Western New Guinea

The main articles are:

• Indonesia
• New Guinea

Geography

For the geology and geography of the island, see New Guinea.

Population

According to official estimates, as of mid-2022, the population was 5,601,888.

According to 2014 data, the interior is predominantly populated by ethnic Papuans, while coastal cities are inhabited by descendants of mixed marriages between Papuans, Melanesians and Austronesians, as well as other Indonesian ethnic groups. Migrants from other regions of Indonesia also tend to inhabit coastal areas.

Western New Guinea is also home to some non-contact peoples. As of 2020, more than 40 tribes with whom no one has contacted live in this region.

Tribes

The Chitak, Land Asmat, and Avew tribes were one large family, but wars and territorial problems caused them to separate and form new tribes in their territories.

The same applies to the tribes of Kombaev, Korovaev, Korfei and Korf.

Chitak and Mitak

The name "Chitak" was given by the Dutch, as they entered the area from Merauke through the territory of the Avya tribe, which called the tribe living in the area, Chitak. The opinions of several groups, such as traditional figures and traditional elders, are that the naming of Chitak to the Blur and Clear districts is an insult and a gross insult. The Dutch used the word "Citak" because at the time the locals "loved to eat a human being."

Having learned the meaning of the name "Chitak," the inhabitants of the Chitak region did not approve of it and stated that before the Dutch gave the inhabitants of this area the name "Chitak," they already had a name given to them by their ancestors, namely "Kau."

Korovay

The name Korovay is a Dutch pronunciation of the original name Kolufo with variants of the spelling klufo, klufwo or karufo, meaning "people." Their full name is Klufo Fumanop or Kolufo Yanop, meaning "people who usually walk" to distinguish them from the Chitak and Mitak tribes, who usually use canoes. Foreigners divide the Korowai tribe into two parts;

• Korowai Batu is a group that still uses traditional tools made of stone, and
• korovai Besi, who already use tools made of iron.

Languages

The official language is Indonesian, and Papuan Malay is the most common lingua franca.

According to various estimates, the number of local languages ​ ​ in the region varies from 200 to more than 700, with the most common being tribute, yali, ekari and biak.

Provinces

The region is governed as six autonomous provinces of Indonesia. In 2003, the region was divided into the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

In 2022, new provinces Central Papua, Mountain Papua, South Papua and South West Papua were created.

Provinces of Indonesia by Division 2022

Lorenz National Park

Lorenz National Park is an Indonesian national park located in the provinces of Central Papua, Gorny Papua and South Papua, in southwestern Western New Guinea. One of the most environmentally diverse national parks in the world.

It is the largest national park in Southeast Asia. In 1999, Lorenz was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Lorenz's forests cover the traditional lands of eight indigenous ethnic groups, including Asmat, Amung, Dani, Sempan and Nduga. The estimated population in 2010 was between 6,300 and 10,000.

Traditional culture

Bounty hunting and cannibalism

The bounty hunt was caused by endless vengeance for those killed earlier, as it was believed that before they were avenged, the spirits of the dead remain in the village. According to the beliefs of the Papuans, this brings diseases and other disasters.

In the past, men of the Marind-Anim people (Marinds) were known for their bounty hunting, which was always directed at other tribes. This was due to their system of beliefs and the naming of newborns. The skull was thought to contain mana power.

From the 1870s to about 1910, the Boigu, Dauan and Saibai peoples, as well as neighboring Papuan peoples, were persecuted by "warriors" from the Marin-Anim tribe. In literature devoted to this period, these people are usually called "tuger" or "tugeri."

Headhunting was not primarily motivated by cannibalism, but the dead man's flesh was eaten at ceremonies after capture and murder.

Korovay, a tribe living in southeastern Western New Guinea, lives in tree houses that reach a height of almost 40 meters. It was originally thought to be a defensive practice, presumably to protect against the Sitaks, a tribe of neighboring bounty hunters.

Since 1954, the Dutch government has imposed a ban on tribal wars and, as a result, on bounty hunting. In 1961, it was reported that tribal warfare and bounty hunting were not eradicated, but were rare.

