FEATURE
STORY:
On
the occasion of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival
of the London Missionary Society at Poreporena
By: Ev. RDk Mavara Ao Sere,
November, 2023
Edited by: Lahui Ako, Udu Vai, John S.
Goava, Daroa T. Toua, and Arua Taravatu
The London Missionary
Society (or LMS, as it is popularly known in PNG) arrived on the shores of the
Poreporena village in November 1873, and a year later, established itself atop
its Metoreia hill forever. A little less
than a hundred years later, it would evolved into the United Church of Papua
New Guinea.
But who were
these brave men and women who endured the harsh weather, the hostile
inhabitants of New Guinea, and the savagery of the journey from the Southseas,
to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to what would become Papua a decade
later? Further, who were the local
people who embraced and welcomed them to enable them to commence their
ministry, and thereby, lay the foundation of Christianity in Poreporena and
along the length and breath of the Papuan coastal line? Most significant of all, who or what was the
LMS, that made these men forgo their comfort zone and move into the unknown to
spread the Word of God through its auspices?
The names of
Ruatoka Koro, together with his missionary brethrens in Rau, Anderea, Heneri, Adamu,
and Piri, and their wives, are all revered and remembered in Poreporena
today. Many songs have been made in
their memory expounding their strength, resilience and endurance, in what was a
land deemed forsaken by God until their arrival on its shores. Then you have the names of the revered
Motuans of old, who embraced them wholeheartedly and became their protectors. Names such as Lakani Toi, who shield them
from the warlike attitude of a Motuan tribe viewing them as intruders, and Raga
Tola, who in accepting them, also sheltered them forever; and their first
Motuan convert, Arua Daera, who would spread the Word of God along the west of
the Papuan coastline to the Gulf.
Ruatoka and his
brother missionaries were trained by the LMS in Rarotonga, in the Cook islands,
as teachers, before crossing the vast Pacific Ocean on the Loelia from the main
mission encampment at Cape York, Australia, under the leadership of Rev.
Archibald Wright Murray. The original
party of 6, with their wives landed at Manumanu sometimes in November, 1872[1]. There, they would all survive until their
fateful encounter with Lakani Toi a year later.
Historically,
the LMS developed out of the Congregationalism movements of the late 16th
and 17th century England which emphasized the right and duty of its
congregations of people, to make their own decision on their affairs,
independent of any human authority. Congregationalism therefore, developed as
one wing of the broader puritan movement in Western Christianity whose general
goal was to carry on and complete the work of the Protestant Reformation in
England.[2]
Although they
were active before the English civil wars, Congregationalists (or Independents,
as they were more commonly known then) gained prestige when Oliver Cromwell
aligned himself with their cause. Their
political influence peaked in the 1650s and declined precipitously after
Cromwell’s death in 1658 and finally abolished altogether with the restoration
of the crown in 1660. But the accession
of William and Mary in 1689 signalled a change of mood, and the Toleration Act,
which was passed in the same year, marked the beginning of a process that would
finally grant full religious toleration to the Congregationalists along with
all the other religious dissenters. Through their association with the
Evangelical Revival (1750-1815) their work continued to progress until the
formation in 1983 of the Congregational Union of England and Wales.
It was from
these movements that the LMS was founded in 1795 as a non-denominational
organization, dedicated to spreading the Christian faith in the non-European
world. Its primary support was always
from the Congregationalists. The LMS
sent out missionaries to the South Pacific Islands, to Africa, China, India,
and Southeast Asia. It was its famous explorer/missionary, Dr David Livingston
who proved to the world that Central Africa was accessible and who would exposed
the slave trade. In 1873, the LMS
arrived on the shores of Poreporena, and in 1874, it established its first
mission station under the watchful eyes if Dr William Lawes.
Poreporena oral
history, handed down by word of mouth and retold through the generations tells
of a visit by a group of Hanuabada traders to the Motuan village of Manumanu,
about 30 miles west of Hanuabada. It
further tells of this particular group’s encounter with this strange people,
the unlikely bond that was created, and their invitation and eventual arrival
on the shores of Poreporena on 26 November, 1873.
