Peoples of New Guinea. Abelam people

These are the people living in the north of the Sepik River (its middle course), which flows in the northeast of Papua New Guinea.
The total number of this people is about 70 thousand people. Usually two subethnic groups are distinguished - the southern subethnic group Vozera, the northern subethnic group Maprik. Representatives of the Abelam people speak the original language of Ambulas (Abelam) of the Sepik-Ramu family (more precisely, its Middle Sepik group, Ndu branch). By analogy, we can distinguish three main dialects: Abelam itself, Maprik and Vozera, respectively. Besides these three, there are other dialects such as English or Tok Pisin. If we talk about religion and faith, it can be argued that Abelam are Christians, divided into Protestants and Catholics. But this does not mean that they completely forget their traditional beliefs.

Representatives of the Abelam people engage in manual slash-and-burn farming, that is, this is the basis of their economy - growing yams, bananas, taro, coconut and areca palms, and sugar cane. In addition, the Abelam raise chickens and pigs, and in their free time they collect sago or engage in foraging. Abelam are born hunters. Farming does not prevent them from hunting tree kangaroos, wild pigs, cassowaries, flying dogs and birds. The main food was still more plant-based. The main weapons are the bow and spear.
Weaving, making molded pottery, gapa, wood and bone carving are very popular among the Abelam people.

As for the settlements and location of the Abelam people, they are divided into two types: Southern Abelam and Northern. The northern ones live on the tops of the hills, and the main street development predominates. Houses with roofs down to the ground made of sago palm leaves, buildings of frame-and-post construction, i.e. ground.
In turn, the Southern Abelam prefer spacious plains to high hills. Houses are usually piled.
For both southern and northern Abelam, the cult and social center of the settlement is the men's house - tambaran, in the Tok Pisin language; and the area in front of it (called amai). The tambaran has a triangular facade, which usually reaches a height of at least 30 meters and is decorated with mineral paints (four colors in total - red, black, yellow and white) on specially clay-primed "sheaths" of sago palm leaves, and colorful panels. In addition, the men's house boasts solid beams and pillars, which represent multi-figure compositions - images of Abelam's ancestors.

Now let's talk about the so-called kinship system. Abelam has it of the Iroquoian type. The Abelam are divided into patrilineal totemic clans (Gem, Kum, etc.), which do not have hereditary leaders. As is their custom, Abelam representatives choose their clan leader based on his personal merits.

An interesting fact is that all members of the Abelam male population in the village are divided into two groups of ritual partners in the ceremonial exchange of pigs and yams, called ara. Men from one macaw initiate adolescents from another macaw. Typically, the Abegam family is monogamous, but polygyny is also allowed.

Abegham's clothing and jewelry were very unique and distinctive. For example, men wore a phallocrypt, and women always went naked. On holidays, representatives of the male population of Abegam were required to wear a skirt made of dyed plant fibers, earrings, wicker and shell bracelets (hand and ankle), combs, necklaces made of flowers, fruits, shells and head decorations made of cassowary feathers or wicker.

Festive women's clothing - a wicker bag, embroidered with shell rings, which was attached to the head and a small piece of white tapa. Of course, painting both the face and the entire body was common among both sexes.

Papua New Guinea is a state in Oceania, occupying the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and various small islands. The country's population is 7 million people. The name "Papua" comes from the Malay word "papuwa", which translated into Russian means "curly" (according to another version - from "orang papua" - "curly-haired black-headed man"). This name was given to the island by its European discoverer, the Portuguese Jorge de Menezes, in 1526, noting the shape of the hair of the local residents. In 1545, the Spaniard Inigo Ortiz de Retes visited the island and gave it the name "New Guinea" because, in his opinion, the local people were similar to the natives of Guinea in Africa.
People first inhabited the territory of Papua New Guinea 60-45 thousand years ago from the territory of Southeast Asia, crossing several sea straits. At that time, sea levels were lower and the island was one with Australia. The descendants of the island's first population, who now make up the majority of the population of Papua New Guinea, are called Papuans. About three thousand years ago, a second wave of people from Asia moved to the island; they, like the Papuans, belonged to the Australoid race (which also includes the Australian aborigines), but spoke Austronesian languages. Often the Austronesian population of the island is also called Papuans due to their external similarity. At the same time, the line that separates the Austronesians from the Papuans is not clear. It is possible that the Austronesians who arrived on the island dissolved into the local Papuan population, passing on their languages ​​and culture to them. Now in Papua New Guinea there are about 7 thousand tribes and nationalities speaking more than 800 languages ​​(of which 650 are Papuan, and the rest are Austronesian). Papua New Guinea accounts for 12 percent of the world's languages ​​and is the most linguistically diverse region on the planet.
The Russian ethnographer Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay (1846-1888) made a great contribution to the study of the Papuans.
On the pages of the site I will tell you about the most interesting Papuan tribes. The first tribe that will be discussed does not have a generally accepted name. It is often called skeleton tribe due to local customs of painting the body with white and black paint to imitate the appearance of a skeleton. The tribe lives in the village of Mindima in the mountainous province of Chimbu. According to local legend, the people of this tribe were eaten by the evil forest spirit Omo Masalai. Then they decided to pretend to be spirits themselves in order to drive out the evil spirit. To this day, the ritual of expelling an evil spirit is repeated during a religious holiday. People repaint themselves as skeletons and chase after a person who dresses up as an evil spirit.
Next is a selection of photos showing the ritual of expelling an evil spirit and preparation for it. The selection includes works by the following photographers: Brent Stirton (brentstirton.com), Rita Willaert (flickr.com/photos/rietje/), Eric Lafforgue (ericlafforgue.com).

