A Brief History of the Sepik

Abstract

Some years ago I was sitting in a village near Yangoru talking with an old man talipun (the decorated shell brideprice pieces used among the Boiken people). However, the old man (as old men are inclined to do) insisted on telling me the story of the telipun from the beginning. 'Taim bipo', he began, waving his arm towards the Sepik Plains, the river, and the grasslands below, 'all this land was covered by water. Then, gradually the mountains appeared above the water, and the spirits - Wale Rurun, Wale Migau, and so on - took up residence on top of the mountains. Later, people emerged and then the animals and plants that we are familiar with.'