During that period,
the village of Manumanu was known to be the source of strong housing materials
which the Hanuabadans required to build their houses with. As such, men from Poreporena would frequent
this village mostly by small lagatois, or puapua, and sought
permission from its elders to source wood for their posts, and biri (from
the pandanus family), which was dried and woven together to be used as walls or
roofing for the houses then. The men
from Poreporena brought with them some of the sago and foodstuff from the Hiri
trade, to exchange with the Manumanu people for this important materials.
One such trading
expedition was led by a venerable man from Poreporena by the name of Lakani
Toi. Lakani, was an elder and renown
warrior of the Tubumaga clan of Hanuabada.
That day, as his puapua neared the village of Manumanu, he noticed
a schooner moored in the small inlet leading to the village. The puapua cautiously passed the
schooner and made its way ashore. After
alighting on firm ground, Lakani and his people were met by his trading partner
and people from the village. When he enquired
as to the strange lagatoi out in the harbour, he was told that “these
are strange men who came from the land of the gods. They have been calling to us to go to them
but we are scared. Even when they come
down to the shores to explore, we keep away from them. We think they are gods who have come down
from the spirit world of Tauru to visit us.”
Lakani, being
the warrior he was, was intrigued. “But
if they come from Tauru, why haven’t they come to attack you, eh? It would seem to me that they are scared of
us here. I think we should go closer and
investigate.” Lakani’s trading party included his brothers and their wives,
and a few other warriors, including the capitain of his puapua, by the
name of Vagi Tau. They all nodded
confidently, agreeing with Lakani’s summation of the situation.
However, in
respecting the Motuan traditional etiquette, and to avoid making the men of
Manumanu lose face, he awaited for them to give him their assurance that it was
okay for him and his party to investigate further.
“Lets investigate
together.” He invited them back,
assurance given.
Taking the queue
from the Manumanu men, Lakatani nodded to his brothers, beckoning them towards
the puapua. For safety purposes,
he left his womenfolk on the beach. They
paddled towards the schooner.
The men on the
schooner had noticed the arrival of a new trading canoe from the east and were
intrigued by it. They noted that the new
arrivals were not from Manumanu. As
such, it peaked their interest to see these men paddling towards them. They seemed different from the Manumanu men. However,
seeing this opportunity to meet the inhabitants of this land again, they
prepared to welcome them.
A few metres
from the schooner, Lakani stopped his puapua. Looking up to the men that
now lined the sides of the schooner, he held up his hand, as if in greeting,
but also to ward off the evil spirits that were purportedly on this boat, as
per advise from the Manumanu men. A
medium-built man, who had trimmed his beard into a goatie, waved back.
“He seems to
be the leader,” Lakani said loudly to himself, for the benefit of his
brothers, and also to reassure himself.
The man waved back at him and beckoned him aboard, holding both his
hands as if in welcome, and supplication.
“Now these are not evil spirits if their body positions are held in
supplication,” Lakani thought to himself as he heaved himself aboard this
strange looking boat. The others
followed closely behind him, eyes alert to treachery.
Looking around
him quickly, he noticed that there were a mixture of people on board. Some looked like him, while others had white
skin. Among the ones who looked like
him, the person, who had invited and welcomed him aboard spoke something in his
tongue which Lakani and his people couldn’t understand. In front of him, his womenfolk started laying
out things, which looked like gifts, he thought to himself. There were pieces of cloth, axe heads,
knives, beads, and other trade goods which the missionaries had brought with
them on this trip.
While they
viewed these strange things with suspicion, one of the women from the boat started walking towards them with a tray full
of red looking thing. She started
offering the tray to them with a smile; her men also beckoned to Lakani and his
men, inviting them to take it, and eat it.
One of Lakani’s brothers whispered from behind him, “Don’t take it.
It looks poisonous and looks like blood oozing from it.” As they looked on, the crew and the others
took the stuff and started eating it with delight and much gusto. “Water Melon,” the crew mimed to him. “Water
melon.” But to no avail. Lakani and
his men wouldn’t budge. After observing
that nothing had happened to those who had eaten the red stuff, Lakani beckoned
to his brothers, and took one on offer.
“Mereni?” He asked the crew.
They all nodded happily.
So, was
established an unlikely friendship, forged in a truly unlikely way and
place. Ordained by God almighty, the
friendship between Ruatoka Koro and Lakani Toi would take another turn for the
better as the two groups of men started the process of getting to know each
other over the next few days.