Bish pillars of the Asmat people

Bish is a ritual pillar created and used by the Asmat people of Southwest New Guinea. Such poles are also common in New Zealand and Vanuatu.

The Bish pillars were originally carved by Asmat (wow-ipit) religious carvers after a member of their tribe or community was killed during a bounty hunt conducted by an enemy tribe. Asmat participated in raids for the purpose of bounty hunting and ritual cannibalism.

The Asmatians believed that if a member of the community was hunted to cut off his head, then his spirit lingered in the village and caused disharmony. When death occurs in the community, it threatens the spiritual peace in which the Asmata believe. The pillars of Bish were erected in order to calm these spirits and send them to the afterlife (Safan) abroad.

To avenge their dead, members of the community staged a retaliatory bounty hunt on an enemy village.

The pillars were part of a "bish pokumbu" ceremony during which villagers paid final tribute to recently deceased members of the community and promised to avenge their deaths. On the day of the ritual, poles were installed near the men's house. Warriors in the village staged comic fights to show their valor and readiness to avenge the deceased relative. And one of the main points was shouting the names of the dead.

Bish poles often had a nest at the base, designed for severed heads of enemies. The pillar was also coated with blood as a sign of revenge.

After the ritual is over, the Bish pillar is cut into pieces and carried outside the village in the slaughter of sag palms so that the supernatural life-giving power of these ritual objects, according to Asmatian beliefs, contributes to a good harvest.

The headhunting tradition no longer exists as it ceased in the 1970s, but the Bish tradition of pillars and rituals continues to this day as a custom to honor the deceased villagers.

The images on each pillar vary, but they are usually associated with ancestral images. The figures of the dead are located along the pillar, and it depicts the phallus, a symbol of fertility and strength. Phallic symbols represented the strength and masculinity of the ancestors of the community, as well as warriors who went on a bounty hunt. The human figures depicted on the poles symbolized the dead ancestors. Canoe nose symbols symbolized a metaphorical boat that was supposed to carry dead spirits into the afterlife.

Bish pillars carved from a single piece of wild mangrove tree can reach a height of 7.62 m.

Sexual culture

Marindas-anim are also known for their sexual culture. Ritual intercourse (otiv-bombari) with women took place on the girl's wedding day, when after the ceremony she had sex with a relative of her spouse before having sex with her husband. This ritual intercourse took place at other times, such as after childbirth.

Marind-anim were also known for their form of ritual homosexuality.

These rituals accelerated the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, in particular inguinal granuloma (donovanosis), which since 1912 has spread in the form of a major epidemic. By this time, marinids were already experiencing a marked decline in birth rates, mainly due to the earlier spread of gonorrhea in the Pacific region.

Marind-anim men dressed for the ceremony, 1920s

The Dutch colonial administration banned bounty hunting and ritual homosexuality, as well as rites in which many men engaged in sexual intercourse with one woman.

History

1916: Map of Netherlands New Guinea

Click to enlarge

Movies

• Dead Birds (1963) is a documentary about the cycle of military skirmishes between the people of Danios and neighbors.

• The Disappearance of Michael Rockefeller in New Guinea is a television film about the disappearance of a 23-year-old American from a wealthy family in New Guinea during a trip to the Asmat people.

• Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, 2000 is a film about a homosexual Jewish traveler who stayed, including with the Asmat people in New Guinea.

• Tribe (2005) - the first series is dedicated to the Kombai tribe

• Life With Kombai is a television series on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic called Lost Tribes of the World aired in January 2007.

Books

• Merlin Taylor "Where Cannibals Roam"
• Arne Falk-Rönne, "Journey to the Stone Age, Among the Tribes of New Guinea"

Researchers

Ekaterina Belyakova - anthropologist, ethnographer, documentary photographer. Junior Researcher, Department of Australia, Oceania and Indonesia, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamer) RAS. For more than ten years he has specialized in ethnography of traditional societies in New Guinea. He has extensive field work experience in Papua among local Papuan communities. Research interests: transformation of traditional cultures, intercultural interaction, bodily modifications, visual anthropology, medical anthropology.