; All villages have churches.

Settlement area

The main settlement area of ​​the Papuans is the island of New Guinea, the eastern part of which is the independent state of Papua New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago and the island of Bougainville), and the western part is part of Indonesia (Irian Jaya-West Irian), where for many decades there has been a strong movement for secession . Partially live on the islands of Alor, Timor, Halmahera (for example, the Galela people) and Melanesia.

According to various sources, there are from 300 to 800 peoples and languages, according to various experts, since establishing the difference between an individual language and a dialect poses a significant problem.

Some small tribes number less than 100 people. Largest nationalities (number in thousands): Chimbu (250), Enga (195), Gimbu (142), Medlpa (101), Kamano (64), Huli (90), Ekari (Kanauki) (100), Angal (55) , umbu-ungu (47), wahgi (66), keva (56), dani (dugul-dani), hwanggona, asmat (61), benabena (17), marind-anim (8), abelam (10), nasiop (10), bonkin (10), buin (18). The total population of Papua New Guinea is 6,057,263 people. (2009).

Political situation

From 1884 to 1920, the Papuans were colonially dependent on Germany (Emperor Wilhelm Land). Since 1920 this part has been administered by Australia. The south-eastern part was a British protectorate from 1884 to 1888, then a colony, and transferred to Australian administration in 1905. In 1949, both parts were transferred to Australian trusteeship. In 1975, the eastern part (Papua New Guinea) became an independent state.

Origin

Most scientists recognize that Australoid peoples inhabited a wider area in ancient times and were gradually replaced by Mongoloids. It is believed that New Guinea was inhabited 20-25 thousand years ago. 5 thousand years ago Melanesian tribes entered this region. In terms of race, these two groups of peoples are close, but in terms of language and culture they are not.

Genetic studies of Sahul populations in comparison with studies of other modern human populations have shown that the Papuans of New Guinea split from the Yoruba ca. 90 thousand l. n., and with Eurasian populations - 40 thousand years ago.

Life and traditional activities

The main occupation is manual farming in the tropical zone. Secondary - hunting and gathering. Pig farming plays an important role. The main crops are coconut, banana, taro, yam.

Currently, due to European influence, Papuans are employed in the mining industry, working as drivers, salesmen, and clerks. A layer of entrepreneurs and farmers is being formed. 50% of the population is employed in subsistence farming.

Papuan villages are 100-150 people strong and can be compact or scattered. Sometimes it is one long house up to 200 m. The family has 5-6 plots of land in different stages of maturity. Every day one plot is weeded, and another is harvested. The harvest is kept standing, taking away food for 1 day. Collaborative work.

In every village, an important place is the buambramra - the public house.

Tools:

• axe, made of agate, flint or tridacna shell;
• dongan - a sharp sharpened bone, it is worn on the hand, tucked into a bracelet, fruits are cut with it;
• bamboo knife, cuts meat, fruits, stronger than dongan.

• hagda - throwing spear, 2 m, made of hard, heavy wood;
• servaru - a lighter spear, with a bamboo tip, which usually breaks and remains in the wound, decorated with feathers and fur;
• aral - onion, 2 m long;
• aral-ge - arrow, 1 m long, with a wooden tip;
• palom - an arrow with a wide bamboo tip, more dangerous;
• saran - arrow for fish;
• yur - a throwing spear with several points;
• clubs and shields.

Papuans' clothing consisted of a belt, red for men, and red and black striped for women. Men also wear a kind of sheath for the penis (kotek). Bracelets were worn on the arm (sagyu) and on the legs (samba-sagyu). In addition, the body was decorated with objects threaded through holes, keke (in the nose) and bul (in the mouth). The things used were bags, yambi and gun - small ones, for tobacco and small items, they were worn around the neck, and a large bag on the shoulder. Women had their own women's bags (nangeli-ge). Belts and bags are made from bast or fibers of various trees, the names of which are not in Russian (tauvi, mal-sel, yavan-sel). Ropes are made from the fibers of the nug-sel tree, and anchor ropes are made from the bu-sel tree. Gutur tree resin is used as glue.

The Papuans' food is primarily plant-based, but they also eat pork, dog meat, chicken, rats, lizards, beetles, shellfish, and fish.

