.......of the Land and the Spirit!! Of Giants and the Half man.
There is a pointed rock pinnacle jutting out of the summit of a narrow mountain some 25km south of Goroka. It is known as Kemase peak and is visible from the main highway as an imposing figure set against the majestic Mt Michael, which looms in the background.
Once upon a time, before any humans settled in the area, there lived two giants. They were brothers and they had been at Kemase since time immemorial. One day, after deciding to make a garden, the two cleared a large portion of land, planted many varieties of plants and constructed a fence around the garden. After all the hard work, the elder of the two proposed that they take a break by making a hunting trip over to the other side of the hill and back. The younger brother said that he would just add a few finishing touches to the garden and then catch up with his brother on the other side of the hill. The elder brother agreed and set off ahead to make camp and wait for his brother.
After finishing his task, the younger brother followed his big brother's tracks up the mountain. Right at the summit of the mountain, he was astounded to hear a cacophony of strange sounds emanating from the valleys below. There was movement too. The giant strained his eyes to see better. And lo and behold! A great number of humans had arrived, invading the the countryside like irate ants. Not only that, they were also pointing at the giant and shouting obscenities at him. Quickly, he called to his brother, who stood up and looked back. As their eyes made contact, the bad tidings, that humans, who seem to dislike giants, had at last arrived. "Well, come to this side and lets flee." the elder giant said. "But I don't want to part with a garden we spent so much time and effort to make. But I don't want to lose you either." replied the younger brother. And as if mother nature was listening to the troubles of their hearts' , she graciously turned the giants into rocks. The fence around the garden was also transformed into rocks...........And still they stand to this day: oblivious of time and space.
Kemase village sits on a small mesa-like area (the giants' garden) some 500m below the eastern side of the pinnacle (the younger brother), right on the top of a 600m high sheer cliff (the giants' fence) that runs like a barricade around the peak. There is an ancient volcanic crater towards the south, from which gushes forth a stream. Evidence of the lava that was spewed forth during its geological prehistory is still apparent in the many pillow lava (roundish fine-grained boulders that erode by shedding off successive concentric layers) formations found at Kemase. There are also breccias, limestone, and other volcano-related features in and around Kemase. But for the Kemase people, there is a 400 square meter cluster of 8 to 20m high rock pinnacles, and a series of caves and sinkholes that provides the basis for their ancestral and cultural heritage, and so is of significance to them.
In their oral history, the forefathers of the Kemase first made shelter at the foot of the cliffs. Soon a spirit-being of that place befriended the men, and after some time, instructed them to take their families and possessions and move to the flat land at the top of the cliffs as tribes from the valleys below would mount an attack. The smoke from the fires made by the Kemase had been seen by the valley people, and they would want to investigate who the intruders were. But with the help of the spirit-being, the Kemase exodus was able to find its way through the intricate labyrinth of sinkholes and rock structures. With the passage of time, the Kemase got to know the rocks of the land like the back of their hands.
The name of the spirit-being is Nokondi(present day people at Kemase say Nokondi still appears to people from time to time. There is even a recent case of a European who, uninformed of the legends of the land, fainted upon seeing Nokondi). He takes the form of half a human body - thereby meaning he has half a face, only one arm, and one leg. In his hand he grasps a tree branch which still has leaves in it.
When neighbouring settlements waged war on the Kemase, the women, children, the old and those who were unable to take up arms, found refuge in the safety of the caves while the men took up positions amongst the rocks they knew so well. As the unsuspecting raiding enemy party scattered throughout the rocky corridors intent on capturing the Kemase, they were taken out one by one. Some of the enemy would fall into hidden sinkholes, never to be seen again.
But Kemase later became a haven for peoples displaced by tribal warfare. The spirit-being had taught the Kemase a new and radical philosophy: not to wage war, but to wage peace. Refugees would be taken care of at Kemase until the warring sides made peace. Then they would bid farewell to one another and return to their own villages.
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