Lost story of Geabada and Keapara clans

WHEN someone mentions the name Boera village, it brings to the minds of many people living in and around Port Moresby area to this place as the birth place of the lagatoi canoe and the Hiri trade that began 400 years ago.
Boera is located 5km keast of the PNG LNG Plant. The word Boera in Motu language means hungry man.
Recent archaeological research carried out at Boera site by Dr Anne Ford of Otago University, New Zealand suggests that it could be the place where Motuans and Kairuku people were separated some 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.
In June 2019, a team of researchers from NMAG accompanied Dr Ford to Boera to excavate the site. They spent four weeks excavating a 2 meter x 1 meter trench that reached the depth of 5.5 meters. Unearthed pottery materials showed interesting pottery paintings and decorations which will be studied and results published later.
It is believed that during the period when Koita people moved from Sogeri to settle along the coast with the Motuans, a man by the name of Edai Siabo was taken to an underwater cave by water spirits and taught how to make the lagatoi and engage with the Gulf people in the Hiri trade.
Boera does not belong to the West Motu group of villages. The west Motu group comprise of Hanuabada, Pari, Porebada, Lealea and Manu Manu. They are pure Motu speakers and were the original inhabitants of Bootless Bay east of Port Moresby. About 200 years ago, they were driven out by the East Motu group of villages namely; Tubuserea, Barakau, Gaire and Gaba Gaba.
The East Motu group called themselves Lakwaharu, while Hula people refer to them as Ragela and the West Motuans called them Daeatai. In Motu language, Lakwaharu means tidal current, Ragela and Daeatai both mean people from the east.
The prominent clans of the Lakwaharu villages are the Geabada, which means ‘the big posts’. The Geabada came from the Keapara clan while inhabiting Alivele Hill some 1,200 years ago. The other clans that split from Keapara clans are the Rigo clans found among Rigo District villages who in the past played important roles as village chiefs.
The high chief clan for the Rigo and Aroma people of the Keapara clan held the rights to the Koge house structure (steeple gable) which is built for clan chief. The steeple gable structure is known as Kogenuma and its personal name is Ragela rupu which is also the reason why Geabada clans are also called Ragela.
The Ragela are the pot making clans of Keapara who lived on a hill called Kinigolo between Kemabolo and Riwali village. They then moved to Eriama, then to Boera. From Boera, the Geabada clan moved with the Boera clan to Yule Island.
A big fight escalated among them and the Roro clan, they returned to Boera under the clan name Apau which means to swim. They swam across the Hall Sound Bay to escape to the mainland of Kairuku. The Roro clan remained on Yule Island. The ones that went to the mainland built the villages of Delena, Poukama and Nabuapaka. The Roro clan later joined them and changed the language from Motu to Roro.
The building of lakatoi and the Hiri Trade with the Gulf people was practiced 2,000 years ago by the West Motuans while inhabiting Bootless Bay and the Motu clans living on Yule Islands. Pottery evidence of this period are found in Gulf, said Guise.
Nigel Oram, a lecturer from the University of Papua New Guinea who studied the oral history of the Boera people suggests that the knowledge of building lakatoi and the Hiri trade was brought to Boera from Yule Island by the Apau clan.
He said, the Daeatai or Lakwaharu were enjoying trade relationships with West Motuans until the two inland groups (Koita and Koiari) that were in enmity with each other started living among them 400 years ago. The Koita settled with the West Motuans and the Koiara with the Lakwaharu. The situation worsened when the Hula people started trading with West Motuans and were receiving more sago than the Lakwaharu. A fight broke out and the West Motuans were driven out of Bootless Bay.
Oral history of Motu and Kairuku people suggests that they migrated as a clan and were separated in the past. The Motuans settled around Port Moresby while the Roro, Mekeo, Koivi, Nala, Gabadi and Doura settled in the Kairuku District.
The Boera site is large. It is believed that several hamlets were built on an area estimated to be 3km square. Scattered pottery pieces can be seen around the two rows of hills behind the village. The site begins from the south end of the village and runs 3km north. Towards the end of the site is the Paradise picnic grounds that has two large midden mounds with heights of 10 meters and running parallel for 200 meters towards the sea where two fresh water sources flow out of the ground onto the white sandy beach.
Boera is a beautiful place rich in cultural deposits consisting of several mounds and the villagers are encouraged not to disturb the site as it could be the early Hiri and Kairuku settlement site. Located on the hills beside the site are World War II gun placements and bunkers.
The owner of Paradise picnic ground is inviting researchers to conduct research on the site to find out more about this beautiful seaside village.
For more information, contact Alu Guise on 3252405 or email: [email protected] or NMAG Media Relations Unit at [email protected]