SUMMARY

Piande is one of several landowning clans in Enga Province's Porgera Valley, Papua New Guinea. Society in the Enga highlands is traditionally organized around clans or tribes. Tribal conflict has been a way of life in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where warfare has been an acceptable tool to settle disputes between tribes. Family conflicts have tended to escalate as an attack on one tribesman has been considered an attack on the whole community. The conflicts are often sparked by disputes over land and resources and as the region has seen in influx of modern weapons, these conflicts have become deadlier.

Disputes concerning illegal mining in the Porgera Valley, home to the Portera gold mine, have been common in this region. In August 2024, Piande was involved in such a dispute against a rival clan, Sakar.

One prominent leader of the Piande was Tawa Kina, who signed a peace agreement on behalf of the group in September 2024, following the August clashes around the Porgera gold mine.

Piande has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.