Tools & tillage: a journal on the history of the implements of cultivation and other agricultural processes (3.1976/1979)

8o

THOMAS M. MARECEK

usually granted. In the anthropological litera-
ture, this system of land use is known as usu-
fruct.
The first task in building a garden is clearing
the undergrowth. While there are no clearly
defined wet and dry seasons in this area, there
is usually a slight decrease in rainfall between
May and September. The Duna cut and cleat-
most vegetation in May and June so that it will
dry during the driest months of July and Au-
gust. After the vegetation is cut it is thrown
into piles to dry (fig. 3).
As it is difficult to uproot weeds and bushes
from underneath fallen trees, trees are felled
after the undergrowth has been cut. Using
steel axes, men fell and clear most trees from
the area (fig. 4). Some of the larger ones (about
30 cm in diameter and over) are left standing.
Some agriculturalists have pointed out that the
trees left standing help the soil retain mineral
nutrients and help reforest the area by drop-
ping seeds. The foliage of these larger trees is
sometimes stripped to allow sunlight to reach
the ground where crops will be planted later.
The branches of the felled trees are cut from
the trunks, broken into smaller twigs, and
thrown into small piles where they will dry
and then be burned with the dried under-
growth. Some of the stout, relatively straight
branches and medium-sized trunks (10-15 cm
in diameter) are cut into lengths of approxi-
mately 2-3 m and saved for fence poles.
The red pandanus, Pandanus sp., is never
cut down (fig. 5). These trees are owned by the
men who plant them (not necessarily the land
owner), and ownership rights are passed from
father to son. The tasty fruit, steamed in an
earth oven, provides the Duna with one of the
few traditional sweet foods in an otherwise
bland diet.
Next, about two weeks after the initial
clearing, fence-building begins. Fences are
built to keep out wild and domestic pigs which
can easily destroy a garden by rooting up the

Fig. 2. The location of Yokona, where Duna gar-
dening was studied. Yokona is bounded on the
north, east, and south by mountains, and on the
west by the turbulent Strickland River. The com-
munity of 116 is situated on the geographic bound-
ary between three culturally and linguistically dis-
tinct peoples, known as Duna, Hewa, and Oksap-
min; but most residents refer to themselves, and are
referred to by others, as Duna. Yokona is reached
by a walking path through predominantly lower
montane rainforest from Lake Kopiago, where
there is a patrol post and airstrip.
Die Lage von Yokona, wo der Gartenbau unter-
sucht wurde. Yokona wird im Norden, Osten und
Stiden von Bergen, und im Westen von dem reifien-
den Strickland-Fluh begrenzt. Das aus 116 Perso-


nen bestehende Gemeinwesen liegt an der geogra-
phischen Grenze zwischen drei Volkern, die sich in
Kultur und Sprache voneinander unterscheiden
und als Dunas, Hewas und Oksapmins bekannt
sind; die meisten Bewohner bezeichnen sich jedoch
selbst als Dunas und werden auch von anderen so
genannt. Man erreicht Yokona auf einem Fufipfad,
der vom Kopiago-See durch iiberwiegend nied-
rigen Gebirgsregenwald fiihrt; am See befindet sich
ein Polizeipatrouillenposten und ein Start- und
Landestreifen fur Flugzeuge.