The list of tribes of new guinea is complete. The amazing life of the Papuans from New Guinea
Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
Oryol State University
Essay
by discipline: "Culturology"
on this topic: Australian Aboriginal Culture and
Papuan New Guinea"
Performed:
1st year student, 3 groups
Melanesia, or the Black Islands, is New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides, the Bismarck Archipelago, New Caledonia, Fiji, the Santa Cruz Islands, Banks and many other smaller pieces of land. Their indigenous population consists of two large groups- Melanesians and Papuans.
The Melanesians live on the coast of New Guinea, while the Papuans live in the interior of the other large islands. Outwardly, they are unusually similar, but differ in languages. Although the Melanesian languages are part of the large Malayo-Polynesian family, the people who speak them cannot communicate with each other. And the Papuan languages are not only not related to any other languages of the world, but very often even to each other.
In addition to the Melanesian and Papuan peoples, small pygmy tribes live in the inaccessible mountainous regions of New Guinea and on many large islands. However, their languages have not yet been studied enough.
Inhabitant of Papua New Guinea in the ritual robes of a sorcerer.
In the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, on the Bismarck archipelago and the northern part of the Solomon Islands, the state of Papua New Guinea is located. In the XVI century. these lands were discovered by the Portuguese. Since 1884, the territory was owned by Great Britain and Germany, and at the beginning of the 20th century. it was controlled by Australia. Although the country became independent in 1975, it is part of the Commonwealth and the formal head of state is the Queen of Great Britain. Copper, gold and zinc are mined in the country. They grow coffee, cocoa and coconut palm.
Papua New Guinea is often referred to as "an ethnographer's paradise, but any government's hell". This expression was coined by colonial officials, but it is no less true today. Why "paradise" is understandable: there are few places on Earth with such a variety of languages, customs and cultures. On the one hand - officials, businessmen, workers of the capital city of Port Moresby, wearing European clothes and educated. On the other hand, there are mountain tribes that have not left the Stone Age, waging war with each other and not understanding the language of people from the neighboring valley. They may welcome a visiting scientist, but kill a person from the nearest village. Therefore, for the government, this is "hell", because he has to "harness to the wagon" of the state system not only "ox and quivering doe", but also "swan, cancer and pike" to boot.
The country's government tried to reinforce in the minds of the Papuans and Melanesians that they belong to the same people - hire Papua New Guinea. For this, you need first of all mutual language, because the number of languages in the country has not been calculated by anyone. In fact, there was a common language, moreover, understood throughout Melanesia. In Papua New Guinea it is called "tok-pisin". It originated from English words and Melanesian grammar among recruited farm laborers from different tribes on the plantation who needed to communicate with each other. The English called this language “pidgin English” (from the English pigeon - “dove”); the pronunciation of the Papuans and Melanesians reminded them of the cooing of doves. Very quickly, the language spread, reaching the most remote mountain villages: it was brought by men who returned from work or itinerant traders. Almost all the words in it are English. Although the territory of Papua was long owned by the Germans, only two words remained from their language (one of them is “pasmalauf” - “shut up”).
If in English “you” is “yu”, and “me” is “mi” (in Tok Pisin it means “I”), then the combination “yu-mi” (“you-me”) gives the pronoun “we ". "Kam" - "come", "kam - kam" - "came"; "bow" is "to look", and "bow-bow-bow" is "to look for a very long time". The most common word is "fela" (from English, "guy"); so the planters addressed the farm laborers.
In essence, there is nothing strange in the Tok Pisin language: French and Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese originated from the Latin brought by the Roman colonialists, which the conquered peoples changed in their own way! It is only necessary to develop the language in order to publish newspapers, speak on the radio, etc. Therefore, tok-pisin is taught in all schools in Papua New Guinea. And the main slogan of the country is “Yu-mi van-pela pipal!” (“We are one people!”).
