Interviews about komiti

last edited July 11, 2023, 1:57 p.m. by Steve

9-3 Councils & Ruling Officials

Description

  1. komiti om mogom? (who is the komiti?)
  2. megite honn ogoo onn komiti mehamonn oboot? (when did he start that job?)
  3. komiti mehamonn om megite mee? (What is the komiti's job?)
  4. onn komiti mehamonn ogootala mogom egee ebinn ig? (if he stopped who would do it next?)
  5. megite tugub komiti hutee pinot bili egee tugininn ig? (how does komiti fix hevis?)
  6. kaunsil komiti noog mehamonn hutam his oo wees? (do the komiti and kaunsil have the same job?)
  7. pinot agabisig haga endet mohis moo wonda umut, polis egee tebinn ig o wig? (if someone killed someone would police come?)

Following the interview Kalauku brought me a paper from Galatam saying:

PNG achieved independent in 1975, the reform was in 1997 and 1997-2023 we've had komitis and kaunsils

Texts

Interview - Kavaluku, komiti
last edited July 11, 2023, 1:57 p.m. by Steve

Orthographic text

1: 0:00:00 (I am) 2: 0:00:08 (we bush people didn't have them, but then good talk came and we got them. We didn't have kaunsil we were in darkness, then we got kaunsil and komiti looked after us. I didn't see them when I was big, it happened when I was small, that's when komiti looked after us, for wards 24,25 and 26, one of the grandparents got it for ward 25. Galatam got the kaunsil, I became komiti and for a long time I've just been komiti, I got the work from the old komiti. I don't know for how long, kaunsil does. If he comes he could tell you. If I see him I'll get him to write it down and I'll give it to you on Friday) 3: 0:02:08 (it's to look after people. They look after people and straighten hevis, hevis like [something with a] machete, wives, theft, with ground. If someone steals they hold them and get them to pay back with money or pigs to make wanbel, they talk to them. If there is a problem with ground they talk to them and settle with meat. If a woman steals [or the man is adulterous with her?] komiti sets the price in money and pigs and makes that public. He'll say you give that and you give that and your hevi will be finished. That's the work of komiti. We men and ladies if we make a hevi they will straighten it. If a hevi comes up I the Tolookum komiti, Evesil, Magilon, Kombumbua, Pusila we will meet and talk, maybe with the kaunsil and the magistrate we will talk. We'll get the the root of the hevi. There will be a money exchange, we'll be wanbel. That's what we komiti do. [something about showing the road], then theiving stops, komiti will talk and meat will be given and wanbel will happen. That's what we think and that's what komiti does.) (Is komiti work hard? yes it's hard, when there are hevis it's hard. We say something and people say "I'm not paying that", "komiti is doing a bad job, only I should get meat", "he said to give meat, but we want blood". If it's a big hevi I get a big weight [nim agabi]. Some hevis they talk like that [if people followed talk we could be wanbel?]) (If you say something as komiti does everyone listen, or do some not listen? some listen, some don't, they disobey, they just talk about their hevi. Some listen to what I say and it goes well. It's like that, some listen. For our elders lots of people didn't listen, there was lots of hevis and they just left them without dealing with them. Now we're all about being wanbel and giving buai and meat) 4: 0:07:35 (I don't know, if I stop then there are lots of Tolookum kids and I don't know who will take over. Long ago government came and appointed tutul lulai, when that was finished kaunsil and komiti came. You gys should bung and there should be wanwan komiti. I'm the komiti now and I'm the only one, no one else does the same work. There wasn't a kaunsil long ago, now I'm the komiti and I look after things. I don't know who will be komiti after me, but someone will) 6: 0:09:09 (they are different, kaunsil takes letters with the thinking of the communities and takes it to the office in Josephstaal, he talks to them and works with them and then comes up and says what's going to happen. komiti stays with people here and sorts out hevis, cuts the roads [something about holes or graves?] Ebesil or Tolookum komiti both do the same work. Kaunsil's work is to take our thinking and give it to Josephstaal and the leaders can do their thing) 7: 0:10:51 (if someone kills someone here the community sorts it out, or we tell kaunsil who can take it down below, he'll write a letter and give it to the people there. Police or magistrate might come and they'd look and then hit people, set a fine in money and pigs and make wanbel. They'll come to some places, but not to others. Here we komiti sort things out with money and pigs. For us we've spoke to the magistrate wanwan time and police don't come. The magistrate wants us to sort it out, the police don't have the things to come. [The magistrate sets the fines too high and so we never get them, so we komiti, kaunsil and church leaders sort things out?] We sort out wanbel ourselves)

