APAU - From Ravao to Davage

What if the story of the Hiri began long before the famous voyage of Edai Siabo?

APAU follows a fascinating trail of oral history, language, archaeology and ancestral memory - from Vaila in Maiva to Ravao, Namoa, Lavagai and finally Davage.

The journey begins with an unidentified Motuan woman speaking in an audio recording dating from around 1950. Her story, told in reverse order and containing archaic Motuan words, traces the possible origins of the Apau Besena and describes people fleeing conflict in search of water, safety and a place to begin again.

Their journey eventually leads to Davage - a rocky and exposed place that became a refuge.

But safety did not remove hardship.

The people endured months of food scarcity, or hitolo huadia. Survival demanded imagination, skill and innovation. This is where Edai Siabo, his sister Boio Siabo, Motuan pottery and the beginnings of trade become connected.

Written from a personal perspective, this illustrated eBook explores:

• The journey from Vaila to Ravao, Namoa, Lavagai and Davage;

• The possible origins of the Apau family, clan or iduhu;

• Archaeological reports of Motuan pottery in Maiva and Davage;

• The meaning of lahi kwalahu—smoke as evidence of life and settlement;

• Edai Siabo’s connection to Davage;

• Boio Siabo and the creation of clay vessels designed for specific purposes;

• The months of dearth that may have made trade necessary;

• The older meaning of Hiri as tying or fastening; and

• The possibility that a single word—Apau—may carry the memory of an ancestral journey.

This is not presented as a definitive history. It is a carefully framed journey of discovery that brings together an old recording, archaeological references, Motuan language, elder-assisted interpretation and the author’s own reflections.

It invites readers to consider how history may survive not only in archives and objects, but also in place names, ancestral words and the stories carried quietly from one generation to another.

Perhaps the Hiri was not one invention. Perhaps it was many forms of knowledge tied together into a way forward.

Product details

• Digital eBook in PDF format

• 26 professionally designed pages

• Illustrated historical storytelling

• Written and interpreted by Mea Podi Vai

• Delivered electronically after purchase

• No physical product will be shipped

Ideal for readers interested in Papua New Guinean history, Motuan language and culture, the Hiri trade, oral traditions, archaeology, ancestral migration and Indigenous knowledge.