It is interesting that the Papuans and Melanesians not only consider Tok Pisin their language, but they also know that there is another English, the real one. It is called "tok-ples-bilong-Sidney" - "Sydney language". After all, Sydney is the closest Big City inhabited by whites. Therefore, anyone who wants to get an education must know the "Sydney language".
The famous traveler Miklukho-Maclay observed the Papuans of New Guinea, who still did not know how to make fire, but who already knew the methods of preparing intoxicating drinks: they chewed the fruits, squeezed their juice into coconut shells, and after a few days received mash.
The crops grown in clearings by the Papuans of New Guinea are mostly fruit or tuber plants and, unlike cereals, they cannot be stored for a long time. Therefore, the community is always in danger of starvation.
There are some principles of relationships between people. Ethnographers who have spent years studying societies with primitive economies have repeatedly emphasized that people here are far from alien to romantic love. While the basic principles of family organization are not regulated by any rigid rules and allow for wide freedom of choice,
comparatively insignificant, in our opinion, details of a woman's behavior are under the strictest control of traditions and customs. Mostly we are talking about negative precepts. Among the Papuans of New Guinea, a woman does not have the right to enter the men's house, which plays the role of a village club, participate in festive meals, or touch the stimulating drink keu. She is not only not allowed to be present when men play on musical instruments, but it is strongly recommended to run headlong away at the sound of music alone. A wife cannot eat from the same dishes as her husband, and while eating, she, like children, usually gets what is worse. The duties of a woman include delivering vegetables and fruits from the garden, cleaning them, bringing firewood and water, making a fire. The husband is responsible for preparing food and distributing it among those present, and he takes the best pieces for himself and offers them to the guests. Life primitive man inextricably linked with hunting. Therefore, first of all, magical operations refer to it. The so-called "fishing magic" has been preserved among modern backward peoples. The Papuans of New Guinea, when hunting a sea animal, place a small stinging insect in the tip of the harpoon so that its properties sharpen the harpoon.
In Papua New Guinea religious beliefs have always played and continue to play important role. Animistic beliefs are deeply rooted in the minds of many people, as is the belief in the magical effect of sorcery, which serves as a means of regulating public relations. From the middle of the 19th century the activity of Christian missionaries has intensified, due to which at present about 3/5 of the population, at least nominally, are Protestants and about 1/3 are Catholics. Until the Second World War, the treatment and education of the Melanesian population was mainly carried out by missionaries. The largest Protestant denominations are the Lutheran and the United Church of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Over the past 20 years, new evangelical communities have made significant progress, in particular, one of the largest Pentecostal organizations, the Assemblies of God.
The population of the country, according to ethnic and linguistic criteria, has always been divided into many groups, often very small in number. A separate group is formed by the Papuan tribes on the southern coast of New Guinea.
The Papuans live in such inaccessible and dangerous places that their way of life has hardly changed over the past few hundred years.Papuans believe in their pagan gods, but with the advent of the night appear and evil spirits which they are extremely afraid of. They faithfully follow the customs of their ancestors during hunting, holidays, war or weddings. For example, the Dani Dugum tribe believes that their ancient ancestors were birds, and the "bird" theme is present in their dances and exotic body coloring. Some traditions of the natives of Papua may seem shocking to us, for example: they mummify their leaders and talk to the mummy on the days of the most severe trials; native sorcerers invoke and stop the rains with spells.
Most male Papuans (and almost all boys of 8-16 years old) walk constantly with a bow and arrows, as well as with a large knife (with its help they quickly cut out new arrows), and shoot at everything that moves (whether a bird or an animal ). The reaction of the Papuans is simply magnificent.
Many male Papuans go completely naked, but with tubes tied in front.
Despite the fact that outside the window is the rapid 21st century, which is called the century information technologies, here in the distant country of Papua New Guinea, time seems to have stopped.
State of Papua New Guinea
The state is located in Oceania, on several islands. The total area is about 500 square kilometers. Population 8 million people The capital is the city of Port Moresby. The head of state is the Queen of Great Britain.