Spiritual culture

Folklore, songs, dances, and myths are widespread. The songs and dances are very simple. The singing is called mun, the melody varies very little.
Musical instruments (the general name is ai, the same name is given to holidays where only men are allowed):

• ai-cabral - a hollow bamboo trunk, 2 m long, they blow into it, shout, howl;
• munki-ay - a coconut shell, with two holes, one is blown into, the other is plugged;
• hal-ai - a pipe from a root, similar to the previous ones;
• orlan-ai - a handle with laces with empty nut shells hanging on them, shaken;
• okam - drum.

The biggest holiday among the Papuans is Sing Sing.

The traditional beliefs of the Papuans are close to those of Australia and Melanesia. The Marind Anim have a cult similar to the Australian one, this is totemism. Dema is a totemic ancestor. Myths mainly tell about the exploits of half-animals, half-humans. They have a widespread secret cult of Mayo, associated with initiations. Other Papuans already have different cults, mainly the belief in various magic, harmful, healing, economic. The term "onim" means witchcraft and poison, and any medicinal drug. It is considered the cause of all illness, misfortune and death. and they are afraid of him. Often the neighboring tribe is considered to be the culprit of troubles.

The cult of ancestors and skulls is important. Papuans make korvars - images of ancestors (stylized human figures), in the area of ​​Astrolabe Bay, where Miklouho-Maclay visited, in the Bongu language they are called telums.

The Papuans have well-developed wood carving; they make very complex ornaments with which they decorate weapons and other objects.

Papuans in culture

For people of the 19th century, Papuans were considered a symbol of savagery. In particular, Vl. Solovyov in “The Justification of Good” contrasted Goethe and the Papuan.

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Notes

Literature

• Encyclopedia "Peoples and Religions of the World", M. 1998.
• S. A. Tokarev. Religion in the history of the peoples of the world, M. 1976.
• N. N. Miklouho-Maclay. Collection works in 6 volumes. Volume 4.
• Butinov N. A. Peoples of Papua New Guinea: (From tribal system to an independent state). - SPb.: Petersburg. Oriental Studies, 2000. - 374 p. - (Ethnographica Petropolitana; 6). - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-85803-146-3
• Butinov N. A. Papuans of New Guinea (Economy, social structure). - M.: Nauka, 1968. - 256 p. - 2500 copies.

Links

An excerpt characterizing the Papuans

Returning to Moscow from the army, Nikolai Rostov was accepted by his family as the best son, hero and beloved Nikolushka; relatives - as a sweet, pleasant and respectful young man; acquaintances - like a handsome hussar lieutenant, a deft dancer and one of the best grooms in Moscow.
The Rostovs knew all of Moscow; this year the old count had enough money, because all his estates had been re-mortgaged, and therefore Nikolushka, having got his own trotter and the most fashionable leggings, special ones that no one else in Moscow had, and boots, the most fashionable, with the most pointed socks and little silver spurs, had a lot of fun. Rostov, returning home, experienced a pleasant feeling after some period of time trying on himself to the old living conditions. It seemed to him that he had matured and grown very much. Despair for failing to pass an exam according to the law of God, borrowing money from Gavrila for a cab driver, secret kisses with Sonya, he remembered all this as childishness, from which he was now immeasurably far away. Now he is a hussar lieutenant in a silver mentic, with a soldier's George, preparing his trotter to run, together with famous hunters, elderly, respectable. He knows a lady on the boulevard whom he goes to see in the evening. He conducted a mazurka at the Arkharovs’ ball, talked about the war with Field Marshal Kamensky, visited an English club, and was on friendly terms with a forty-year-old colonel whom Denisov introduced him to.
His passion for the sovereign weakened somewhat in Moscow, since during this time he did not see him. But he often talked about the sovereign, about his love for him, making it felt that he was not telling everything yet, that there was something else in his feelings for the sovereign that could not be understood by everyone; and with all my heart he shared the general feeling of adoration in Moscow at that time for Emperor Alexander Pavlovich, who in Moscow at that time was given the name of an angel in the flesh.
During this short stay of Rostov in Moscow, before leaving for the army, he did not become close, but on the contrary, broke up with Sonya. She was very pretty, sweet, and obviously passionately in love with him; but he was in that time of youth when there seems to be so much to do that there is no time to do it, and the young man is afraid to get involved - he values ​​​​his freedom, which he needs for many other things. When he thought about Sonya during this new stay in Moscow, he said to himself: Eh! there will be many more, many more of these, somewhere, still unknown to me. I’ll still have time to make love when I want, but now there’s no time. In addition, it seemed to him that there was something humiliating for his courage in female society. He went to balls and sororities, pretending that he was doing it against his will. Running, an English club, carousing with Denisov, a trip there - that was another matter: it was befitting of a fine hussar.
At the beginning of March, the old Count Ilya Andreich Rostov was preoccupied with arranging a dinner at an English club to receive Prince Bagration.
The Count in a dressing gown walked around the hall, giving orders to the club housekeeper and the famous Theoktistus, the senior cook of the English club, about asparagus, fresh cucumbers, strawberries, veal and fish for Prince Bagration's dinner. The Count, from the day the club was founded, was its member and foreman. He was entrusted by the club with arranging a celebration for Bagration, because rarely did anyone know how to organize a feast in such a grand manner, hospitably, especially because rarely did anyone know how and want to contribute their money if they were needed to organize the feast. The cook and housekeeper of the club listened to the count's orders with cheerful faces, because they knew that under no one else could they profit better from a dinner that cost several thousand.

