Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea 2012 Conference.

1. The Lumo Hangu: about a traditional Boiken songUsed in the context of gardening and mourningPresented by Stanley. Norbert B.Arts Student University of Goroka Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea 2012 Conference.

2. Overview • Acknowledgement. • The Map of East Sepik and Boiken language. • Background Information about Boiken Language and Yangoru Dialect. • Where is the Lumo Hango song sung? • The words used in Lumo Hango. • Why the song is forbidden to talk about by elders. • The purpose of singing the Lumo Hango

3. The meaning of the title of the song Lumo Hango • The Lumo Hango is also sung during planting of yam seasons. • The three Jungile songs are sung together • Factors that may contribute to the dying of the Lumo Hangu. • Current practice of singing the Lumo Hangu. • Conclusion

4. Acknowledgement. • The Jungile song that will be played later is recorded by my father (Norbert Huangile) during the season of planting yam in Hoilk village. The exact date is unknown, but I assume the recording was made After independence around 1976.

5. MAP OF EAST SEPIK & BOIKEN LANGUAGE

6. Background information about the Boiken Language and the Yangoru dialect. • The people who speak the Boiken language live in the northeastern part of Papua New Guinea in East Sepik Province. • According to SIL (2003) there are about 31,300 native speakers. 30% are monolingual. • According to Freudenburg,(1982), the Yangoru dialect is spoken by 10,650 people living in 42 villages in the Yangoru post. • There are seven dialects of the Boiken Language and there are Island Boiken, Costal Boiken, Central Boiken, Nagum Boiken, Kunai Boiken, Kubalia Boiken, and Yangoru Boiken.

7. Where is the Lumo Hango song sung? • It is sung in the Boiken language, in particular the Yangoru dialect in East Sepik Province. • The traditional song belongs to the people of Holik village in Yangoru district one, of the 42 major villages in Yangoru District.

8. The words used in LumoHango Song. • Most of the words used in the song are unfamiliar to most of the Yangoru people and the younger generation of Holik village. • The literary meaning of the song is known only by the older generation who knows how to sing the song. • The language used in singing the Lumo Hango is a secret language of the Yangoru dialect and village elders are forbidden to talk about it.

9. Why it is forbidden to talk about the literary meaning of the song • The elders of Holik village say that if they talk about the literary meaning of the song the spirit of the dead in the peaceful place hring's wala pool might kill them or attack their families. • If they plant yam the yam might not grow huge and in large quantities. • When singing the song in the opening of a new House Tambaran (Spirit House), the spirit of the ghost will not be present in the new house Tambaran.

10. The purpose of singing the LumoHango • The Lumo Hangu is a song sung by the old people to commemorate the mourning of a dead person • It is also sung in the context of planting yam during yam season. • The song is also used in other contexts as well such as opening of a Haus Tambaran, big feasts and other big gatherings in the village of Holik.

11. The meaning of "Lumo Hango" • Lumo in the Yangoru Dialect means 'Bamboo' • Hango means 'kundu drum' • In the Lumo Hangu there are three songs known as Jungile Wa, Jungile Hre,and Jungile Ya. • The Jungile song literary means 'death song', and it is sung by the people of Holik village.

12. The same song is sung during planting of yam seasons • The song is sung before the women go out and plant the yam in their gardens. It is believed by the people of Holik that when singing the Jungile song they will harvest huge yams and the yams will bear plenty of other yams. • It is believed that the deceased will hear the Lumo Hango song and they will respond to the song and the yams will grow huge and in large quantities.

13. The three Jungile songs are sung together. • The three Jungile songs are sung during the mourning of a dead person to remind others, friends, children and families of all the good work (s)he has done in his life. • It also states something about his ‘himasumbo’ (the land, the property like pigs, house, gardens, wife and children)

14. The meaning of Jungile song • Jungile = Death Song wa= one • Jungile= Death Song hre= two • Jungile= Death Song ya= three http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5224673.jpg

15. The significances of singing the three Lumo hango songs • According to the belief of the people of the Village of Hoilk, the spirits of the dead person are sent to a peaceful place known as hring'swala pool when singing the three LumoHango songs during burial of the deceased • Spirits from throughout Yangoru are also said to go to Mount Hurun, the peak overlooking Yangoru, where they become Walarurun, the great culture hero associated with the mountain.

16. During the Yam season the Holik people will sing the song so that the spirit of the deceased in the peaceful place in hring's wala pool will respond to the song by making the yam grow huge and in large quantities. • http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5224673.jpg

17. When elders sing the three songs during the opening of the Haus Tambaran (Spirit House), they are indirectly inviting the spirit or ghost of the deceased man or woman in that peaceful place to come inside the haus tambaran to be with the elders so that they can peform an initiation ceremony or have an important meeting about the welfare of the village. • http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5224673.jpg

18. Factors that may contribute to the dying of Lumo Hangu song. • Christianity is one of the factors that contribute to the dying of Lumo Hangu song because most Holik people practise Christian faith and regard the Lumo Hangu song as evil. • Western influence and education are the other factors that may contribute to the dying of Lumo Hangu. • The other factor is the migration of the Holik people to towns and cities and the heavy use of Tok Pisin and English. • Most of the younger generation prefer the western type of education to get better employment in towns and cities, and they do not bother or have the time to learn the Lumo Hangu song with the old people.

19. Current Practice of singing the Lumo Hangu song • Today, the Lumo Hango is only sung by old people during big celebrations like Independence Day, big feasts and funeral services of chiefs and elders in the village. • Now it is not sung anymore by the old men and women before the women go out and plant yams. • Most of the funeral services do not involve singing the Lumo Hangu anymore. Instead, a Christian burial is preferred.

20. Conclusion • Papua New Guinea is well known for its wealth of language and cultures including traditional songs, rituals and beliefs. As, such there is a great need to protect these for the future generations before they become extinct. • The Lumo Hango song is one of the traditional songs whose future is uncertain if the older generation who sings the song dies without teaching the younger generation. A consequence of this would be that the song would become extinct.

21. Since elders are forbidden to talk about the meaning of the song to uninitiated people, there is a great need to make sure that the knowledge of the song is passed on to those people who have earned to learn it. • If I have the opportunity to carry out the research on Lumo Hangu than future research will be carried

22. References • Freudenburg, Allen. 1976. The dialects of Boiken. Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages 16. • http//www.pnglanguages.org • www.ethnologue.com • 1998, Britannica.Inc. • http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5224673.jpg