Lila Warrimou (Misaso) Papua New Guinea (Omie), b. c1944

Lila has been painting for Ömie Artists since its establishment in 2004. As the Paramount Chief of Ömie women, her Dahorurajé clan knowledge and uehore (wisdom) is extraordinary. She was a young girl when the volcano Huvaimo erupted and recalls being very scared when her old village Sidonejo, which was situated close to the sacred Mount Obo, was surrounded by lava. She remembers her parents keeping her and her siblings safely together, and she was carried by one of her mothers, Guamo, away from the volcano to higher ground. Her birth mother was Eronay Atai and her father was Chief Warrimou Moiwa, both Dahorurajé clanspeople. She was formerly married to Fabian Jerrirumu to whom she had four children but after he passed away she remarried Nathan Gama, Duvahe (Chief) of Ematé clan men. Lila's aunt Joyce-Bella Mujorumo, former duvahe of Dahorurajé clan women, taught her to paint many important Ömie designs and clan symbols and also taught her about the origins of Ömie art, culture and history. In turn, Lila has taught a number of Ömie women to paint including her sister-in-law Jean-Mary Warrimou (Hujama).