The Zia are a tribe of about 4,000 people living in the lower
Waria Valley
Waria may refer to -
* Waria River
* Waria, India, a locality in West Bengal
* IK Waria, a Swedish football club
* Waria (person) A portmanteau word for the third gender group in Indonesia
* Waria Rural LLG
Waria Rural LLG is a local-level g ...
in
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. The Zia tribe is divided into four clans, Bego (''
hornbill
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandibl ...
''), Sakia (''
white cockatoo''), Wapo ''(eagle)'' and Yewa ''(bird of paradise)'', each animal the clan's symbol. Each clan also carries specific responsibilities to the tribe at large, in part through the maintenance of specialized field of knowledge. The clans are matrilineal, with children inheriting their mother's clan membership and disallowing marriage between two members of the same clan.
Tribe decisions are made by chiefs representing the four clans and as such, require a majority of represented support to proceed.
2
The Zia tribal area covers the lower reaches of the Waria river, and extends along the Solomon Sea north and south of the river mouth. Communities include Zare, Ainse, Siu, Popoe, Dona, Saigara, Pema, Siu, Bau and Eu.
Only the communities of Eu, Pema and Zare have schools with instruction above the third year. There is also a school (with dorms) at Toyare, at the mouth of Waria river. Because of the distance involved, parents who wish to send their children to higher grades must send their children to live in other communities for extended periods of time. The cost is quite expensive—for many families, prohibitively so.
Upper level students in the Waria valley have two high school options. The first is a technical high school located near Toyare. The nearest traditional high school is four hours away north along the coast by boat.
The region's current Minister in Parliament is Sasa Zibe,
[Bringing the classrooms to the children: A teaching program for Papua New Guinea; a learning experience for Japan. By Everett Kennedy Brown. The Japan Times, Friday, June 21, 200]
/ref> who is from the area.
Since 2001, groups of English teachers from Japan have been traveling to the area to carry out educational charity work, as part of both the Niigata International Charity Organization and the Niigata-PNG Association.
References
General references
* A Story From PNG, by Sasa Zib
* College Lecturer Joins Remote Community in Papua New Guinea
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Ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea
Tribes of Oceania