The Wiru are a people of the
Southern Highlands Province
Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. According to Papua New Guinea's national 2011 census, the total population of Southern Highlands (after the separation of Hela Province) is 515,511 ...
of
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 ...
. They speak the
Wiru language. Among their rituals is the production of ''
timbuwarra'' out of
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed- canopy old-growth tropical fores ...
.
Wiru ancestors said to be much taller than modern population and are referred as "giants".
It is alleged that bones of these ancestors can be found on mountain tops between
Soaru Range and confluence of the Polu and
Tua rivers.
[Jeffrey L. Clark ]
From Cults to Christianity: continuity and change in Takuru.
' The University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
Ph.D. Thesis 1985. OCLC Number: 220086599
References
Ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea
{{PapuaNewGuinea-stub