Wedau's Water of Life

By Alfred Kaniniba 

The stone wall stretches about 100 metres across and stands about a metre high – it’s a dam or a reservoir or, call it what you like - but this reservoir is the symbol of life and survival which has kept the people of Wedau surviving for generations. 

This reservoir is known as Rumakai, a body of water and land respected and feared by all. In the local Wedau dialect, it is called “Doba” or “the waterway”. The Wedauns are the owners of this sophisticated yet simple traditional irrigation system which has stood the test of time. To put it on record, the Wedaun civilisation is the only known society in Papua New Guinea and  the Pacific who have used their irrigation system to farm for many generations. 

Today they still practice it. The irrigation and farming technique and technology is believed to be more than 1000 years old. 

The only other ancient civilisation that used an irrigation system were the Egyptians, during the time of the pharaohs.

To complement this irrigation system, which travels more than 100 kilometres, is the unique, sophisticated and systematic, yet simple farming matrix or grid that has set the foundation for survival over generations.

 It was from the original irrigation technology from the Wedauns through the Aurana and Nabunabu clans that a technology transfer took place, firstly to neighbouring Wamira village where a Wedaun man went to that area through a traditional marriage exchange and who eventually set up the irrigation. 

That was as far east as the technology went to set up what is today known as Gwagwamore. The technology was then transferred inland to Gelaria, now known as Pova, which is a Wedaun border village. Through clan ties and traditional exchanges this traditional innovation spread further by intermarriage west to Diriuna, Vidia and Boianai communities. 

As recently as the mid 1960’s a new irrigation system was set up to help the ever expanding Wamira population. Negotiations were reached with the Wedaun clan chiefs and a second reservoir was built on the Wamira river to open up farming lands for the Damaladona families, who are related to the Wedauns through the Aurana and Nabunabu clans. 

Today these communities still use the traditional system. 

But the Wedauns are the custodians of this traditional irrigation system and still hold the secrets of its success close to heart. Wedau’s Local Level Government Ward Councillor Japhet Neill Dogabu is the key figure along with the elders and clan leaders who continued to carry on this tradition. 

Wedau’s civilisation and society depends on this irrigation and our traditional farming system which revolved predominantly around the planting and harvesting of taro.

All clans have their various duties to perform to make sure the whole system moves in correlation with each other and with the traditional farming calendar known as the “eerie”. The ploughing, tilling and planting of taro suckers is still done in the traditional way with the use of digging sticks known as “eepa”. 

These eepa are selected and cut during a trip into the mountains and carried down one or two at a time. There are different eepas used for different sections of the farming work. When the ploughing is done, water is put through the fresh plot and let to run for a week to breakdown the huge slabs. 

The water is then blocked off to let the plot dry up before tilling begins usually using the “ Dabara au” eepa which is thin and long. This thin long digging stick whistles and whines when it is used for work. 

Depending on the amount of taro seeds the plot is tilled and refined with the furrows for the irrigated water to be put through that the planting of taro is organized. 

From ploughing to preparation for planting of the taro, all is done with great reverence and respect. There is very little noise in the garden area. All this tradition has been handed over from generation to generation of people who have continued to keep the faith in this art of traditional irrigation and farming.