about the tradition can see the Upe man whilst bringing food cooked on an open fire.

History tells two stories about how this initiation came into existence.

The first says that, in the early days ago, a man was walking in the bush when he saw a woman holding an Upe hat which she had acquired from a supernatural being.

As a result, knowledge was transferred to the woman by the unknown being. The Upe hat was beautiful and the man wanted it badly. But the woman refused to give him the hat, so he killed her and buried her body and took the Upe hat.

To keep his secret, no woman was ever allowed to view the hat.

The other story tells it that there once lived a couple who one day went into the bush. The husband told his wife to wait for him under a tree while he went out to hunt for possums.

When the husband returned, he saw his wife holding a beautiful ringlike object which she had made from bamboo pieces whilst waiting for him to return.

It caused a great deal of thought in him. Some years later, he and his wife moved from the main village and settled in a small hamlet where they raised their first born son. When the boy was grown enough, his father built him a hausman and, at the same time, made him a ringlike hat. It was the very first Upe hat.

The villagers knew that the ringlike object was of great important value; thus the custom of Upe hat was  adopted long ago in the Wakunai area.

However, nowadays, when there is a big occasion with many people including women, there will be a special initiation to protect them from the harmful elements. This enables the Upe hat to be seen by others. Otherwise, they are hidden in the mountain forest away from the villages to protect the people from igniting the curse.

The initiation of Upe aims to teach and educate young males in preparation for their future lives as fathers, husbands, brothers, leaders and chiefs of their villages.

This practise has significant ethical and moral value. In the forest, the young boys are taught many things about life.The educators teach the young boys such things as hunting, planting, catching, building, fatherhood, leadership, war, how to make weapons, responsibility, honesty, respect, bush medicine, different types of plants and animals and their purpose of existence and uses.

This life in the forest is out of the normal but is very useful in the life of the community.

After some years in the bush, when the Upe leader and his helpers see that the boys have become men, they will initiate them to return home and make a normal living.

At this point many are now ready to be married and start a family. So, when they are back home, they can utilise what they have learned during their time in the jungle.

Today, the people are reviving the Upe culture and want to keep it holy and ethical. There is a Rotokas eco-tourism industry being set up to preserve the wildlife, fauna, culture, lifestyle, rivers, caves, mountains, forest, people and interesting places.

The good thing about the initiation is that it produces resourceful, ethical, respectful and wise people in the communities. And these people are known to be healthy and good looking. Their skin looks smooth, nourished and shiny as they come out of the ritual grounds up in the mountain forest.

When they are married, they produce healthy children with healthy lifestyles and are faithful to their wives and do not have two to three wives. These are some of the good things about the Upe initiation.

Notes:

My special thanks to Vincent Kommoru (@vkommoru via Twitter) and the Rotokas Upe Cultural Group for contributing and allowing me to write a bit about this special scared culture.

To familiarise yourself with the Upe cultural area and Rotokas area, Like and Follow the ‘Rotokas Eco-Tourism Group’ page on Facebook.

For a visit to see the Upe Cultural Tradition, check the arrangements and events date with Bougtours at www.bougtours.com or follow on Twitter @YesBougainville

Also check out Bougainville Tourism’s new website for a tour of the tropical paradise of Bougainville.