In sign
language, Ruatoka asked Lakani where he was from. Lakani, again in sign language, responded as
best as he could. He would later invite
Ruatoka ashore and sketch out an actual map for him to use to get to Hanuabada
which laid to the east of Manumanu.[3] Some of the landmarks Lakani described to
Ruatoka included the Lagava (Redscar Point), a small uninhabited
off-shore island called Varivara, and a rocky landmark called Iduata
at Boera village. An island off the
sandy shores of Porebada village, called Haidana, he was to bypass on
his eastward journey before passing a beautiful lagoon called Roku. Lakani
advised Ruatoka that once he passed this lagoon, he would sight two small
islands straight ahead. “You will see
the smaller of the two. That is the
Gemo, he signed to him. “From
afar you may be fooled to think that Gemo is joined to the mainland. No.
Once you near it you will realise that it is an island not more that
some distance from the mainland. The
larger of these two islands is called the Lolorua. Once you arrive at Gemo, you will see a small
passage. Turn left and follow it. You
will enter a huge bay, right ahead will be Poreporena”.
So, Lakani and
his trading party return home after a truly successful and enriching
mission. Upon arriving, he gathered all
the members of his Tubumaga and the neighbouring Kwaradubuna clan
members, to brief them on the trading expedition and its success. He also told them of the new friends he had
made, especially the friendship he had established with a man of God, by the
name of Ruatoka Koro, who had come to their land from far across the sea. He informed them that he had invited this man
and his fellow missionaries to Hanuabada, and that, they were all to
expect his arrival soon. Owing to the
politics of the day, he instructed, in a more sombre manner, that he was to be
told immediately once Ruatoka and his party were sighted. “They will be coming by sea”, he added. The clan settled down to await the arrival of
their guests.
The people of Manumanu
were not new to the crew and people on the schooner. A year earlier, the teachers, their wives and
families had arrived in the vicinity of this village on the Loelia. The six teachers, Piri, Rau, Anederea,
Ruatoka and Adamu, and their wives, had gone ashore with Mr Murray at their
head, in search of the village of which they had heard. They arrived into the village, with the
banana plantations on its outskirts, and the 94 houses ranged in two rows, the
broad street between, and the river bank, to which they had come, at the end of
the street.[4]
The teachers had
arrived with the intention of dropping themselves off at separate and different
locations. However, it was later
considered wiser to remain together and occupy Manumanu as a base, from
which they could spread out when the opportunity arose. In doing so, their most difficult task, on
this malarial coast, was selecting healthy sites, and Manumanu greatly
disappointed them. So, they settled in Manumanu. The Loelia had returned back to Cape
York. The fact that the mission had no
vessel of its own made it impossible to visit the teachers regularly, and new
government regulations in respect to the licensing of shelling boats for the
Straits made it more difficult to secure the aid of trading schooners.
During the early
months of 1873, the teachers were faced with serious difficulties, chiefly
among these were their worrying health conditions. Adamu had met with an accident and had passed
on; so too did one of the teacher’s wives.
The health of the whole party was a cause to worry.[5] Fortunately, HMS Basilisk, under Captain
Moresby, who had called in at Cape York on her way to the New Guinea coast, had
enabled Mr Murray to secure the sympathetic interest of her commander. The ship had called in at Manumanu and
aided the teachers. In fact, two of the
badly ill teachers were taken on board and brough to Cape York for medical
treatment.
A few months
later, the Loelia, which had been purchased by a Mr Orkney of St Kilda,
Melbourne, and turned into a private yacht, was cruising along the Papuan coast
and had heard of the sick teachers. He
had called into Manumanu.
Satisfied that they were all ill and needed treatment, he had brought
them all to Cape York. (Mr Orkney
continued to support the later to be New Guinea Mission, and also became a
close friend of Mr and Mrs Lawes).
While these
events were happening with the teachers in Manumanu, good progress was also being
made in England in developing plans for future extension. Mr Samuel Macfarlane was not only enlisting
the sympathy of the churches, but was also briefing the LMS Board of Directors on
the importance of spreading the mission to New Guinea. On 23 December, 1972, a special conference of
the LMS Board was held, and it was agreed for, among other resolutions, that
Cape York be made the headquarters of the New Guinea mission, and that support
for the mission at Manumanu be intensified, including the purchase of the
Ellangowan.[6] Also present at this Board meeting was the
Reverend W.G Lawes.
