Motu - Settlements

Motu villages were traditionally closely nucleated, the houses typically built out in lines over the water. Wooden walkways linked the houses in each line. Each of the independent, localized descent groups ( iduhu ), which together constituted the village polity, occupied its own line of houses. Although large numbers of Motu still live over the water in this way, many others have now built houses ashore. Traditionally, Motu traveled between villages by canoe or on foot, but now all Motu villages are linked to Port Moresby, and they can thus be reached from each other, by road.