The continuing importance of the pandanus trade
21 June 2015
ZINNIA MINGA
An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing
IN modern society we buy and use goods and services to meet our various needs and wants.
In the past our ancestors from the caves and kunai huts did not buy and sell - they exchanged in the trade known as barter.
The barter system was widely practised in all parts of the island of New Guinea and became an important part of the people’s culture.
They exchanged food, stone axes, clay pots – anything that one tribe or ethnic group could produce that another could not, due to lack of knowledge or climatic or botanic variations.
The pandanus trade was an important economic activity that occurred between the Yongomugl and Gembogl people of Simbu Province.
The Yongmugl people from Guruma would trade red pandanus with the Gembogl people from Womatne who grew white pandanus.
The red pandanus grows well in lower areas while the white pandanus grows well in the cooler mountain regions.
The Guruma tribe grew all kinds of red pandanus while the Womatne people lived in the high altitudes near Mt Wilhelm produced different varieties of white pandanus.
When the season for the red pandanus came, the Guruma men and women brought their produce to the Womatne people. The Womatne people would host a feast for the visitors and they would return.
When the season for white pandanus came, the Womatne men and women brought their produce to the Yongmugl people. The Yongmugl people would host a payback feast for the visitors.
Pandanus had traditional significance apart from being a source of food (both red and white are rich in nutritional value and can contribute to good health). Pandanus could also be used in bride price payments, for settling disputes and other important undertakings..
The red pandanus oil can be extracted and used as a sauce in cooking or for oiling the human body to keep it clean, strong and shiny and to withstand both the cold and the heat of the sun.
Of course, the only means of land transport in those days was to walk barefoot. The traders were great adventurers, walking great distances across mountains and rivers carrying their precious cargo.
As the influence of western culture grew and modern money was introduced, the barter system died out. But the pandanus trade is still being maintained and its bounty still used as food and at wedding ceremonies and cultural functions.
A good story, Zinnia. Keep writing more.
Posted by: Francis Nii | 21 June 2015 at 10:53 AM