New Guinea. cannibal tribe

Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

Oryol State University

abstract

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 often called "a paradise for ethnographers, but a hell for any government". 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 nearest large 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 long periods. 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 it is about the instructions of a negative nature. 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 best pieces he takes for himself and offers to guests.

The life of primitive man is 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 an 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 significant success achieved new evangelical communities, 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.

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 in the days of the most difficult 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.

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. The Carafai (or tree people) are the most cruel tribe. They eat not only warriors of foreign tribes, lost locals or tourists, but also all their dead relatives. The name "tree people" got from their houses, which are 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. AT 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 body parts of their enemies in order to gain their strength; or another well-known useful "application" of this phenomenon: the heirs thus deal with the bodies of their fathers in the pious hope that they will be reborn in the body of the eaters of their flesh.

The most "cannibalistic" country of the 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 hunters for skulls and cannibals.

The most delicious parts of the body they consider 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 the independent state of Papua New Guinea, much less evidence of cannibalism is recorded.

Papua New Guinea, especially its center is 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.

On the coast of the island of New Guinea now live quite civilized people 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.

Typical locality, 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. Sorcerers usually go to people who are weak and unfit 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 their spears...

But Miklukho-Maclay did not react in any way to these attacks. 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 were looking at the foreign 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. gullible 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 vus are placed here - the abode of some 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 pork fat and clay, sprinkled with 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 was 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 off the upper part of his ear with a wooden knife 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.

DEATH WITH A SMILE ON THE LIPS

In Papua New Guinea, people believe that the head is the seat of a person's spiritual and physical strength. Therefore, when fighting with enemies, the Papuans first of all seek to take possession of this part of the body.

Cannibalism for the Papuans is not at all the desire to eat tasty food, but rather magical rite, during which cannibals gain the intelligence and strength of the one they eat. Let us apply this custom not only to enemies, but also to friends, and even relatives who heroically fell in battle.

Especially "productive" in this sense is the process of eating the brain. By the way, it is with this rite that doctors associate the disease kuru, which is very common among cannibals. Kuru is another name for mad cow disease, which can be contracted by eating the unroasted brains of animals (or, in this case, humans).

This insidious disease was first recorded in 1950 in New Guinea, in a tribe where the brain of dead relatives was considered a delicacy. The disease begins with pain in the joints and head, gradually progressing, leads to loss of coordination, trembling in the arms and legs and, oddly enough, fits of uncontrollable laughter.

The disease develops long years sometimes the incubation period is 35 years. But the worst thing is that the victims of the disease die with a frozen smile on their lips.

Sergey BORODIN

(average: 4,67 out of 5)

Papua New Guinea- this is one of the most unique countries on earth, located in Oceania, in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean and not far from the equator. With a population of only 7 million people, about 300 cultural communities coexist here, communicating in more than 850 languages!

The name "Papua" comes from the Malay word "papuva", which means "curly" in Russian. And today we will get acquainted with the indigenous people - Papuans and their beautiful tribal coloring. Color report. (Photos by Rita Willaert).

As we said before nickname "Papua" comes from the Malay word "papuva", which is translated into Russian means "curly"(according to another version from "orang papua" - "curly black-headed man"). This name was given to the island of New Guinea by the Portuguese Menezes in 1526, noting the shape of the hair of the locals.

The island of New Guinea and most of the country's other islands are mountainous. The height of a significant part of the territory is more than 1000 m above sea level, and some peaks of New Guinea reach 4500 m, that is, the belt of eternal snow.

Independence Day. The head of this Papuan is decorated with feathers of pigeons, parrots and other exotic birds. Jewelry around the neck are symbols of prosperity. Goroka City, Papua New Guinea:

Many of the mountain ranges are chains of volcanoes. In Papua New Guinea 18 active volcanoes. Most of of which are located in the north of the country. Strong, sometimes catastrophic earthquakes are also associated with volcanic activity.

The Goroka Festival is probably the most famous cultural event captured in papua new guinea. It is held once a year in the city of Goroka:

The culture of Papua New Guinea is extremely diverse and it is hardly possible to single out a single type of tradition or way of life for the whole country. Even within the same district or region, representatives of several dozen nationalities can live, often practically unrelated either by origin or language.