The name "Papua" is translated as "curly". So the island was named in 1526 by a navigator from Portugal - the governor of one of the islands of Indonesia, Jorge de Menezes. 19 years later, a Spaniard, one of the first explorers of the islands, visited the island Pacific Ocean, Iñigo Ortiz de Retes and named it "New Guinea".
Official language of Papua New Guinea
Tok Pisin is recognized as the official language. It is spoken by the majority of the population. And also English, although only one person out of a hundred knows it. Basically, these are government officials. Interesting feature: the country has more than 800 dialects and therefore Papua New Guinea is recognized as the country with the largest number of languages (10% of all world languages). The reason for this phenomenon is almost complete absence connections between tribes.
Tribes and families in New Guinea
Papuan families still live in a tribal regime. A separate “cell of society” is simply not able to survive without contact with its tribe. This is especially true of life in cities, of which there are quite a lot in the country. However, here a city is considered to be any locality with over a thousand people.
Papuan families unite in tribes and live next to other urban people. Usually children do not attend schools located in cities. But even those who go to study very often return home after one or two years of study. It is also worth noting that girls do not study at all. Since the girl helps her mother with the housework until the moment she is married.
The boy returns to his family to become one of the equal members of his tribe - a "crocodile". That's what men are called. Their skin should be similar to the skin of a crocodile. Young men undergo initialization and only then have the right to communicate on an equal footing with the rest of the men of the tribe, they have the right to vote at a meeting or other event taking place in the tribe.
Tribe lives alone big family support and help each other. But he usually does not contact with a neighboring tribe or even openly feuds. Lately the Papuans have cut their territory quite a lot, it is increasingly difficult for them to maintain the old order of life in nature in natural conditions, their millennial traditions and their unique culture.
Families in Papua New Guinea have 30-40 people each. The women of the tribe lead household, look after livestock, give birth to children, collect bananas and coconuts, cook food.
Papuan food
Not only fruits are the main food of the Papuans. Pork is used for cooking. Pigs in the tribe are protected and their meat is eaten very rarely, only public holidays And anniversaries. More often they eat small rodents that live in the jungle and banana leaves. All dishes from these ingredients, women know how to cook amazingly delicious.
Marriage and family life in New Guinea
Women have practically no rights, obeying first to their parents, and then entirely to their husband. By law (in the country the majority of the inhabitants are Christians), the husband is obliged to treat his wife well. But in reality this is far from the case. Practice persists ritual killings women on whom even the shadow of suspicion of witchcraft falls. According to statistics, more than 60% of women are constantly exposed to domestic violence. International public organizations And Catholic Church are constantly sounding the alarm on this issue.
But, unfortunately, everything remains the same. A girl at the age of 11-12 is already being married off. At the same time, parents lose “another mouth”, as a younger girl becomes an assistant. And the groom's family acquires free labor, so they look closely at all the girls of six to eight years old. Often a man can become a groom 20-30 years older than a girl. But there is no choice. Therefore, each of them resignedly accepts her fate for granted.
But a man does not choose himself future wife, which can be seen only before the traditional wedding ceremony. The choice of bride will be decided by the tribal elders. Before the wedding, it is customary to send matchmakers to the bride's family and bring a gift. Only after such a rite is the wedding day appointed. On this day, the ritual of "abduction" of the bride takes place. A worthy ransom must be paid into the bride's house. It can be not only various valuable things, but also, for example, wild boars, banana branches, vegetables and fruits. When the bride is given to another tribe or another house, her property is divided among the members of the community from which this girl comes.
Life in marriage is not easy. According to ancient traditions, a woman lives separately from a man. In the tribe there are so-called women's and men's houses. Adultery, on either side, can be punished very severely. There are also special huts where the husband and wife can retire from time to time. They can retire in the forest. Girls are brought up by mothers, and boys from the age of seven are men of the tribe. Children in the tribe are considered common, they are not particularly on ceremony with them. Among the Papuans you will not find such a disease as overprotection.