When we talk about something outdated, we say: stone age. We try to imagine how our ancestors lived, and museums help us in this, where we can see all the attributes of “that century” - stone axes, flint scrapers and arrowheads. Many books, paintings and films are devoted to this. But not everyone knows that we have a unique opportunity to observe people of “that time” in the present.

The spaces of the Earth today are developed, inhabited, filled with people, in some places to the point of extreme crowding. And yet there are “nooks and crannies” on Earth where, without a never-invented “time machine,” you are surprised to discover life as it was in the Stone Age, when people did not yet know either iron or bronze, when the ageless yellow metal was still did not drive the human race crazy. One of these corners of relic life is located in the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, on the Bismarck Archipelago and the northern part of the Solomon Islands, where the state of Papua New Guinea is located.

Tribes that have preserved the original way of life of their ancestors, who cannot write or read, who do not know what electricity and a car are, and who obtain their food by fishing and hunting. They believe that the gods are sending them rain and are trying to protect themselves from contact with our modern world. It is Papua New Guinea that accommodates several dozen unique tribes on its territory.

Many missionary scientists tried to penetrate into the lives of representatives of various tribes, but few returned from there alive... practically no one!.. And the reason for the “one-way trip” is banal - the “stranger” was eaten. In scientific terms, the brave souls were destroyed by the cannibalism of the Papuan tribes. They did not accept strangers - violation of their space led to death.

Now everything has changed. Residents of many tribes happily receive guests and observe representatives of civilization with no less mutual interest.

There are few places on Earth with such a diversity of languages, customs and cultures. Imagine - on one part of the island live officials, businessmen, workers, wearing European clothes and having an education - modern people, and on the other - mountain tribes who have not crossed the Stone Age. They fight among themselves and do not understand the language of the tribes from the neighboring valley. And for us their lives are amazing. It is so strange that in the 21st century there are still peoples living in primitive times. But we are as wild to them as they are to us.

Here are a few of the tribes of Papua New Guinea.

Dani tribe has long been unknown, and the high mountains in West Papua have long been considered uninhabited.

The places here are beautiful and the people are nice, the only problem is that strangers could not establish contact with them. Everyone disappeared without a trace - both travelers and missionaries.
In 1954, the first Christian missionary parachuted here. This is how the local population learned that they were not alone on this land.
It’s almost impossible to believe, but the stone ax remains the main tool of labor here, and the arrow and bow are the main weapons. But hunting feeds them less and less, because... the number of animals decreases - civilization advances.

Dani is a heavy smoker. Everyone smokes here - from children to old people. The first meeting with Dani may seem aggressive - it is a ritual in the form of fighting, with which they greet the natives. So it’s better to be mentally prepared for meeting them.

Papua is an amazing island. One hundredth of one percent of all humanity lives here, speaking 15% of all languages ​​existing in the world! Even the Dani use four different dialects.
For some time, the Dutch missionaries did not understand why they were asked to stand downwind when they walked with members of this tribe - it turned out that the Dani did not really like the smell of the white man. The sensations were mutual - the smell that comes from the tribute is also unusual for a white man.

The Dani have a terrible tradition - they take the loss of loved ones very hard, and when this happens, the man cuts off a piece of his ear with a bamboo knife, and the women cut off the phalanges of their fingers.

It will probably take a long time before the Internet, social networks and other nonsense of civilization reach the tribes of Papua New Guinea. Then, perhaps, they will start talking about loneliness and selfishness, vanity and cynicism. In the meantime, the Dani have everything in common and they have much fewer problems, or they are completely different than in “our” world.

The main wealth of the Dani people is pigs. Everything here is measured in pigs. A person's wealth here can be determined by two things - the number of wives and the number of pigs. For ceremonies and holidays, the pig is very important for tribute. If you are going to visit them and want to make friends, buy a pig and you will be a welcome guest!
The Dani are excellent farmers - their harvest is an abundance of vegetables and fruits. Women wear grass skirts, and men wear a kateku, an item that is worn at the casual place and is the only element of a man's clothing. To the question: “Can a man walk without a catheque?” one traveler received the answer: “No, of course, without harim you are naked! We’ll have to cover ourselves with our hands so that women don’t see!” Of course, people who live closer to Wamena and go there often already wear clothes. But, despite some eroticism in the costume of local men, the morals of the tributes are strict. The promiscuity common to people in other parts of the world has no place there!