Official
historical records mention that the commodious Moresby and Fairfax harbours,
named so by Captain John Moresby after his father, the Admiral Fairfax Moresby,
and the land immediately surrounding it, had been investigated by the Roal Navy
and found to be a potentially good spot to relocate the mission. This being so, Motuan oral history also tells
of the extending of an invitation by the venerable Lakani Toi to Ruatoka Koro
and the teachers to relocate to Hanuabada.
Both records are aligned by the grace of our God almighty. Because it was through His divine
intervention, that these events came to pass.
Today, the United Church of PNG, stands as evidence of this divine intervention.
On 18 November,
1873, Reverend Murray left Cape York on the Retrieve with Ruatoka, Rau,
Anedera, and Eneri, who, now refreshed, were eager to get back into
action. The Retrieve called into Manumanu
only to find that their houses had been destroyed by an inland raiding party,
while the men of Manumanu were away on the hiri. But their main intention to calling into Manumanu
was not only to check up on their houses. No.
It was also to commence plotting the chart to Hanuabada, based on
the 14 knots on the rope tied for him by his friend Lakani Toi.
On the afternoon
of 23 November, 1873, with the last knot untied, the Retrieve, complemented by
its additional navigational guide, anchored in the Moresby harbour, with the Poreporena
villages of Hanuabada and Elevala lying yonder. Built on stilts over the shallow waters, the
village looked like a cluster of spiders, waiting to pounce on any intruder
that invaded its space. They awaited the
right moment to make their way into Hanuabada to honour the invitation
extended to them by Lakani Toi. They
appointed the morning of Wednesday, 26 November, 1873 as the day to make their
way into Hanuabada. Ruatoka
believed that his good friend Lakani Toi awaited him. Unbeknown to him, Lakani had left for his
gardens that very day. His gardens lay not
more than an hour’s walk inland on the foothills.
After loading
their cargo into the Retrieve’s long boat, the teachers and their wives, were
rowed towards the village by the two naval sailors. Ruatoka looked on with anticipation written
all over his face. As he looked on, he
saw two canoes, filled with warriors, racing up to meet them. The long boat had been sighted! Being aware
of the arrival of Lakani’s guests, the village sentry, had been on the lookout
ever since the Retrieve had anchored off shore, for any movement from the ship
that would signal the arrival of Lakani’s friend. On seeing the departure of the long boat from
the ship, he had sounded the conch shell.
As was pre-planned, the Tubumaga warriors had piled into two of
their war canoes, the Rikugai and the Manugai, and had sped forth
to meet the approaching long boat purposely to escort it safely into the Tubumaga
clan before the other clans became aware of the “intruders”.
The two parties
greeted each other out in the harbour, and Ruatoka’s enquiries of “Lakani?”
“Lakani?” were met with a nod by the warrior Tau Vagi. Lakani had entrusted Tau Vagi with the
responsibility of making sure of Ruatoka’s safety in the event he was away when
his friend arrived. Tau was honouring
this duty. The long boat was then
escorted into the Tubumaga clan mooring station. Oral history tells that the Rikugai and
Manugai were accosted in the harbour, on their way in, by the war canoes
of the other clans, wanting to know who these people were and why they were
being brought into the village by them.
Tau Vagi and his warriors, ignoring them, continued relentlessly on their
course, to bring the guests safely into their clan, while he strained his neck,
searching out Lakani from among the crowd now building up on the shore.
Meanwhile,
Lakani’s sister, Kori Toi, having by now, being alerted to the arrival of his
brother’s guests, and knowing that he had gone to tend his garden, quickly ran
in search of him. Upon nearing the
garden, she started yelling, “Lakaaaaani!” “Lakaaaaani!” “Lakaaaaani!” Lakani, hearing the distress in
his sister’s voice, quickly ran out of the garden in search of her. “The people you have invited to the clan
have arrived. You must come quickly to
receive them”. The excited Kori told
him. After delivering the message, she
turned and started running back to the village.
Lakani followed closely behind.
By then, Tau
Vagi and his warriors had escorted the visitors into the Tubumaga clan
square and stood protectively over them, awaiting the arrival of Lakani, while
the crowd, mostly warriors from the other clans of the village, all shouting at
the top of their voices, for the immediate release of the intruders so that
they could be killed, continued to build up.
