Wapinyan
Abelam · numen · Abelam traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
The wapinyan, whose name means 'children of the yams', are the carved beings ranged within the Abelam ceremonial house among its painted images and disclosed to initiates in the deeper stages of the cult. Reckoned the sons of the enthroned ancestor Puti, they guard his sacred chamber and carry into the display the generative power of the long yam itself, binding the fertility of the gardens to the ancestral order of the clan. They are named and honoured collectively rather than as separate individuals, each a child of the yam and of the great provider-spirit.
Parentage
- paternal: Puti
Domains
- yam cultivation
- clan fertility
Powers
- embody the offspring and fertility of the long yam
- stand guard within the sacred chamber as the sons of the ancestor
Relations
- child: PutiReckoned the sons of the ancestor Puti, guarding his chamber.Field record, 'The Story of Wabiken' (duba.ro, 2017). (secondary)
Sources
- The wapinyan, 'children of the yams', are carved figures within the ceremonial house reckoned as the sons of the great ancestor Puti and as embodiments of yam fertility.: Field photo-essay, 'Abelam's spirit houses, gods and yams (Maprik, PNG)' (duba.ro, 2017). (secondary)