Interview - Semik, komiti
last edited July 11, 2023, 1:57 p.m. by Steve

Orthographic text

1: 0:00:00 ig ab ab ogoo komiti max, abanel onn lai yog tuloomb yog tulumb isigisim eb endet nom amug 2: 0:00:08 onn eeg inomboo heemond igugund hiyol ogoo yaga yogot omboo mu yom hann enna nongoo nonn ig yot tuloomb heb i unim komiti tumung otoong ogoo nonn ig yot tuloomb hann endet amoomung igu 3: 0:00:25 gavman komiti endet amoong yam? yes. onn endet hum mohis yo heb ogoo igu mohis yab heb igisinn yab pinot hutee endet moo hutee ogoo teb ologob nala endet mu nolo egee igung egee nagonn oo oboob yab hutam tugam ogoo his yog abagam bili nalas egee heb endet om endet amb uma endet ig nomboo lagab ongoo moo hutee hobol amo olugob noolug eb lagab ilu haga mehamonn nonn yot tugonn mee munum om yab moo obugum mee ogoo legeenn sinnol om palib wondo nemb onn utub abagam bili noog neleb igung endet ama endet endeteeng aminn om endet aminn egee aminn ama neleb endet ig yog tuloomb igita ig nomboo lagab haga endet enn amo tugub aminim wog eb moo hutee haga hutee ogoo aminim wog nomboo lagab igung komiti mehamonn higeb hoogoond ogoo ab endeteeng omboo hoogoom. 4: 0:01:12 ig mohis hutee om wig onnol ama hann a amoot enn ogootenim eb amoot angoom mohis hutee wig om noonnol hum om megite oomung. om onnol endet noonnol om singelinn yab i nongot yab i noonn ogootooloob ongoo taba ongoo mohis hutee om igisinn heb endet nom amoomung 5: 0:01:34 ab hutee ogoo pinot heb amisi komiti egee yann yann heb aminn noog endeteeng yog nagama yam i abagam bili endet nalas igu endeteeng nang yam komiti om mehamonn ab nomboo igisinn yam oomung honn ogoo mohis teenn yot tuloomoo nom om kaunsil oomung honn igita heleb komiti yog ab hutam hutam heb igisis heb endet nom amoomung wog pinot hutee ab ondomboo agabi hutee igisinn holo wog komiti egee yis yab yam hobol endet amb endet amb endet igitas heb egee amis hobol amb egee bili tugelis 6: 0:02:09 wog mehamonn hutam honn komiti mehamonn ab ogoo haga neleb enn oomoo onn hegee inom pinot om agabi hala heb i kaunsil hoogoom om egee tebinn taba wog ombul agamb i hesoo pinot ogoo wi tugelis oo neleb egenn loogooneeng wig heb nom mohis usee om abasi egee tebis magistrate om egee ebis ig endeteeng nang magistrate om egee lebinn nom loogooneeng wig usee mohis usee oomas egee lebis nom endet mohis ig honnot ogoo iluwa ig oo endet nom egee lebis ilib ab hutee heb haga abagam bili nalasi egee yis endet nom wo nang 7: 0:02:49 toloo omboo polis mu tebinn kaunsil komiti magistrate his teb i egee yis oo pinot haga amis endet endet nalasi wi hann egee heeyis om pinot mu nalas egee heeyis nalas endet neleb igu mohis enninnot hutee mohis wondoob uma om endet polis egee tebinn oo mu egee tebinn? ig omboo toloo omboo endet mohis hutee haga wonda ungot yam nom polis mu libigoond yam hum agamemind ig endet magistrate kaunsil hum agamb i angoond yam oo yog mohis nom haga nom wondoogonn oo mohis yog ondoogonn lain om agamb i nom agamb i mohis wog wondoogama nom wog abagam bili tugulas abasi endet nom a nagand sinnol oboogoond yam moni ogoo ubi mohis yog wondoogonn nom abagam bili noog nagand yam

Interview - Gusubonn, komiti
last edited July 11, 2023, 1:57 p.m. by Steve

Orthographic text

1: 0:00:00 (Abanel is our komiti. Soso is a ples komiti) 2: 0:00:27 (I don't know) 3: 0:00:37 (If someone is doing some work they'll get it and talk and straighten things and make a wanbel.) 4: 0:00:55 (We don't know, it'll just be one of us. First it was silengee's dad, he died and Abanel got it) 5: 0:01:14 (he'll tell the steps to make the hevi go small. Get a bird and make a wanbel, if that doesn't work give money and make wanbel, for big hevis get a pig and make wanbel) 6: 0:01:46 (Their work is the same they do that. When we were doing things badly the Kukulai did it. Now the two of them [Abanel and Soso] talk. For a small thing Soso will straighten it, if we do something bad he'll tell us what to do to make it wanbel. If it's a big thing Abanel will tell us to give money and pigs to make it wanbel. The say it and we do it.) (sometimes do people ignore what the komiti says? Some follow what the komiti says and some don't. If they listen they'll make wanbel, they'll take pig and make wanbel with their brother to finish things) 7: 0:03:43 (If someone hits someone and they die, we'll sort it ourselves and give pig to be wanbel. Police won't come? Nope, they'll put a big amount of money for them being aggressive, but if they won't pay things just get left)