Here is such a difficult family life the Papuans.
witchcraft law
In 1971, the country passed the Law on Witchcraft. It says that a person who considers himself "bewitched" is not responsible for his actions. Killing a sorcerer is a mitigating circumstance in litigation. Very often, women from another tribe are the victims of the accusation. Four years ago, a gang of cannibals who called themselves witch hunters killed men and women and then ate them. The government is trying to fight this terrible phenomenon. Perhaps the law on witchcraft will finally be repealed.
The last cannibals are known to live in Papua New Guinea. Here they still live according to the rules adopted 5 thousand years ago: men go naked, and women cut off their fingers. There are only three tribes still engaged in cannibalism, these are Yali, Vanuatu and Carafai. Carafai (or tree people) - the most cruel tribe. They eat not only warriors of foreign tribes, lost locals or tourists, but also all their dead relatives. They got the name "tree people" because of their houses, which stand incredibly high (see the last 3 pictures). The Vanuatu tribe is peaceful enough not to be eaten by a photographer, a few pigs are brought to the leader. Yali are formidable warriors (Yali's photos start at photo 9). The phalanges of the fingers of a woman of the Yali tribe are cut off with an ax as a sign of grief for the deceased or deceased relative.
Most main holiday Yali is the festival of death. Women and men paint their bodies in the form of a skeleton. On the feast of death earlier, perhaps they do it now, they killed the shaman and the leader of the tribe ate his warm brain. This was done in order to satisfy Death and imbibe the knowledge of the shaman to the leader. Now Yali people are killed less often than usual, mainly if there was a crop failure or for some other "important" reasons.
Hungry cannibalism, which is preceded by murder, is regarded in psychiatry as a manifestation of the so-called hungry insanity.
Also known is domestic cannibalism, not dictated by the need for survival and not provoked by hungry insanity. IN judicial practice such cases do not qualify as premeditated murder with particular cruelty.
With the exception of these not too common cases, the word "cannibalism" often comes to mind nevertheless insane ritual feasts, during which the victorious tribes devour the body parts of their enemies in order to gain their strength; or another well-known useful "application" of this phenomenon: the heirs thus treat the bodies of their fathers in the pious hope that they will be reborn in the body of their flesh-eaters.
The most "cannibalistic" strange modern world is Indonesia. In this state there are two famous centers of mass cannibalism - the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea and the island of Kalimantan (Borneo). The jungles of Kalimantan are inhabited by 7-8 million Dayaks, famous skull hunters and cannibals.
The most delicious parts of the body are considered to be the head - tongue, cheeks, skin from the chin, the brain extracted through the nasal cavity or ear opening, meat from the thighs and calves, heart, palms. The initiators of the crowded campaigns for skulls among the Dayaks are women.
The latest surge in cannibalism in Borneo occurred at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when the Indonesian government tried to organize the colonization of the interior of the island by the forces of civilized immigrants from Java and Madura. The unfortunate peasant settlers and the soldiers who accompanied them were mostly slaughtered and eaten. Until recently, cannibalism persisted on the island of Sumatra, where the Batak tribes ate criminals sentenced to death and incapacitated old people.
An important role in the almost complete elimination of cannibalism in Sumatra and some other islands was played by the activities of the "father of Indonesian independence" Sukarno and the military dictator Suharto. But even they could not improve the situation in Irian Jaya, Indonesian New Guinea, one iota. The Papuan ethnic groups living there, according to missionaries, are obsessed with a passion for human meat and are distinguished by unprecedented cruelty.
They especially prefer the human liver with medicinal herbs, penises, noses, tongues, meat from the thighs, feet, breasts. In the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, in independent state In Papua New Guinea, much less evidence of cannibalism is recorded.
According to the British anthropologist Jeremy Westcott, who spent three years among the natives of Guinea, the people of the Oolug tribe. This greatly impressed the scientist, and in his book he wrote that the oolugs froze several times a day, falling into a kind of trance, and stood motionless with a glassy look.
