I went to Babaka village to hear the story of Kila Wari’s death from a descendant of a war chief of the enemy side, Numa Nama Gure. Numa Nama’s knowledge and authority in this matter are located in the genealogy which relates him to the war chief who fought Kila Wari (see figure 3). Numa Nama was born at Babaka in 1927. His father was Gure Kila, Gure’s father was Kila Mega, Kila’s father—Numa’s great grandfather—was Mega Velapo, who, alongside his brother, Gure Velapo, had been involved in the killing of Kila Wari. Before Mega Velapo came Velapo Vanua, Vanua Kila and Kila Keina. In figure 3, I compare Numa Nama’s genealogy with that of Walo Kalawa. It shows that Numa Nama’s great grandfather was a contemporary of Kila Wari and, because Numa Nama’s is the lineage of Babaka village war chiefs, it is reasonable to conclude that his ancestor was involved in the battle in which Kila Wari was killed. It is interesting, in light of the ancestry illustrated here, to note that Numa Nama is a deacon in Babaka United Church and that Walo Kalawa is also a retired United Church deacon.
In the course of my meeting with Numa Nama I was shown the place where Kila Wari received the fatal blow and also the place where he died. The distance between was significant, attesting to the warrior’s endurance. Numa Nama’s version of Kila Wari’s death provides some additional details and clarifies some points that have already been made. Most importantly, he claims that it was Gure Velapo, or Gure Gure as he is known in Alewai, who actually wounded Kila Wari in the leg with the first spear.[24] He begins:
Kila Wari was a great warrior. One day he killed someone from Babaka (name unknown) so…He had two sisters. When this man was killed by Kila Wari his sisters wept so much for him and wished for someone from Babaka to kill him for doing that. While this was going on, two brothers, Gure Velapo and Mega Velapo, my great grandfathers, sent some people over to remove the dead man’s necklace and to comfort them. When the two had gone over to remove the neckwear the sisters stopped them saying, ‘Whoever thinks they are strong enough to kill Kila Wari can come and remove the neckwear. There is also food there that we will give in return for the killing of Kila Wari’. The men became scared because Kila Wari was such a great warrior.
Seeing this, the two brothers, Gure and Velapo, spoke to each other. After some time the younger, Gure, went over and removed the neckwear. Later they discussed tactics and began intensive exercise and training—not only the brothers but all the warriors in the village. They practised until it came to the time when they thought they should avenge their loss. They sent word to Kila Wari. They didn’t send messengers. They went themselves. Arriving in the early hours of the morning at Alewai beach they called out to Kila Wari (his house was over the sea), ‘Kila Wari Oh! Kila Wari Oh!’ (the houses were built some 200 metres off shore).
Then Kila Wari appeared from his house and said ‘Who are you? You think you can just call my name like that? Wait, I’m coming over’. Hearing all this Kila Wari’s warriors got their weapons and the fighting began. But it had been carefully planned. They fought their way inland and just before reaching the village (Rilo),[25] fresh men in large numbers joined the Velapos but Kila Wari’s dignity did not allow him to withdraw. Then suddenly Gure Velapo speared him on the leg just above the heel. As Kila Wari jumped up, Gure called to him, ‘Eagle where will you go? You are going to die’. Then Kila Wari’s brother came and fought beside him while Kila Wari, still throwing spears, was struggling to kick off the spear in his heel. [During the course of the interview it was mooted that the spear had barbs that would prevent it from coming out.]
By now Kila Wari had tired so he spoke to his brother, Parula, who had been trying to help him safely home while fighting at the same time, ‘I’ve been hit. It’s no use, I’m dying so leave me here. But please go back or else you will end up dead like me’. It was here that they left him and his enemies killed him. This place is called Kila Kalana (Kila’s grave). Because Kila Wari was a war chief the Velapos wanted to cut off his head (this was the custom). But the ladies from Babaka rushed over and covered Kila Wari, who was speared again and again (the ladies’ names are unknown). So they did not cut off his head. He had a fishbone tattoo from jaw to mouth on both sides. They did however remove his chiefly neckwear.
Numa Nama concludes by saying that because the two women had now avenged their brother’s death and because some other women had covered the body, nothing more could be done with it so his villagers carried him back. He says that nobody knows the exact spot where the death took place because there was no village there then, although ‘it was a busy place’. The general vicinity is now the grounds of the United Church pastor’s house and it is marked on local maps as Kila Kalana (Kila’s grave).
