Lake Kutubu

May Be Ancient Trading Centre of Unknown Papua

From Our Own Correspondent.

Port Moresby, May 28.

WHEN Ivan Champion set forth on his long patrol (April, 1936), into the in terior of Papua, one of his objectives was the large lake first seen from the air, during a reconnaissance flight over this region early last year.

The lake lay hidden far away in the limestone ranges, south of the Tari- Furoro, in the Kikori headwaters. Houses and gardens could be seen plainly from the plane, both on the islands that stud ded the deep and vivid blue waters of the lake and in the valleys between the lime stone spurs, running sharply to the water’s edge.

It was evident that the district held a fairly large population, and Ivan Cham pion’s object was to make contact with these unknown people and explore the country further north, to the Purari headwaters.

From the spurs of the Leonard Murray Mountains, likened by Champion to a giant octopus, the patrol pushed its way for many weary days (as described in the April issue) and on October 18 the lake was seen at last.

On the following day they reached the banks of a wide clear stream where nat ives, after trading with food stuffs, paddled them in canoes into the wide spreading waters of the lake, called Kutubu in the district.

“It was a glorious, fine morning,” writes Ivan Champion, “and the air was crisp and bracing. We paddled up the river, which is called Digimu, and we were told that it flowed into the Kiko.

The banks of the river were flanked with reeds. Over the trees could be seen the blue limestone range towards the Wage.

“We travelled for three-quarters of a mile and came into the lake. I will never forget the first sight of it. The view left us breathless.

“To the north-west was the gorge of the Tari-Furoro and the high mountain mass on its eastern side, which gradually sloped to the south east in long flattened ridges to form the Waga Furari. Beyond this plateau were high ranges. North east, a serrated range went south-east to end in a series of domes and castle shaped peaks; westward the ranges were lower, gradually rising towards the Tari- Furoro.

'‘The water of the lake was blue; its shores were dark green, with the lighter green of garden clearings. In the middle rose an island, with the water stretching away in the distance towards the end of the lake, which we could not see.

“Slowly, we were paddled towards the island. I took soundings but could not get bottom at 20 fathoms. As we ap proached the island we could see many figures at the entrance to the long-house, and there was our friend beckoning to us.

We landed, and a young man barred our way. But the old man called to us to

come up and others thrust the young man aside.

“Fifty men sat on the verandah of the long-house. I moved towards the en trance, but the old man shook his head, so I did not go in. The wall of the verandah was decorated with hundreds ot pig-jaws. Separated from the long house by a street, 15ft. in width, was a row of 15 houses, each 18ft. long by 12ft.

Shy women peeped at us; they had cowrie necklets and a string covering in front, with a tapa cloak over their shoulders. Standing away from the dubu. at each end, were little houses like dove cotes, which were filled with skulls.

“The long-house was 76yds. long. On the side facing the women’s houses were little windows; probably to pass food through.”

Later, after some brisk trading for pigs and sago, a large fleet of canoes, manned by nearly 90 men, moved the party to the north-east side of the lake, where they made camp in a lovely bay, near the track to the Wage.

“We pitched our camp,” continues the the report, “near an old house overlook ing the Jake and about 70ft. above it.

Lying on our bunks, we looked out across

the lake and thought that even if we could go no further, Kutubu had been worth our hard struggle round Bosavi (Leonard Murray Mts.) and across the Hegigio (Upper Kikori).”

A long limestone peninsula jutted out from the south-eastern shores, ending in cone shaped islands on which grew pretty red and orange flowers, and at the side in a reed swamp nearby, beautiful water

hyacinths. Numerous brown ducks were found swimming in the different bays, also black cormorants, and a bird which was taken to be a rail. In the clear water, near the shores, where everything could be seen clearly on the bottom, large fish were noticed which the natives caught with a pronged spear from canoes.

With the game they shot, added to the foodstuffs, sweet potatoes and sago, the

party were able to vary their fare. The white men lived on pig, wild duck, sweet potatoes and sweet potato leaves, fol lowed by sugar cane to satisfy their craving for sugar, which had long petered out.

Ivan Champion estimated the lake to be between 10 and 12 miles in length and from one and three-quarters to two miles wide and, on account of the shell trade and also some old blunt tomahawks in use, he took Kutubu to be a central trade market, the trade coming from the east from the Okani, to where the trad ing seemed to extend along well-defined routes.