Dani live quite a long time and rarely get sick - both life in the fresh air and physical labor take their toll. It is clear that this promotes longevity. And this is despite the terrible unsanitary conditions, which they will so generously share with you, treating you to their outlandish dishes. But they live and don’t even complain! In general, one can only envy their immunity.

And there is something incredibly touching in these people and something that we no longer have - simplicity and sincerity.

Someday, the fruits of civilization and technological progress will reach this tribe, and the tributes will change. And they will become like us...

The next representatives of the “Stone Age” are fallow deer tribe. Arriving on their land, do not be surprised if you see a considerable number of abandoned huts. The fact is that the Lani people, wherever they stop, even for a few hours, build huts from branches, bamboo, leaves and ferns to protect them from the rain.

Not so long ago, the fallow deer tribe had a reputation for being cannibals. The connection between the fallow deer and the civilized world has still not been established. In exchange for knives, matches and pots, they offer hospitality in a hut filled with acrid smoke.

In general, the tribal people of Papua are an amazing people who know how to live in perfect harmony with nature, earning their living by hunting and farming. The men look robust and wear the same "clothes" as the Dani men. They don’t wear clothes here even in cold weather; in such cases, the body is rubbed with pork fat.

The appearance of women will be simpler - they are dressed in skirts made of plant fibers, on their heads they wear a long net that goes down on their backs like a bag in which personal belongings are kept, including babies or piglets. Their fingers are often horribly mutilated, the result of ritual amputation as a sign of mourning for their loved ones. So, finger by finger, the doe tribe sacrifices part of itself in memory of loved ones...

According to the authorities, there are no longer cases of cannibalism among the tribes of Papua, but some claim that in the depths of the island, in the most remote and difficult places, bloody battles still break out between tribes, which are a continuation of long-term enmity. In case of victory, they simply perform the traditional ritual of eating the body of the enemy.

But, despite all the “stoniness” of the doe’s life, they still had an inevitable meeting with a white man, and therefore with metal knives, plastic buckets, T-shirts, jeans, missionaries, anthropologists and tourists.

Yali tribe 35 years ago they ate “human flesh”. Today it is the turn of civilization - it “eats” them. Missionaries, with their interference in their lives, are gradually destroying their original culture, and the Indonesian government is unceremoniously seizing territory that has belonged to the Yali since ancient times. Now the Yali tribe numbers about 20 thousand people.

The very first acquaintance of the Yali with white people occurred more than 50 years ago, but this meeting changed practically nothing in the life of the Papuans. If you don’t count such little things as changes, such as the appearance of metal pots and pans in the life of the Yali. Their appearance differs little from the appearance of other natives of New Guinea. Their height is very small (the tallest Yali is one and a half meters), and they still walk naked. Women wear only some kind of miniskirt, while men wear a kateka - a kind of cover made of dried pumpkin - over their manhood.

Yali are very hardworking, their main occupation is agriculture, they grow sweet potatoes, bananas, corn, and tobacco. They eat only what they have grown themselves and what nature gives them. The only factory-made food product that is extremely popular among the Yali is dry vermicelli “Mivina”! This can be seen by driving through the Jungle, where wrappers from this fast food are scattered here and there.

The Yali are one of the few tribes that are known for cannibalism. The natives have various tricks and weapons for attacking people, which is worth one black bow made from palm wood and for which there is a whole arsenal of arrows for different prey. And among these arrows against birds and other living creatures there are arrows against people. According to Yali, buttocks are considered the most delicious delicacy. They see nothing reprehensible in cannibalism. But according to many travelers and island authorities, yalis no longer eat people with white skin. Since white color for them is mourning. It seems to them that white people are the servants of death.

They live according to the principle “girls go left, boys go right,” i.e. women with children live separately from men. But when the boys reach 4 years of age, they move to the “men's house”.

What can disrupt such an orderly way of life? The answer is simple - war. The most amazing thing is that the cause can be a complete little thing, but if it’s not a little thing, then it’s definitely not a reason to start a war. The pig, or rather its disappearance, is the “global” cause of strife. And if something like this happens, the yawls immediately take up their bows and spears, ready to attack. Everything is explained by the fact that among the Papuans a pig is worth its weight in gold; for one well-fed pig you can buy yourself a wife. This is the exchange.

But yali can treat themselves to fried wild boar extremely rarely, only on holidays. For example, a wedding or an initiation ceremony, that is, the formation of a boy or a man - here you can smoke a pig. And on weekdays you have to walk around a delicious pig and “delight” yourself with a semi-edible root or New Guinea carrot.

Missionaries are increasingly “infiltrated” into the life of the tribe, trying to make their life more civilized. They bring them medicines, teach children to read and write, build small hydroelectric power stations, landing pads for helicopters, bridges on rivers... But at the same time, the territory where the Yali tribe lives has been declared a national park, and, therefore, hunting is prohibited there, which deprives the tribe food. There were attempts to resettle the yali closer to civilization, because... Earthquakes are frequent here, but in the valley the Yali people begin to suffer from malaria.

