Papua Hello

The land

Steep hills under dense evergreen rainforest, 1369 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; the sea about 10 km away; hot and wet the year round.

Cover

dense evergreen rainforest

Elevation

1369 m

Relief

steep hills

Fresh water

brooks and springs in the folds of the ground

The sea

the sea about 10 km away

Climate

hot and wet the year round

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.85 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,849 m east to west, 3.43 km²

Centre

3.9250°S 133.0250°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, bamboo, living plant, earth, stone, marble, slate, hide, bone, cloth, rope, bronze, iron, gold, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts, carved, canopy, spanning.

Now

Clear and mild here, 11:31 local, the rains, as always.

The wild

Animals here this month: thylacine (denning), cassowary (feeding), eagle (nesting), wallaby (feeding), python (feeding), parrot (nesting).

The lay of the land

• The low knoll (knoll): a rounded rise with a clear view across the surrounding patch
• The north hill (hill): a broad shoulder of high ground dry underfoot after rain

What stands here

THE LONGHOUSE — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, bamboo, stone. On the ground.
"A low timber longhouse under a pitched bamboo roof with smoke rising from the ridge"
A roof of bamboo atop the top: pitched low to shed rain and heavy gusts. A hearth of stone inside the centre: set with flat stones to hold the embers through the night. A doorway of timber facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of timber along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: timber, bamboo, stone.

THE FIRING KILN — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope. On the ground.
"A thick-walled timber kiln with a low draft tunnel and a sheltered fuel rack"
A chimney flue of timber atop the top: daubed tight to draw a steady draft. A fuel rack of rope along the east side: stacked with dry kindling under a narrow eave.
Of this land: timber, rope.

The story, as winifred tells it

Of the place

• Cold Ridge Hold was laid out by Winifred Hayes, who marked the low knoll first and set the longhouse to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the longhouse and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the low knoll. (heard when a people lives here)
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the firing kiln and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF PAPUA HELLO — gardeners, hunters, and gatherers, settled, in long houses.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the forest sacred.
They keep: the feast at the clearing; burial in the fire; moving every seven years; the long house kept warm for guests; winter stories.
They like bamboo, living plant, monkey, and dawn. They dislike frost, wind, and stone. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth nãhõke, river or sea opeitiõ, winter or the rains mumyie, the dead yomã, home touma, stranger tiãropi, feast ãyãmmi, child wimo, old one hirã, the place Ayinhaõ, the beast tãmai, the sky wõmpauhõ.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

gardening, hunting, gathering

Settlement

settled

Kinship

long houses

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the forest

They keep

the feast at the clearing; burial in the fire; moving every seven years; the long house kept warm for guests; winter stories

They like

bamboo, living plant, monkey and dawn

They dislike

frost, wind and stone

Founders

4

Counted

5 named folk, a household of 0, 0 born here, 0 died here

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth nãhõke, river or sea opeitiõ, winter or the rains mumyie, the dead yomã, home touma, stranger tiãropi, feast ãyãmmi, child wimo, old one hirã, the place Ayinhaõ, the beast tãmai, the sky wõmpauhõ.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the longhouse and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the low knoll.
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the firing kiln and sing the names of the first four who came.

Named folk

The chronicle

Every line is a record the land wrote; the names in quotes are the owner's words. What the chronicle does not say did not happen.

Year 1

The annals: 1 arrival; 2 calving seen; 1 founders; 1 people founded; 1 ways changed.

• The rains, as always, the first year of Papua Hello: young wild boar on the low knoll, a day old.
• The rains, as always, the first year of Papua Hello: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The rains, as always, the first year of Cold Ridge Hold: wild boar calving on the low knoll.
• The rains, as always, the first year of Cold Ridge Hold: someone came to the smoke and stayed: the first who came, named "Malãmõi"; devout, silent, cheerful; likes bamboo; wants the herd.
• The rains, as always, the first year of Cold Ridge Hold: four came to Cold Ridge Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Kako", the potter "Laeli", the fire-keeper "Anaikã", the keeper of the shrine "Meipa". kept
• The rains, as always, the first year of Cold Ridge Hold: Winifred Hayes called a people to Cold Ridge Hold: the people of Cold Ridge Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Kako" (folk) · the potter "Laeli" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Anaikã" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Meipa" (folk) · the first who came "Malãmõi" (folk)