History and Cultural RelationsĪrchaeological evidence from the Kafiavana rock shelter indicates the presence of hunting and gathering populations in the Goroka Valley at about 9,000 b.c., with the transition to horticulture occurring probably thousands of years ago. ![]() Many Gahuku are bilingual in Asaro, Benabena, or Siane, and nowadays most younger adults and children speak Tok Pisin, with increasing numbers learning English in schools. Some linguists consider Gahuku to be a dialect, with Asaro (or Gururumba), of the Gahuku-Asaro language, which is grouped with Benabena, Fore, Gende, Gimi, Kamano, Siane, and Yabiyufa in the East-Central Family of the East New Guinea Highlands Stock of Non-Austronesian languages. Currently, slightly more than 16,000 Gahuku speakers are Officially recognized. At first European contact in 1930, there were an estimated 50,000 people living in the Goroka area, but it is difficult to say how many of those were Gahuku. ![]() A marked dry season sometimes led to periodic food shortages in the past, but about 190 centimeters of rain fall annually, mostly from November to March.ĭemography. Centuries of forest clearance have left little timber in the Region, though the extensive grasslands are now being reForested through administration-sponsored schemes. Bounded to the north by the Bismarck Range, the Goroka Valley is drained by the Asaro and Bena Bena rivers and lies at an elevation of about 1,200 meters, with surrounding mountains reaching over 3,000 meters. Gahuku occupy the open grassland and ridges immediately to the west of the town of Goroka, which is located at 6 ★ ′ S, 145 ☂5 ′ E and serves as the administrative center of the Goroka District of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. ![]() The name "Gahuku," like "Gama," is that of a tribe or district group, but the former has been extended by linguists to include a congeries of such units and the Common language they speak. ETHNONYMS: Gahuku, Garfuku, Gorokans Orientation
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