Kori and her sister in-law, Lakani’s wife, Geua Gurita, in anticipating
this demand, quickly ran in front of the menacing warriors, shouting and, holding
up their skirts to scare them away, and most of all, to buy time, while Lakani
made his way to the village centre. In
the Motuan traditional culture, it is considered taboo for women to “throw
their scent” in the direction of any warrior or men in general who are in very
close proximity to them. It is believed
that it will render these warriors - who have purified themselves by staying
away from their wives for weeks in preparation for an official clan engagement,
such as going on a raiding party to an enemy village, or on a fishing or
hunting expedition – weak and useless.
Lakani’s wife and Kori were doing this on purpose, to protect their
guests from these blood thirsty warriors.
“Asio
aladia!” “Asio Aladia!” (Don’t kill
them!) (Don’t kill them!). Lakani
shouted into the crowd, at the top of his voice, as he finally arrived on the
scene. Quickly rushing up to where his
guests were sitting in a huddle, he stood protectively over them, brandishing
his spear menacingly at the crowd. The Tubumaga
warriors, taking this as their cue, also formed up immediately behind him
in support. Still they were outnumbered,
as the other clans, from Elevala started arriving to “drive off these
intruders”. The threat, not only to the
lives of his guests, but to them as well, mounted.
Lakani shouted
into the crowd again, repeating himself.
The crowd refused to relent. Then
he did the unthinkable. “Lau bavalagu
guna, gabe amo, idia bavala dia!”
(“You will need to kill me first, before you can kill them!”), he
shouted at the top of his voice. This immediately
caught the attention of the crowd of warriors and they all quietened down. Some
continued to glare at him, waiting for him to say something that would ignite the
spark again, so that they could use the excuse of the situation to settle some
old family feuds against the Tubumaga clan. Others waited for Lakani to explain why he was
willing to put his life down for these strangers, whom they purported, he
didn’t know.
While everyone
stood contemplating the situation, which was now very tense, the sudden arrival
of a group of warriors from Elevala threatened to escalate and worsen
the already edgy situation. This new
group was led a warrior chief called Igo Erue.
Igo, nicknamed Boroma (wild boar) because of his blood lust,
quickly showed up in front of Lakani, and in a threatening manner, demanded the
release of the intruders to him for slaughter.
His warriors stood close by his side, aggressive and intimidating, daring
Lakani to go up against their chief.
Lakani’s Tubumaga warriors, now joined by warriors from the
neighboring Kwaradubuna clan, closed up behind Lakani.
Lakani, very much
aware of the very dangerous situation he and his clan were now in, and after
weighing out the pros and cons of a confrontation with the boroma, opted
against this decision. Very slowly and
carefully, but deliberately, he moved up to the boroma. Facing him, without so much as flinching and
batting an eyelid, he told him to his face, “These are my guests. I invited them to come and stay with me and
my clan here at Tubumaga because of the conditions in Manumanu. They are not your problem. Back-off and leave
my clan with your warriors now.”
There was now an
impasse. While the boroma
demanded blood, he also knew deep down, that if he struck Lakani, all hell would
break loose, as old family feuds between the clans would be revisited and their
would be chaos and mayhem in the villages.
What Lakani was offering him was a way out without the both of them losing
face in front of the village. So, sizing
up the offered opportunity and then taking it, he backed off.
Following this,
the Tubumaga village square was quickly converted from a would-be
battlefield into a feast, as the clan prepared to formally welcome their
guests. Guards were posted all around
the clan to discourage any repeat of hostility by the Elevala warrior. Being also a truly benevolent man, Lakani
also invited the other Hanuabada clan leaders to join him and his clan
in welcoming their guests. This included
men from the predominantly Koitabu clan of Hohodae, and the Motuan
clans of Mavara Kahanamona, the Gunina clan, and the Apau,
Vahoi and Botai clans. The
same invitation was also extended to the Elevala clans. The clan’s security system was maintained for
the next couple of days until temporary billeting was organized for the guests
in the gabi ruma offered by the clans.
