Al’s last trip down the coast, Piowa, he bought a bunch of big sea shells.
1962 May 23
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Durward and Estelle Titus Box 224 Route1, Carlos MN USA
Dear mom and dad,
Well, almost by the time you get this you should be done with school, what a relief. I do hope that you can enjoy your summer. Do you have to take more credits? I hope to that dad doesn’t have such an awful summer. The kids are finally back to normal after being so crabby with colds, and fevers. I really thought I would go crazy with them crying all day long. Now they play happily by themselves hour after hour. I guess I haven’t appreciated how good they were until they were so crabby. Everything seems to have settled down to pretty much of a routine, if mission work can ever settle down to be a routine.
The dispensary is busy with chicken pox, measles and mumps. This week I have to take inventory and order the drugs that we need. I wish I had some idea how much has been ordered in the past. I can’t seem to find any record of it.
Or Track Grip is still broken. The link in the chain broke and we have to send to England to get some more. So, we will be without it for awhile. It’s really funny to watch the natives carry things up for us because they make such a ceremony out of it. They will tie bags of rice to a pole and then decorate themselves with leaves and flowers and whoop and holler all the way up the Hill. Several boys will carry it for awhile and then they trade off. Yesterday we had to have a case of communion wine brought up. It really was a big old heavy thing. They used 4 poles and placed a small tree on top of it, and they really covered themselves with lots of vines. These are the teenagers of New Guinea. Instead of cars to decorate and make noise with they decorate themselves and holler. They really seem to enjoy it. We always give them some oranges or bananas or coconuts for it. We sure would be stuck at they weren’t willing to do it for us. That really is hard work.
Communion service is quite impressive. They all wear their white dresses and shirts for it. I need to make one for myself. You see them crowded around the outside of the church. The old church is too small for everyone to get in and many people come to the communion service. The sun beats down on the white, white dresses of the women as they usually stand outside because the men get preference to the seats inside the church. The blue of the ocean and blue sky in the background as the coconut palms silhouette against it, with the little leaning bush church. The light gleaming through the holes in the roof where the coconuts have come through or the rain has worn some of the grass off. There’s something solemn about all the white figures huddled on the crooked wooden branches in the reddish brown dirt floor. The pulpit is configured out of rough boards as is the altar which are both primitive, but the crucifix sitting on the altar is very expertly carved.
Al will be taking a trip into the area where there was a lot of fighting during World War II. We have been reading some Australian books on the war and some of the battles that took place around here. It sure was a bloody place. Here at Malalo was the Japanese headquarters for most of the war. It is all rather interesting.
Al’s last trip down the coast to Piowa, he bought a bunch of big sea shells. They have formed what we call conch shell bands. Each shell has one tone and they sound something like a pipe organ. They drill a hole in the small end of it. I don’t know if I told you when we first arrived to school boys played a hymn for us. Each shell has a number on it so when the music is written it is written in numbers instead of notes. It’s surprising how with practice, they can make really nice music. It does take practice to get them all to play together and to blow right shell each time. We will send you one so you can see what they look like.
We received a letter from the Fricke’s. They seem to be enjoying their country a lot. Vince says their station is pretty well centrally located so he has to be gone only 3 or 4 days at a time[1]. Barb goes with him some of the time. The couple that was staying with Alex[2] is planning to come out in September this year. They are going through the turmoil of packing, making decisions and having to go to summer school. It sure was much easier to adjust to New Guinea then go through all of that.
Ponampa station located just west of Lae. Piowa village where Alvin was is south of Zaka not shown on this map.
Tommy has another tooth so that makes 7 with about 3 more on the way. He still does not sleep all night. Last night I let him cry when he woke up and he went back to sleep a couple of times. So maybe soon. When he sleeps all night then I’m going to stop nursing him. I don’t usually nurse during the day time anymore only at night. Paula still has her bottle and her blanket. They both are beginning to feel that we’re going to stay here so now we can start thinking about taking it away.
How does Beryl feel? Is she getting real big yet? I had a letter from Erva saying that Dorothy (Ina’s aunts, Estelles sisters) told her that dad was better and soon going to be back at work. Now, isn’t that a round about way of finding out about the health of my family?
Rainy day today. We rather enjoy the rain as it is so relaxing. The kids usually sleep a lot on rainy days and it’s nice for letter writing. You should come here to relax your nerves. The beating rain just beats the tension right out of you. I hope you had a happy birthday and a nice mothers day. Glendive had such a nice mothers day present. It has been so dry that they have been really praying for rain. Then on Sunday, Helen said when they woke up it was raining very well and that it had rained several times during the week. Most unusual for eastern Montana.
We sure love you and miss you. You should be getting our pictures soon. Maybe when you are finished with them you can send them on to Glendive so Al’s folks to see. God’s blessings to you both. Greet Millie and Inger. Diane too if you see her.
God’s blessing Al Ina, Paula and Tom
PS I’m not preg!
[1] Ponampa Station in the highlands
[2] I believe this refers to the Alex that the Ericksons were living with on Queen Ave in Minneapolis. See first letter March of 1961
Photo of the conch shell band taken by the Ericksons in the early 1960’s.
From evangelical Lutheran Church face book page out of Ampo -posted Aug 3 2015:
Bukaua Conch Shell Band
Conch Shell music in Papua New Guinea originated in the 1920's at Hopoi, the Lutheran Mission New Guinea's Yabim vernacular teacher training school. German missionary Rev. Heinrich Zahn experimented with the shells and it developed into what it is today. The conch shell is played by blowing into a hole made in the shell emitting a sound in different tones according to the size of the shell. This is tuned by sticking bee wax or putty on the speakerlike outlet. Some helmet shells are also used.
The Bukaua Shell Band has some 35 boys and men ranging from 21 to 56 years of age. The aim of the Bukaua Conch Shell Band is to maintain the tradition of conch shell music and to hold the interest of young people by their part-taking in music for worship. Shell music has become a culture of the Bukaua people having been transferred down through the generations. Most of the men from Bukaua you meet today will tell you that they play in a shell band at one time or another.
Hopoi is an old Lutheran Mission station some five or so kilometres inland on a hill overlooking the whole coastline from Bukaua to Lae and to Tamigidu. It was here where Missionary Zahn had a brass band and also developed conch shell music. Since then the people of Bukaua and the surrounding area embraced conch shell music as their own handing it down from generation to generation.
From Hopoi you have marvellous views towards Lae, across the Huon Gulf to Salamaua and towards Tamigidu where Dienzer Hill another of those early mission stations is located. Bukaua is part of the Cape Arkona Parish which is made up of six villages or congregations of Bukaua, Awadi, Ukilim, Mundala, Abongbuc and Yambo.
If you want to listen to the band: They are currently practicing three days a week in preparation for the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea that will be held in January 2016 at Heldsbach, Finschhafen. The band can play 88 songs on G-major scale. They are also planning to travel to Germany in 2017 for the 500 years anniversary of the Reformation.
Photo from evangelical Lutheran Church face book page out of Ampo -posted Aug 3 2015