Collectively, these accounts of the death of Kila Wari are rich in detail. We notice, though, that they present a number of contradictions. For instance, that three different men inflicted the mortal wound—an unknown warrior from Riwali and each of the Gure brothers. Such claims are not contested, however. It is evident from the multiple versions presented here that those who tell the story of Kila Wari are telling the story of their own ancestors. That Kila Wari is at the centre of these stories is coincidental. So, when Numa Nama was questioned about the revenge battle that inevitably followed the battle in which Kila Wari was killed his response was to suggest that we should speak to Kila Wari’s descendants about the matter. The inference was that the revenge battle was not a story told by his family.
The point Numa Nama did make was that when his ancestor, Gure, was killed his body was badly mutilated, unlike the death of Kila Wari when ‘they didn’t spoil his body or cut off his head’. This Christian descendant of a war leader finds himself on familiar ground with regard to the importance of taking the head of a dead warrior. Numa Nama explains, ‘Chopping off the head was important. It signifies something. Think about David and Goliath. David chopped off Goliath’s head to prove he killed him’.
We return, then, to the Vula‘a villages for the story of the battle that was to avenge the death of Kila Wari. First, we have an account from Wari Lui:
Riwali and Babaka people were invited to ‘bring and buy’[26] [this was a common form of trade] at Kaparoko [the westernmost of the Vula‘a villages]. Alewai warriors chose to go fishing on this particular day. Riwali and Kaparoko chiefs together with Hula and Alewai warriors had made a plan to kill the Babaka chief. After the ‘bring and buy’ the Babaka chief was making his way home. The Alewai warriors hid in the bush waiting for him to come their way. They had placed a large human excrement on the road where he would pass (to signal the impending death). When the Babaka chief saw the human waste he knew something was wrong. Minutes later he was ambushed and taken alive. His ears were cut off and he was told that he was going to die because they had killed Kila Wari. After they killed him they cut off his head and rolled the body from Irupara to Alewai. The head was taken to Alukuni and sold for pigs’ tusks and arm shells.
Walo Kalawa also gives us an account of the revenge battle.
Then came a time when Babaka and Riwali agreed to a raiwa [trade]. Traditionally a knot was tied to mark the day and month of the raiwa. Just days before the voi/raiwa [27] a Riwali man broke the news of the voi to Kila Wari’s brothers who were still mourning the death so an ambush was planned by Wari’s brothers. Very early on the morning of the raiwa Babakas made their way to Kaparoko through the bush (it was so early that the birds were up and about trying to catch the first worm and the people’s presence caused a commotion). Gure’s warriors were cautious of the natural warnings but Gure reassured them saying ‘auna paga vagia’ (we killed him [Kila Wari]). After a while they found a human waste. Gure realised someone had gone before them. Just then someone shouted ‘poika amana era’ (now you are finished) and a battle erupted. Surrounded and seeing his men die, Gure ran for his life with Walo Kila, who was holding a kora [net], and Lui Wari in pursuit. Finally he was caught by Lui Wari and pleaded for his life, ‘Koa Kila govagi kona era?’ (Koa Kila—brother of the dead man—are you killing me now?). And was answered, ‘Arimai poro va magulia, paga na va magulimu’ (Should you spare our brother’s life, we would…[spare yours]). Then they pushed all the rubbish including the morning leaves into his mouth and killed him. The man who chopped his head off was Pala Pika (the head chopper). Gure’s head was then rolled all the way back while spearing it. At Hula it was given to Vele Kopi for transportation to Keapara [on the other side of Hood Bay, adjacent to Alukuni]. The place where Gure died was called Gure Kalana (Gure’s grave) and is now commonly known as Gurika—just after you leave Kone Kone creek towards Kaparoko.
It is said that after this battle Alewai village was given land maino pakunai (for the sake of peace) between the coastal villages and their inland neighbours.
Relations between the Vula‘a and Babaka people have remained relatively friendly. Intermarriage is common and the presence of the United Church has created greater opportunities for a shared sociality. As we might expect, though, it is considered unwise to raise the topic of Kila Wari when both Babaka people and Vula‘a people are present. More problematic today is that the people of two Vula‘a villages, Irupara and Alewai, who describe themselves as ‘one family’ and, as such, share ‘the same story’ dispute its legitimacy in the determination of land claims. The question is a simple one: what was Kila Wari fighting for? Some say land, others disagree. The purpose of this chapter has not been to find answers to these questions, however.