At these moments, according to them, they moved to another world, the Land of Shadows, where monsters live and eternal darkness reigns. The oolugs say that in the world they call the Land of Shadows, other physical laws apply - there the oolugs can jump on great height. Another world is inhabited by monsters: winged gorillas, huge ants that look like dogs - cyaths.
In the normal world, ooloogs are very peaceful. But in the Land of Shadows, they constantly have to fight enemies that look like Neanderthals.
Dr. Wescott told how, right before his eyes, people frozen in a trance suddenly fell dead or disappeared altogether. The tribesmen explained that the dead were killed by enemies in another world, and the missing were victims of the cyaths. Wounds could suddenly appear on the bodies of oolugs, and sometimes strange knives with crystals turned out to be in their hands purple in the handle. The doctor handed over one of these crystals for examination in London. The experts were unanimous in their conclusions: the material from which the crystals are made does not exist on Earth.
Araanu - transmigration of souls
An American expedition of scientists found another mystery in the Guinean jungle. This is one of the warriors named Araanu. He was born on November 22, 1963 at the time of the death of President John F. Kennedy after an assassination attempt. The warrior said that past life lived in America and participated in the government of the country.
Having no connection with outside world, the savage spoke about the smallest details from the life of Kennedy. He knew more than historians who have spent their entire lives studying and describing the president's biography. The Savage knew details, some of which were unknown even to family members.
Dr. Bernard Hawk, a member of the expedition, recalls that he spent two months studying the savage Araana. The doctor claims to have subjected the savage to the most modern methods known to psychiatry. Not once could he catch the savage in a lie. Then the doctor gathered a group of scientists, consisting of specialists from various fields of science, to examine Araanu.
The leader of the group, Dr. Demolen, after the examination, stated that he had always been skeptical about the question of, but the person they examined led him to believe in such a relocation.
Without the use of any hypnotic influence, Araanu described in detail his previous life, the life of President Kennedy, gave detailed description home where the president spent his childhood. A group of scientists was shocked and unanimously declared that after everything they had seen and heard, they could not help but believe in the reincarnation of the president.
Papua New Guinea, especially its center - one of the protected corners of the Earth, where human civilization has hardly penetrated. People there live in complete dependence on nature, worship their deities and revere the spirits of their ancestors. Quite civilized people now live on the coast of the island of New Guinea, who know the official - English - language. Missionaries worked with them for many years. However, in the center of the country there is something like a reservation - nomadic tribes and who still live in the Stone Age. They know every tree by name, they bury the dead on the branches, they have no idea what money or passports are.
They are surrounded by a mountainous country overgrown with impenetrable jungle, where, due to high humidity and unimaginable heat, life is unbearable for a European. No one there knows a word of English, and each tribe speaks its own language, of which there are about 900 in New Guinea. The tribes live very isolated from each other, communication between them is almost impossible, so their dialects have little in common, and people are each other friend simply do not understand. A typical settlement where the Papuan tribe lives: modest huts are covered with huge leaves, in the center there is something like a clearing where the whole tribe gathers, and the jungle is around for many kilometers. The only weapons of these people are stone axes, spears, bows and arrows. But not with their help, they hope to protect themselves from evil spirits. That's why they have faith in gods and spirits. In the Papuan tribe, the mummy of the "leader" is usually kept. This is some outstanding ancestor - the most courageous, strong and intelligent, who fell in battle with the enemy. After his death, his body was treated with a special compound to avoid decay. The body of the leader is kept by the sorcerer.
It is in every tribe. This character is highly revered among the relatives. Its function is mainly to communicate with the ancestral spirits, appeasing them and asking for advice. The sorcerers usually go to people who are weak and unsuitable for a constant battle for survival - in a word, old people. By witchcraft they make their living. WHITES-DEVISED? The first white man who came to this exotic continent was the Russian traveler Miklukho-Maclay. Having landed on the coast of New Guinea in September 1871, he, being an absolutely peaceful man, decided not to take weapons ashore, he took only gifts and a notebook, which he never parted with. 