At a time when cannibalism in New Guinea had not yet slowed down, local authorities, in order to ensure the safety of tourists, obliged all visitors to obtain permission from the police and provide them with their data - the approximate route of the expedition. Probably, so that they at least know in which pot to look for them later...

By the will of fate Asmat tribe settled in the wettest and swampiest areas with a high degree of humidity and the richest source of diseases.

They live in the region of the same name in the province of Papua in Indonesia. The number of Asmatian people is estimated at about 70,000. The Asmatians are professionals in the field of wood carving, their products are highly valued among collectors.

The Asmat culture and way of life are highly dependent on natural resources obtained from forests, rivers and seas. The Asmat live on starch extracted from sago palms, fish, forest game and other species of animals and plants that can be found on the island. Due to frequent floods, Asmats place their homes on wooden beams - two or more meters above ground level. In some regions, Papuans' homes are located 25 meters from the ground.

The Asmats, like other tribes of Papua, at one time “sinned” with cannibalism.
They still have many interesting ways to use parts of the human body - using the skull as a “pillow” under the head or a children’s toy, the human tibia was used as a dart.
And now they will help the guests build a house, every day they will supply you with fish, shrimp and boar meat in exchange for fishing line, hooks, razor blades, matches, salt, knives, axes or machetes. Some of them will take the time to help you learn their language, which will initially overwhelm you with an incredible mixture of incoherent mumbling, cooing and cackling.

Korowai - tree-dwelling tribe

The Korowai tribe is one of the most interesting and unique finds for anthropologists and other researchers. They live in the eastern region of Indonesia in trees and speak only one language they understand. According to this year's census, there were about 3,000 Aboriginal people in this tribe. They skillfully climb ladders to their wooden houses, located at an altitude of 50 meters or more from the ground. The height at which the house is located depends on the relationship with fellow tribesmen. The worse the relationship, the higher the house. For construction, trees are cut down, on which a rather specific structure is installed. It’s incredible: there, at a height, dogs, pigs and other living creatures also live together with members of one or two families. You can climb to this house only by a very thin wooden ladder - along a bamboo stalk with steps cut out.

Until the late 1970s, when anthropologists began studying the tribe, the Korowai were unaware of the existence of people other than their tribe. The tribe's favorite dish is beetle larvae. To do this, sago trees are cut down 4-6 weeks before the feast and left to rot in the swamp, where they are filled with these larvae. At the appropriate stage of larval development, the trees are “opened” with a stone ax or a sharp spear. Beetles are eaten both raw and fried. They taste quite good. In the protein-scarce world of the Korowai people, these beetles are one of several important sources of fat.

They greet guests attentively, but warily. They can treat you to their delicacy - a dish made from sago starch. They also eat bananas and pineapples. Pork is a luxury for them; they eat it probably once a year. But communicating with representatives of this tribe is not so easy - they didn’t like something, so they immediately ran up and closed.

One of the most mysterious peoples on earth - tribe kombai. Until recently, they practiced cannibalism. Many missionaries tried to understand what makes tribes eat their own kind?

In order to understand another culture, you need to become part of it. This is what many scientific travelers did. No roads, no concrete, no buildings, no telegraph poles - just kilometers of jungle. These people live deep in the forest and are hunters and gatherers. The journey to them could have taken several weeks if not for the network of airfields built by the missionaries. About one hundred representatives of the Kombai tribe live in Wangamala, built in the 70s. They wear European clothes, the children go to school, and on Sundays everyone gathers for mass. After the missionaries came to them, the Kombai did not immediately accept them and were very hostile. But after the missionaries gave them clothes, dishes, and tobacco, the attitude towards them changed. People who live in villages have it much easier than those who live in the jungle. Seeing a man in clothes, they hide and shoot him. These people still eat each other to this day.

Don't be surprised if they ask you to take off your clothes when you meet them. Perhaps to make sure that you are ready to speak Their language, following Their traditions. Kombai walk naked, covering only the groin area with leaves. For an outsider, invading one of the clans can cost their lives. If you approach one of the huts alone, you may be shot. There are no utensils here that we use. Imagine what it’s like to live without frying pans or utensils in which to boil water and even without drinking utensils - there are only leaves and stones.

Smoking is their favorite pastime and it is surprising that these people do not have problems with their lungs, at least they can easily move along the mountains and slopes without experiencing shortness of breath.

In this society, responsibilities are clearly divided into men's and women's. When men cut down a tree, women take out the core. Their life seems easy. When they want to eat, they go hunting, and the rest of the time they rest.

