An Old Papuan Tradition Passing

From a Port Moresby Correspondent Villagers at Hula and Kapakapa in south-eastern Papua are giving up their age-old custom of building their homes over the sea and are building them on land.

The sea houses used to have roofs of nipa palms and grass , but when the villagers switched to a wage economy, they found they did not have time to gather this material (which the wind quickly destroys) so they began using galvanised iron. Now they have found that the salt in sea-water spray quickly deteriorates the galvanised iron. Meanwhile, timber suitable for building piles in the water has become scarce and therefore dearer.

Three new problems the villagers have to face in building their homes on land are hygiene, sanitation and drainage. The aerial photograph, taken by a “PIM” staff man recently, shows the water village of Kapakapa.