Lakani then
approached Dagu Lohia of the Vahoi clan to ask for, and request his
endorsement for a piece of land he owned in the Taora area of the
village. When asked why, he told Dagu
that this would be for Ruatoka and the other teachers to use as garden plots to
support their sustenance. After
bartering for a short while, Dagu agreed to release his land to the teachers
for the price of a couple of axe heads, a piece of red calico cloth, and some
handkerchiefs. When Dr W.A Murray arrived
a few weeks later, he allocated Anaderea and Rau to minister to the people at Hanuabada,
and Ruatoka and Heneri were to minister to the people of Elevala.
So arrived the
first LMS missionaries into Poreporena.
The next step now was to establish a permanent mission station for them
to operate their ministry from.
The following
year, on 21 November, 1874, Dr W.G Lawes, in adhering to the resolutions of the
LMS Board meeting in London, the previous year, arrived to take charge of all
LMS operations in Central Papua. That
same day, Dr Lawes, accompanied by Captains Turpie and Thurstons of the John
William and the Ellangowan (both ships had made the expedition to Poreporena
from Cape York) and Reverend Murray went ashore to meet with the village chiefs
purposely to arrange for a site for the proposed mission station. They had their minds fixed on a beautiful
spot which laid between the villages of Hanuabada and Elevala. It was near the sea, on a ridge of land which
rose to an elevation of 110 to 130 feet.
At each end of this spot, there were hills, and behind it and all
around, there were hills and valleys of various shapes and sizes, and away in
the distance stood the dark shapes of mountains.[7]
This assessment
being so, Ruatoka had earlier on, discussed this site with Lakani. Lakani had then made discreet enquiries and
discovered that this particular piece of land was owned by the elder, Raga Tola
Rahobada and his family.
Lakani had also previously taken the initiative to meet with Raga to
inform him of the interest of the teachers on his land. He had informed him that there would be
taubadas arriving shortly to formally negotiate with him for this
land. Raga Tola and his family were
therefore prepared when Lakani and Ruatoka again approached them to organize
this historically significant meeting.
It was historical in the sense that the establishment of the LMS on
these shores hinged very much on its outcome.
So, the meeting took
place that day between Dr Lawes and his party, and Raga Tola and his family of
the Botai-Laurina clan of Elevala village. This also included the six elders who had a
stake on this land. By the end of that
fateful meeting, Raga Tola and the six elders had gifted their land to the
missionaries to commence God’s work in Poreporena. (Since that momentous day, word has been
passed down through the generations that “No one, (meaning within the family)
has any right to repossess this land (Metoreia Hill) back from the missionaries;
that this land was given freely so that God’s work can be carried out from
there; and that it would remain so, forever).[8] So, land was given to the LMS to set up their
mission station forever in what would later become Papua New Guinea. Its significance today is portrayed in the
United Church of Papua New Guinea.
Later that same
day, Mr Lawes set up his tent close to the nominated site. The following day, 24 November, 1874, work
commenced to build the mission station.
Parts of the crews of the Ellengowan, and the John William were in the
building party, and they went about their work with much vigour and heart. The mission house was a long weatherboard
building of one story and a wide veranda, the principle proportion of which
faced the harbour, with the eastern end towards the hill and the palm
trees. When the mission house was
completed, other smaller buildings were put up to complete the Metoreia mission
station[9]. All the missionaries and teachers in Hanuabada
and Elevala left their billets and moved onto Metoreia Hill.
Ten years later,
on 6 November, 1884, British Commodore Erskine would stand and proclaim the
establishment of the British Protectorate of Papua. In doing so, it would commence the mammoth
political process, which, after two world wars, would culminate 91 years later,
on 16 September, 1975, with the proclamation of the Independent State of Papua
New Guinea.
So, it came to
pass. The first house, of foreign design
was built by foreign sailors atop Metoreia Hill and would become the
mission headquarters for the region for the next century. Built in the midst of a heathen community, it
was the home of the first Christian teacher and translator, and the first-ever
Englishman’s home which was soon to come under British rule[10].
Without
realising its significance then, Poreporena had suddenly become the
centre of light in this dark land. It
would be from here that Lawes, and later Chalmers, and the Southseas teachers,
led by Ruatoka would make their forages into the interior and up and down the
coast. They would be assisted by the
venerable Arua Daera, Poreporena’s first official Papuan Christian. He was baptised on 15 January, 1881 and would
became an evangelist. He took advantage
of the hiri expeditions to the gulf of Papua and spent most of his
ministry life in the Vailala area of the Gulf.