Independence Day. About 100 tribes come here to show their dances, music and culture. AT last years this festival attracts many tourists as it is one of the few opportunities to see the tribes and their colorful traditions. Goroka City, Papua New Guinea:

Green Spiderman, Goroka City, Papua New Guinea:

Many remote Papuan tribes still have only minor contact with the outside world.

Vegetation and animal world Papua New Guinea is rich and varied. More than 20 thousand plant species grow there. Along the coast of the island of New Guinea, a wide (in some places up to 35 km) strip of mangrove vegetation stretches.

Above 1000-2000 m, the forests become more uniform in composition, coniferous species begin to predominate in them.

The fauna of the country is represented by reptiles, insects and especially numerous birds. In the forests and on the coast there are many snakes, including poisonous ones, and lizards.

A unique cassowary bird lives in Papua New Guinea (one of the largest birds on earth, weighing more than 70 kg). One of the most venomous snakes, the tai pan, is also found here. It has enough poison to kill 80 adults.

White and black coloring with red eyes:

Hornbill beak:

Handsome:

"Curly people":

Under a giant snake. Goroka City, Papua New Guinea:

All possible colors:

Jewelry in the form of a large penis. This is a sign of good fertility in the tribe:

Notice the legs painted white. City of Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea:

City of Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea:

The head of the Papuan is decorated with feathers of the Bird of Paradise (lat. Paradisaeidae):

Exotic Fur and Bird of Paradise Feathers:

New Guinea "(Irian) - the largest island in pacific ocean. Its area is 785 thousand km 2, length - 2400 km, width - 700 km.

natural conditions

A huge mountain range runs along the entire island. On the southeastern edge of the island, the mountains drop and then disappear under the water.

The tops of the sunken mountains form the D'Entrecasteaux Islands and the Louisiade archipelago. The interior of New Guinea is mountainous. Here and there the uplands are cut by small river valleys. In many places the mountains reach the very shore. This is the case, for example, on the Yuon Peninsula, near McClure Bay. Here the coast is steep, precipitous, indented by many deep, narrow gorges, along which mountain streams flow. The valleys are overgrown with alang-alang (or kunai) grass, as high as a man, and small groups of trees. Sometimes in the same areas, in front of the mountains approaching the sea, there is an alluvial sandy lowland. Here are usually located the villages of the coastal Papuans. The shore of the Astrolabe Bay and to the north of it is hilly. On the hills - forests and groves of coconut palms. “Between the first hills and the sea,” writes N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, “there is a low coastal strip. The forest in some places descends to the very sea, so that the lower branches of large trees are in the water. The southwestern coast is low-lying, marshy. Ego is the only big lowland on the whole island.

The climate of the island is tropical, hot throughout the year: average temperature in winter (June - August) 25°, in summer (December - February) 26°. Temperatures are somewhat lower in the mountains, averaging around 18°C. But the nights are cold everywhere, sometimes the temperature drops to zero. Precipitation is extremely plentiful (up to 5000 mm), in some areas there are up to three hundred rainy days in a year. There is less precipitation in the south, and there are even areas on the southern coast where the dry period is clearly pronounced (from July to December).

The vegetation of the island is extremely diverse. Only on the southern coast, where there are dry seasons, the flora is poorer: it is the vegetation of the savannahs (equilypts, acacias, alang-alang grass), in marshy places on the banks there are thickets of mangroves, casuarina (the leaves of the latter resemble cassowary feathers). As for the rest of the regions, one can only say that the vegetation in them (if the height is not more than 900 m above sea level) is tropical. Of the wild ones, the pandanus, sago palm, and nipa palm are characteristic. Coconut, sago and areca palms are cultivated, in some places - breadfruit.

The animal world is poor in higher mammals (there is only a wild pig) and rich in marsupials: tree kangaroo, wallaby, bandicoot, opossum, flying squirrel; reptiles - New Guinea tortoise (Carretohelys), lizards, snakes, some of which are poisonous. Off the coast of New Guinea, among marine mammals, the dugong is found.