It's hard to imagine that these calm and good-natured people could be cannibals. Cannibalism is explained differently in different world cultures. Reasons range from simple hunger to paying homage to the dead. In some tribes, cannibalism is considered a form of execution - only criminals are eaten. It is believed that if a person is evil, he must be eaten. The Kombai believe that the soul lives in the stomach and brain. That is why these body parts need to be eaten. “If a bad person kills someone from my family, I will kill him. If he is from another village, I will eat him. If he is from our village, I will give him to be eaten by all my neighbors.” Like this. They still follow this morality.

The jungle is covered with a carpet of thorns, but the Kombai don't care. They do not wear shoes - this makes their feet hard and insensitive.

Traveling through Papua can be a good school of life. Having been close to danger and difficult living conditions, you evaluate your life in a new way and find extremely important what you previously treated with unforgivable carelessness.

New Guinea, the second largest island in the world, is currently divided politically into two parts. Its eastern part forms the main body of the state of Papua New Guinea (which also includes the Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville and some other islands), the western part (Irian Jaya) is part of Indonesia.

The vast majority of the island's population (over 90%) are Papuan peoples (the common name given to the majority of the indigenous New Guinea population who speak a variety of languages ​​outside the Austronesian family). The total number of Papuans exceeds 3 million. Ethnically, the Papuan population is divided into almost 700 separate ethnic groups. The languages ​​spoken by these peoples do not form a single genetic group, but are distributed among several unrelated phyla, or superfamilies. The largest of these is the Trans-New Guinea n ad family, whose languages ​​are spoken by 85% of all Papuans and which are distributed throughout most of New Guinea, except for some of its peripheral areas. The languages ​​of the next largest superfamily, Sepik-Ramu (northwestern Papua New Guinea), are native to 8% of all Papuans. The remaining 7% of the Papuan population speak languages ​​of the Torricelli superfamilies (also northwestern Papua New Guinea), West Papuan (far western Irian Jaya) and several others, as well as several completely isolated languages.

Most of the Papuan peoples are very small and number from several hundred to several thousand people. The largest of the Papuan ethnic groups: Enga (almost 200 thousand), Chimbu (about 180 thousand), Hagen, or Medlpa (more than 130 thousand), and Kamano (over 110 thousand people). All these peoples belong to the Trans-New Guinean linguistic superfamily and live in the Central Highlands.

In addition to the Papuans, New Guinea is also home to peoples who speak Austronesian languages. They are commonly called Melanesians. They are found in several coastal areas of the island, the largest of which is the Markham River basin area. In terms of their numbers (about 200 thousand), the Melanesians are much inferior to the Papuans.

Anthropologically, among the indigenous Australoid population of New Guinea, two main types are distinguished, identical in name with the ethno-linguistic groups of the island: Papuan and Melanesian. Both types are characterized by dark skin, curly hair, thick lips, and a wide nose, but representatives of the Papuan type are distinguished by a narrower face and a particularly peculiar shape of the nose, which has a hook-shaped bend in the cartilaginous part (the so-called pseudosemitic nose). Although the groups speaking Papuan languages ​​are usually of the Papuan type, and those of Austronesian languages ​​are of the Melanesian type, there is no complete correspondence.

By occupation, the vast majority of Papuans are hoe farmers. The main cultivated crops are taro, yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, sugar cane, coconut and sago palms, and breadfruit. Now among the Papuans you can also find crops borrowed from Europeans (beans, potatoes, coffee trees grown as a cash crop, etc.). Traditional tools are a stone ax or adze, a cutting stake and a narrow shovel. Hoes are less common. The stone ax and adze are gradually being replaced by iron axes and knives; traditional gardening tools hold on more firmly.

The outstanding Russian ethnographer N. N. Miklouho-Maclay, who spent more than two years among the Papuans, described their slash-and-burn method of cultivating the land. The Papuans, “having chosen a piece of land for a plantation, cut down the undergrowth, and then the larger branches of large trees... What is cut down quickly withers and dries up. Then they make a fire and burn the cut down bushes and dried branches. Only large trees remain, they are gradually set on fire at the root for several days in a row, and sometimes they are cut down with large stone axes.” In a cleared area, men dig up the ground, sticking planting stakes deep into the ground. Women and children crush and grind the dug up earth. This is followed by planting, tending the area and harvesting, all of which is done by women. Agricultural work is carried out in the same way today.

Papuans raise pigs, chickens and dogs as domestic animals.

Farming is usually combined with hunting. Papuans hunt with spears, bows and arrows. The objects of hunting are wild pigs, cassowaries, small birds, couscous, lizards, and snakes.

Crafts have not yet separated from agriculture. Until recently, all the tools with which the Papuan worked were made of wood, stone, bone, and shells. Weapons, both hunting and combat, were made from the same material (here, in addition to weapons similar to hunting, wooden clubs and shields, bone daggers, and reed shells were also used). As already noted, more advanced, purchased tools are now becoming more widespread, but the Papuans still make a lot themselves: boats, some tools, clothes, utensils, etc.

