Where is Warakamb?

The Warakamb Valley is sandwiched between two Provinces in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Highlands. The Enga Province lies to the north and Southern Highlands Province to the south west. The PNG Highlands is known for the ruggedness, the beauty and the friendly people with their unique cultures.                                         

The Warakamb Valley - looking north. The Warakamb river makes it's way down the middle of the valley.

The Valley is beautiful, with the crystal clear Warakamb River and Kolpa River flowing through the center. On the sides of the river are villages  living within their little tribes each tribe with no more than 3,000.00 people. In total, their are 12 big villages and many more smaller ones called clans. Surrounding the valley are three huge muntain ranges, the Mt. Home, the Mt. Wilhelm, Melond and Mt. Temind. These are huge mountain ranges with untouched tropical rain forests. They form part of the Owen Stanley ranges of Papua New Guinea.

.....Looking east. The Warakamb valley near Annal Seventh Day Adventist Church. Gum trees are planted by locals. They grow very tall and big.

Due to its location, the valley is isolated and government services are almost non existent. Tribal warfare is common, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality and perinatal mortality is high. Lot of our mothers die in child birth, as the nearest hospital is tens of miles away, and roads so bad.

Food is in ambundance in the Warakamb Valley. Above, food distribution to visitors during a recent convention. 

Tribal fighting was common, until the establishment of WAECA. Thanks to the consistent and aggressive campaign by the WAECA Elites and Clergyman.

Goats are now being farmed by most families in the Warakamb valley.

History.

First Explorers. 

No written History is available. From verbal expressions from our parents and grand parents, one can estimate the times and events. The first explorers in the Highlands were there around the 1930s. The first white man (explorers) probably walked through the Warakamb Valley 10 years later. (1940s)

The First Adventists

The first Christians to come to the valley were not adventists. They were Anglicans and Roman Catholics. They settled at Winja, Nanj and Makep. They build churches, schools and farms. But before long, the native people started causing problems. They left one by one. Everything closed down, and the people were left to their old ways again. There was a vacuum left behind.

Then the Adventists moved into the Valley. This must have been in the early 1960s. They settled at Nanj and Walemtenges, current site of the Warakamb Seventh Day Adventist Church. The early Adventist worked hard and did a lot of witnessing, winning the hearts of lot of the locals. Church membership grew and other church buildings were planted. Despite that, some things went the other way.

 Armed to the teeth. These men were involved in a war in the early 1990s.

The first major tribal fight erupted in the 1980s. The Mauls and the Korops went to war. many people died. Then the Mauls and Timorops went to war. Many more people died. Then the Korops and Masurs went to war. Even more people.  

 (Modern weapons being used in war in the 1980s.)

With the establishment of WAECA, in late 1990s, there has been a bit of respite. Only one major tribal fight has happened. The people are now starting to listen to the WAECA elites and clergymen and mostly refrain from causing unecessary problems.

The Valley Today 

Today, the Valley has the main Seventh Day Adventist Church and six other smaller ones. It is part of the Kandep District, Western Highlands Union Mission of Papua New Guinea. Pr. Ray Daniel is the District Director, and Felix is a volunteer in the Warakamb Adventist Church.

With the establishment of WAECA more people are starting to join the church. Many are getting baptized and new churches are being built.

 During the conventions, many people bring their tents for shelter.

Culture

The valley is rich in culture. The fact that it is located between two major provinces makes it an ideal place for melting of different cultures. To the north is the Enga language speaking people and to the south is Mendi language speaking people. To the west are the Huli language speaking famous Huli wigman. Thus during special singsings in the valley, cultures from many different groups display their unique costumes.

Warakamb men and women perform a dance during a singsing in 1991.

Languages Spoken

Two languages are spoken, the Enga and Mendi languages. Most of the meetings are convened in Pidgin English with translation into these two local languages.

Sokel Imom and Peter Sap during one of the singsings in Marara

Cooking

Warakamb Adventists make an underground pit food preparation (mumu) during one of their WAECA convention preparation day. On Friday afternoons, such mumus are common to prepare food for the whole family as well as for visitors during the Sabath.

Staple Foods

The staple food is sweet potatoe. English potatoe was second, but the potatoe blight which hit in 2002/2003 destroyed every crop. Although rice is becoming common, sweet potatoes will be around for a while.