The bird world is rich (about two hundred species): cassowary (a large running bird with undeveloped wings), birds of paradise, pigeons, herons, cuckoos, cockatoo parrots and many others. The ocean is rich in fish.

Lots of arthropods. Some of them are extremely annoying for people, and some carry diseases (mosquitoes, mosquitoes, ants, sand flies, forest lice, centipedes, scorpions). There is no area where all these species would be present, but there is also no area where they would not exist at all. The conditions of life created by their abundance are visible from the following example: “The house in which we dined,” writes researcher Wollaston, “was filled with flies at the same moment food was brought into it; therefore we rejoiced that spiders lived in our house; one of our old friends - science, who lived under the table, crawled out during dinner and got his share of flies; over time, he became so tame that he took a live fly from our fingers.

History of discovery and colonization

The island of New Guinea was discovered by the Portuguese George de Menezes in 1526. The island got its name in 1545. So Ortis de Rete called it because of the similarity of the Papuans with the inhabitants of African Guinea. In the XVI century. New Guinea was considered the northern part of the Australian mainland, but in 1606 Torres established that it was an island.

Then, for more than 250 years, Europeans hardly remembered the existence of this island. True, the Dutch founded a colony on the west coast in 1828, but eight years later all the colonists died out. Since 1828 Western part The island was considered a Dutch possession, but there was not a single Dutchman here, and only by chance did Dutch warships come here.

In 1884, the northeastern part of New Guinea was captured by Germany, the southeastern part - by England. This south-eastern part - the present Territory of Papua - was initially administered by the Queensland authorities, and from 1906 - under the administration of Australia. The coastal tribes (Dorei, Monumbo, Bongu, Kate, Marind-Anim) and the tribes of the southeastern peninsula (Roro, Koita, Mekeo) came into contact with the white colonizers. The tribes of the inner regions of the island remained and in part still remain outside the "sphere of influence" of the colonialists. However, even some coastal tribes, which are commonly referred to as "coming into contact with European culture", for the most part have this " European culture» very poor performance.

After the First World War, the German part of New Guinea ceded as a "mandatory" territory to Australia. After the Second World War, it became a "trust" territory under the same administration. The administration center was in the city of Rabaul ( island Novaya Britannia).

In 1948, the Territory of Papua and the Trust Territory were united by the Australian government in what is known as an administrative union centered on Moresby. The United Territory has its own legislative council, but its power is small, for any decision of it can be vetoed by an administrator appointed by Australia. The composition of the council itself is rather a mockery of self-government: of its 29 members, 17 are appointed directly by the administrator, of the remaining 12 "unofficial" members, three represent missions, three are planters and miners, three are elected by the rest of the population of European origin, and, finally, three represent Papuans and Melanesians , but they are not elected, but are also appointed by the administrator. The administrator has dictatorial rights. As for the participation of the aboriginal population in the government of their country, it has actually been reduced to zero. The council consists of 25 people of European origin and three natives. Ten thousand people of European origin elect three members of the council, and two million Papuans and Melanesians do not elect anyone, they have only three "representatives" appointed from above.

The western part of New Guinea, which for decades was called the Dutch, now, after the formation of the Indonesian Republic, gravitates towards the latter, although its political position has not yet been completely determined. It is now called West Irian.

The Anglo-Australian colonial administration officially divides the entire part of New Guinea under its jurisdiction into five zones, according to the degree of its real power: 1) areas under the complete control of the colonial administration (mainly coastal); 2) areas under "partial control"; 3) areas "under the influence" of the administration; 4) "uncontrolled"; 5) "unknown areas". In the fourth and fifth zones - the inner regions of the island - colonial officials and people of European origin in general do not dare to penetrate, and even armed detachments are afraid to send into "unknown areas".

In 1938, about 60 thousand Papuans were discovered in the valley of the river. Balim (on the northern slopes snowy mountains). A number of tribes were discovered in 1942 - 1943, during military operations in New Guinea. There is information about tribes discovered in 1945. There is no doubt that in the central mountainous regions of New Guinea, especially in Zazadny Irian, tribes still live that have not yet seen a European.