From the above it follows that the Papuans are characterized by the economic and cultural type of manual farmers. However, not the entire Papuan population belongs to this type. In a number of swampy areas of New Guinea (for example, along the Bamu River), another, more primitive economic and cultural type has been preserved, where the main occupation of the population is collecting the fruits of the wild sago palm.

Papuans usually settle in small villages. In most Papuan villages the number of inhabitants does not exceed 100-150 people. Rural settlements with a population of over 1 thousand people are rare.

As in some other areas of Oceania, in the villages of New Guinea adult men live separately from the rest of the inhabitants, in a special men's house, which reflects the gender-age division of labor that took place here.

Huts - pile type or ground. The floor in pile buildings is made of bamboo trunks, while in ground buildings it is earthen. The walls are constructed from bamboo and tree bark, sometimes from rough-hewn boards. The huts are covered with palm leaves. The shape of the house is rectangular, less often round.

Traditional housing is preserved quite steadfastly. There are quite a few modern houses in the villages.

Papuan men's clothing consists of a belt made from tapa (soaked and beaten tree bark). It is wrapped several times around the thighs and passed between the legs. Women's clothing is a skirt made of plant fibers or grass.

Jewelry is worn mainly by men. These are bracelets, necklaces, unique earrings, nose pieces, etc. Tattoos and body painting also serve as decoration. Women decorate themselves much less often.

European clothing penetrated into New Guinea still weakly, mainly in urban settlements. However, some elements of traditional clothing, such as skirts, are often made from purchased modern material.

Food is mainly of plant origin. Meat (pigs, chickens, dogs, and now sometimes cats) is rarely consumed. They cook food in an earthen oven, in ashes or over an open fire. Fire was previously produced by friction, but nowadays purchased or bartered matches are used for this purpose. They now buy salt (previously extracted from ash), sugar and some other products.

The social structure of the Papuans is complex; some elements of their social organization seem confusing at first glance, which is largely due to the insufficient knowledge of social relations among the Papuan peoples.

The Papuans are divided into tribes, but they, like the Australians, are rather ethnic communities rather than socio-cultural ones. These are rather amorphous associations, bound by the unity of language and culture, but without any tribal organization, tribal leaders, etc.

The Papuans have a paternal genus, or rather its early form (the maternal genus is found in New Guinea only among Melanesians). Several clans are usually united in unions, but these are not tribes, but either a group of clans connected by a common origin (i.e., actually a phratry), or a group of neighboring clans that are in constant contact. The clan union is the largest social organization that the Papuans had at the time of contacts with Europeans.

The main economic units in New Guinea are communities. Among them there are three main groups, differing depending on the ratio of community and family principles. The most common is the clan community. It is characterized by communal ownership of the results of the joint labor activities of its members. At the same time, within the framework of communal property there are also possessions of parts of the community and personal ones. There are no hereditary leaders in the clan community, and its members achieve authority and leadership positions by virtue of their personal qualities. An important feature of a clan community is that most of it (men, their sisters and daughters) belong to the same clan. Outside this gens are only those women who enter the community as a result of marriage to one of the community members.

Much less common among the Papuans is another form - a heterogeneous community, where farming is carried out primarily by individual parts of the community (large families). Only forests, swamps, wastelands and some other lands remain in the ownership of the community; ownership of vegetable gardens, large boats, etc. belongs to large families. A heterogeneous community, in contrast to a clan community, as its main core no longer includes individuals of one clan, but several, although connected by family ties.

The THIRD form of community - the neighborly one - arose among the Papuans under the influence of external contacts with Europeans and Indonesians and is usually common in rural settlements located near cities.

Papuans have both paired families consisting of a husband, wife and their children, and large families uniting several related paired families.

The spiritual culture of the Papuans is also very original. The traditional beliefs of the Papuan peoples differ markedly from each other. For some groups (for example, the Marindanim), such a primitive form of religion as totemism played an important role. Belief in magic also became very widespread. Many groups of Papuans were characterized by the veneration of ancestors in the primitive form of the cult of skulls.

The activities of missionaries in New Guinea, especially intensified in recent decades, have led to the fact that now the majority of the island's population formally professes Christianity (in the form of Protestantism and Catholicism). However, very often the Christianization of Papuans is superficial. In addition, recently there has been a tendency here to create separate Christian churches, more or less independent of missionary organizations.

Papuan folklore is closely related to traditional beliefs. Thus, among the Marind-anim there are widespread myths about the deeds of totemic ancestors of half-animal-half-human nature, the so-called demes. Various tales about spirits are also common among the Papuan tribes, and they are not so much magical as moralizing in nature.

Applied arts, in particular artistic wood carving, have received great development among the Papuans.

The centuries-old backwardness of the Papuan peoples, after liberation from colonial dependence, begins to gradually be overcome. The government of independent Papua New Guinea is carrying out various activities to raise the economic and cultural level of the population, but there are still many obstacles on the way to eliminating the grave colonial legacy.