The locals met the stranger quite aggressively: they shot arrows in his direction, shouted intimidatingly, brandished spears ... But Miklukho-Maclay did not react to these attacks in any way. On the contrary, with the most imperturbable look, he sat down on the grass, defiantly took off his shoes and lay down to take a nap. By an effort of will, the traveler forced himself to sleep (or only pretended to). And when he woke up, he saw that the Papuans were sitting peacefully next to him and staring at the overseas guest with all their eyes. The savages reasoned thus: if a pale-faced man is not afraid of death, then he is immortal. That's what they decided on. For several months the traveler lived in a tribe of savages. All this time, the natives worshiped him and revered him as a god. They knew that if desired, the mysterious guest could command the forces of nature. How is it?
Yes, just once Miklukho-Maclay, who was called only Tamo-rus - “Russian man”, or Karaan-tamo - “man from the moon”, showed the Papuans such a trick: he poured water into a plate with alcohol and set it on fire. Trusting locals believed that a foreigner was able to set fire to the sea or stop the rain. However, the Papuans are generally gullible. For example, they are firmly convinced that the dead go to their country and return white, bringing with them many useful items and food. This belief lives in all Papuan tribes (despite the fact that they hardly communicate with each other), even in those where they have never seen a white man. FUNERAL RITE The Papuans know three causes of death: from old age, from war and from witchcraft - if the death occurred for some unknown reason. If a person died a natural death, he will be honorably buried. All funeral ceremonies are aimed at appeasing the spirits that receive the soul of the deceased. Here is a typical example of such a ritual. Close relatives of the deceased go to the stream to perform bisi as a sign of mourning - smearing yellow clay on the head and other parts of the body. The men at this time are preparing a funeral pyre in the center of the village. Not far from the fire, a place is being prepared where the deceased will rest before cremation.
Shells and sacred stones of the vus are placed here - the abode of a certain mystical power. Touching these living stones is strictly punished by the laws of the tribe. On top of the stones should lie a long braided strip, decorated with pebbles, which acts as a bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The deceased is placed on sacred stones, smeared with pork fat and clay, sprinkled bird feathers. Funeral songs then begin to be sung over him, recounting the outstanding services of the deceased. And finally, the body is burned at the stake so that the human spirit does not return from the underworld. TO THE DEAD IN BATTLE - GLORY! If a man died in battle, his body is roasted at the stake and honorably eaten with rituals appropriate to the occasion, so that his strength and courage pass to other men. Three days after this, the phalanges of the fingers are cut off to the wife of the deceased as a sign of mourning. This custom is connected with another ancient Papuan legend. One man mistreated his wife. She died and ended up in the next world. But her husband yearned for her, could not live alone. He went for his wife to another world, approached the main spirit and began to beg to return his beloved to the world of the living. The spirit set a condition: the wife will return, but only if he promises to treat her with care and kindness. The man, of course, was delighted and promised everything at once.
The wife returned to him. But one day her husband forgot himself and again forced her to work hard. When he caught himself and remembered this promise, it was already too late: his wife fell apart before his eyes. Her husband only had a phalanx of her finger left. The tribe got angry and expelled him, because he took away their immortality - the opportunity to return from the other world, like his wife. However, in reality, for some reason, the wife cuts off the phalanx of her finger as a sign of the last gift to her deceased husband. The father of the deceased performs the rite of nasuk - he cuts himself with a wooden knife upper part ear and then covers the bleeding wound with clay. This ceremony is quite long and painful. After the funeral ceremony, the Papuans honor and appease the spirit of their ancestor. For if his soul is not appeased, the ancestor will not leave the village, but will live there and harm. The spirit of the ancestor is fed for some time, as if alive, and even try to give him sexual pleasure. For example, a clay figurine of a tribal god is placed on a stone with a hole, symbolizing a woman. The underworld in the view of the Papuans is some kind of paradise, where there is a lot of food, especially meat.