Indigenous people

The name "Papuan" comes from the Malay word papuwa (curly). So the Malays call the inhabitants of New Guinea for their finely wavy thick hair, forming one continuous mass.

The term "Papuan" received other meanings in science. Anthropologists talk about the Papuan anthropological type, linguists - about the Papuan languages.

The Papuan anthropological type and the Papuan languages, however, do not cover the entire population of New Guinea, but only part of it, as well as part of the population of other islands of Melanesia (inland regions of the large islands).

In total, there are now more than 2 million indigenous inhabitants of New Guinea. There is no exact census of the population of New Guinea, moreover, a number of areas of this huge island have not yet been explored. Population data are therefore purely approximate, although the figures, at first glance, give an idea of ​​​​accuracy to one person.

So, according to 1947 data, in the central mountainous region of northeastern New Guinea, there were 295,769 people. In fact, the census covered 95,769 people, the rest of the population is approximately estimated at 200,000. As a result, this “exact” was obtained.

figure - 295 769. In the area of ​​the river. Sepik, according to the same data, the population is 232,550. Of these, 147,550 are covered by the census, and the remainder of the population is estimated at about 85,000. For the Madang district, there is an “exact” figure - 82,386, the same for the Morobe district - 125,575 .

Thus, the total population in the northeastern part of New Guinea, i.e., in the "trust territory", is about 950 thousand. 1

The population of the Territory of Papua is estimated at approximately 400 thousand and the population of the territory of West Irian (former Dutch New Guinea) is 700 thousand.

The economy of the Papuans at the end of the 19th century.

The Papuans have inhabited New Guinea since very early times, probably many thousands of years. The first inhabitants were probably at a very low stage of development. Here, in New Guinea, they have gone through a long historical path of cultural growth. In the second half of the 19th century, when Miklukho-Maclay lived on New Gwiiye, the Papuans knew how to cultivate the land, build solid wooden buildings, make pottery, and had bows and arrows. In coastal areas, the exchange of products of agriculture, fishing and pottery was widely developed.

New Guinea was in the 19th century. and remains today a country of primitive agriculture. At present, the following agricultural crops are known to the Papuans. In inland areas, mainly sweet potato (sweet potatoes) and sugar cane are bred, on the coast - taro, yams, beans, bananas; in the valleys of large rivers (Ramu, Sepik, Fly, etc.) sago palms are grown. Harvests are taken here all year round.

In wooded areas, the method of cultivating the land is based on the slash system. It remains almost the same as under Miklouho-Maclay.

The same manual technique is practiced on the plantations of the colonialists, where the Papuans are forced to work. Their work is not spared at all. During the Second World War, when American and Australian troops were in New Guinea, several tractors were brought here. The Papuans learned to cultivate the land with them. The harvest went to meet the needs of the army. After the end of military operations, tractors from New Guinea disappeared. The Papuans demand that they be re-imported. They have organized "agricultural progress societies" and raise funds to buy tractors and plows. The planters, however, prevent this movement. The labor force in New Guinea is so cheap that it is unprofitable for them even on large plantations to introduce mechanization of work.

Where land is scarce, on small islands located near New Guinea, the Papuans are engaged in various crafts, such as the manufacture of clay pots, boats, etc. In exchange for these products, they receive taro, yams, and bananas from the inhabitants of coastal villages.

On the shores of the Coral and Arafura Seas, in the area of ​​the Astrolabe Bay, at the mouths of the Sepik and Ramu rivers and in some other coastal areas, fishing plays an important role. On the coast and neighboring islands there are villages where the inhabitants are engaged only in fishing and almost no cultivation of the land. They receive fruits and vegetables from other tribes in exchange for fish and turtle meat.

Both in the 19th century and now, with the exception of the coastal regions, the main tools of labor among the Papuans are a stone ax, bone scrapers and sharp fragments of shells. With their help, the Papuans build huts and boats, make their spades, spears, bows and arrows, dishes and utensils.