From Ancestor to Descendent
There was an Elimbari man
He decided to leave
His home for a much better home
So soon he had to leave
He left for the Wahgi river
He reached the river’s edge
He hastily cut down a tree
By the wild river’s edge
The tree did fell across the gorge
The widened gorge was bridged
He walked on it and reached beyond
He felt he was obliged
And meant to start new life again
He was adventurous
He found a perfect place to rest
The cave looked mysterious
The night came and he was so tired
He slept in the strange cave
In the night, a maid visited
He was fed, food she gave
The next day came and went, he stayed
In the cave, he found home
She visited every night
He stayed for this was home
They got married and lived in cave
For many days they stayed
She got pregnant and had a son
She had their son, the maid
They were very happy for him
They called their young son Bro
With Bro, they still lived in the cave
A son came after Bro
They were pleased and named him Moiwo
They continued living
In the cave with Moiwo and Bro
Their family thriving
They had yet another young son
He was named Baniga
They were happy in the cave with
Bro, Moiwo, Baniga
Left the next season for mountain
They left and searched for land
When they reached the top, they rejoiced
Glad they were for free land
They cut down trees in the forest
And built a proper house
They cultivate the land, plant crops
They built a garden house
They raised animals, mainly pigs
Their pigs grew in numbers
They became rich with pigs and food
Their kids grew in numbers
The maid yet got pregnant again
She gave birth to a son
They so named the young child Yaulo
They were glad for this son
They went on colonizing land
No man lived in Yobai
They were the first people to dwell
They called the place Yobai
They had another son again
They called his name Yori
They were extremely happy
They all loved young Yori
Yori found favour in Bro’s eyes
Bro looked out for Yori
In all good and bad days they had
Hand in hand, Bro-Yori
They sought the highest mountain range
They both built destiny
Bro built his house on the range tip
By Yori’s destiny
On Arigigi hill, Bro dwelt
Yori's home, Mogoi hill
Brothers they were, arm into arm
Glad, home on lofty hill
Arigigians flourished
With children and orchids
Amongst the children was Welbe
He grew among orchids
He grew up into a fine man
He found a good young maid
They courted in the 'singsing' house
Dowry given for maid
He married yet the pretty maid
She was Golen-tongo
They had three sons and a daughter
Dad’s mum’s Golen-tongo
My Dad’s name is Gongo-Hama
He married my mother
Then I was born an only child
My name’s On-Nimilla
About this poem
This poem is dedicated to my paternal unnamed ancestor who left his home to find a new home and giving the Yobai people a unique identity. I am proud to be a Yui woman from the tribe of Bro-Yori, the first and the last born, fathers of our big-small brother clans. This (ballad) poem is based on a true story my father told me long ago about how the five Yobai clans came about to be. It was believed that my ancestor originated from the Elimbari Region in the Chuave District of the Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea. *wahgi – fast flowing river in Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea *ples – means native *singsing – a cultural avenue where a group of young men go to sing traditional folk songs in a group of young girls village. This is a cultural communal event where the young men pursue in order to find a good bride. more »
Written on August 26, 2022
Submitted by ruthonnimillak on August 30, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:40 min read
- 13 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCB DEFE XXXX GHXH XIXI JCXC IJKJ XLIL XMLM KMXM KNXN XOXO XPXP GKQK NRQR GDFD XDXD XFXF XQXQ XSRS AJOJ JMDM XDXQ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,667 |
Words | 533 |
Stanzas | 23 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"From Ancestor to Descendent" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/135908/from-ancestor-to-descendent>.
Discuss the poem From Ancestor to Descendent with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In