It would not be
until 21 November, 1962, 90 years after the LMS arrival into Papua that a truly
Papuan Church, called the Papua Ekalesia would be formed; and then on
Sunday, 19 January, 1968, the LMS (New Guinea mission), and the Methodist
Mission would finally join together
through a handshake, and gifts of tabu and pig tusks to form the
United Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands. Motuan Reverend Reatau Mea, representing the Papua
Ekalesia, and Reverend Saimon Gaius, representing the Methodist Church
officiated in this ceremony through the signing of the Deed of Union. In November, 1996, the Church in PNG and
Solomon Islands separated, and the United Church of Papua New Guinea came into its
own.[11]
Today, on the
eve of commemorating the arrival of the Southseas missionaries on their land
150 years ago, the Poreporena Circuit, a cornerstone of the Urban Region
of the United Church of Papua New Guinea, now consists of the Laurabada
congregation (which includes Lakani Toi’s Tubumaga clan, Kahanamona,
Mavara and Hohodae clans), and the Lahara congregation (which
consists of the Gunina, Apau-Vahoi, and Botai clans). The Elevala congregation, has remained
an integral member of the West Port Moresby Circuit, of the United Church Urban
region.
The people of Poreporena,
and members of the United Church Poreporena Circuit therefore, pay
homage to these great men and women of God, who braved sickness, weather, and all
forms and sorts of atrocious conditions, if only to bring the Word of God to
our land. We remain, custodians of the
faith under God’s everlasting blessings.
References:
1.
Ako, Lahui (2007), “Upstream, through endless
sands of blessings”, CBS Publishing, New Delhi
2.
King, Joseph (1909), “W.G Lawes of Savage island
and New Guinea”, London
3.
Eagle Omnibus Number 9, London Edinburgh House
Press, 2 Eaton Gate, S.W 1950, “Take my life: Ruatoka of Papua” 1846-1903, by
Joyce Reason
4.
Polynesian Missions in Melanesia – From Samoa,
Cook Islands, and Tonga to Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, 1982”, Page 59
5.
A.W Murray, Capek York, 17 December 1873,
“Voyage to Redscar Bay and Port Moresby in the Retrieve”, Nov18-Dec8, 1873,
Council for World Mission, Papua Journals”
6.
Crocombe, MT (1982), “Ruatoka, a Cook Islander
in Papua History, in Polynesian missions in Melanesia, ed. Marjorie Crocombe et
al, Suva institute of Pacific Studies
7.
Pacific Island Monthly, Volume 40, No.2
(February, 11969)
8.
Murray, J.H.P (Sir Hubert), 1904 Diary, ML
9.
Oral history from the elders and old persons,
some have passed on:
(a)
LDk Sisia Nou (deceased) Rahobada of
Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;
(b)
LDk Kora Lohia rahobada (deceased) of
Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;
(c)
LDk Rei Vagi Rahobada of Kwaradubuna
clan, Poreporena;
(d)
Ek Dika Guba Taumaku Madai Rahobada of
Kahanamona clan, Poreporena;
(e)
RDk Edea Sisia Nou of Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;
(f)
Rtd Rev. Morea Pipi Rahobada of Hoboimo clan,
Elevala, Poreporena; and,
(g)
RDk Lohia Kohu of Elevala Botai clan,
Poreporena.
10.
Tubumaga idibana and laurina
Genealogy Books, 1957, copy from Dept of Lands.
[1] Lest we forget our first missionaries – The National <<9:37pm; Friday, 27 Oct 2023>>
[2] Ako, Lahui (2007), “Upstream, through endless sands of
blessings”, CBS Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 81
[3] Oral history says that Lakani tied 14 knots on a span
of rope, each knot representing a significant landmarks which he described to
Ruatoka during their conversations; and that he was to pass this bays, inlets,
hills, for 14 times and he would arrive into Hanuabada and Poreporena.
[4] King, Joseph (1909), “W.G. Lawes, of Savage Island and
New Guinea”. London, pp.57
[5] King, (1909), pp.58
[6] King, (1909), pp.60
[7] King (1909), pp.68
[8] The Reverend (retired) Morea Pipi and his brother Raho
Pipi, descendants of Raga Tola, clearly remember their uncle telling them this.
[9] King (1909)
[10] King (1909), pp.69
[11]
Ako, (2007), pp. 239-240
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