Life of the Papuans. Traditions of the Papuans. They pay for their future wife with pigs

The Papuans brought the traveler breadfruit, bananas, taro, coconuts, sugar cane, pork, and dog meat.

Miklouho-Maclay gave them scraps of cloth, beads, nails, bottles, boxes and the like, treated the sick, and gave advice.

One day, people from the neighboring islands of Bili-Bili arrived on two large pirogues, brought gifts of coconuts and bananas and, saying goodbye, invited the white man to their island, showing with gestures that they would not kill or eat him.

Among local residents, Miklouho-Maclay was known as “the man from the moon.” In relations with the natives, he always adhered to the rule of fulfilling his promise to them. Therefore, the Papuans have a saying: “Maclay’s word is one.”

Another wise rule of conduct was to never tell a lie to the natives.

Life and customs of the Papuans

At that time, the Papuans of the Maclay Coast did not know the use of metals and were in the Stone Age stage; They made knives, spearheads and various tools from stone, bone and wood.

However, they had a highly developed agricultural culture: they burned areas tropical forest, carefully cultivated the land, surrounding the area with a fence of sugar cane to protect against attacks by wild pigs.

Basic cultivated plants These are yams, taro and sweet potatoes, which, boiled or baked, are the main food of the Papuans. On the plantations one could also find sugar cane, bananas, breadfruit, beans, tobacco and other plants. Coconut palm trees are planted around the huts; they bear fruit throughout the year.

A favorite dish of the Papuans is coconut flesh scraped off with a shell and sprinkled with coconut milk; it turns out something like porridge. The preparation of coconut oil was unknown to the inhabitants of the Maclay Coast.

Meat food is rare among the Papuans; Dogs, New Guinea pigs, and chickens are bred for meat. They also eat fish, marsupials, large lizards, beetles and mollusks.

Usually the husband prepares food separately for himself, and the wife - for herself and for the children. Husband and wife never eat together. The food is prepared specially for the guest and the leftovers are given to the guest when parting.

But having salt, they use sea water instead.

“They also have a surrogate of salt in dried trunks and roots washed ashore by the tide. Rushing for many months at sea, these trunks become heavily saturated with salt. The Papuans dry them in the sun for several days and set them on fire. The Papuans greedily eat the still warm ash - it is indeed quite salty.” Or they drink a brew from caterpillars, spiders and lizards in sea water.

From special type pepper is used to prepare an intoxicating drink. To do this, leaves, stems, and especially roots are chewed and then spat into a coconut shell with as much saliva as possible. Then add some water, filter through a bunch of grass and drink the filtrate. A glass is enough to get you drunk. Women and children are strictly prohibited from drinking keu, as this drink is called. Key is the kava of the Polynesians.

Pigs and dogs were kept as domestic animals; dog meat was their favorite food. The dishes of the local Papuans consisted of clay pots and wooden dishes; V great progress There were also coconut shells.

The main tool with which the Papuans made their buildings, boats, and utensils was a stone axe, a flat polished stone with a sharpened blade. In some places, instead of stone, they used a massive tridacna mollusk shell. “The natives, with their light axes, with a blade no more than five centimeters long, easily cut down tree trunks half a meter in diameter, and also carve thin patterns on the shafts of their spears,” wrote Miklouho-Maclay. Knives were made from animal bones and also from bamboo. The weapons used were wooden throwing spears about two meters long, a bow with arrows one meter long, and slings.

Our traveler was the first to introduce iron to the inhabitants of the shores of Astrolabe Bay. Also in late XIX century Russian word"axe" was used by all the natives of the coast to designate an iron axe, as opposed to a stone one.

The coastal Papuans did not know how to make fire and used burning or smoldering firebrands to keep the fire going. Those who lived in the foothills extracted fire with a string using friction.

Men, especially in holidays, painted their faces with red or black paint. Men, and sometimes women, get tattoos, burning scars on their bodies. Women wear many necklaces made from shells, dog teeth and fruit pits.

The Papuans lived in small villages in huts made of bamboo or wood with steep roofs. Some huts were decorated with images of human figures of both sexes made of wood. One such figure (“telum”), brought by Miklouho-Maclay, is kept in Ethnographic Museum Academy of Sciences.

Papuans of the Maclay Coast marry early; As a rule, they have one wife and lead a very strict life morally. Marriage among Papuans is exogamous; this means that a man can only marry a woman from a different family. To get married, the consent of the mother or mother's brother is required. Miklouho-Maclay describes a matchmaking ceremony in one of the villages. The maternal uncle gives the groom a spoken tobacco leaf. The groom puts a few of his own on it

hair, wraps it and, having smoked half of it, hands it to the girl. If she lights a cigarette butt or accepts it with a fish bone needle, this means her consent to the marriage. When they take a wife from a distant village, they perform a ritual of forcibly abducting the bride.

Parents are very attached to their children. Women do all the daily housework around the house.

The dead are buried by burying them in the ground in the same huts where they live.

There were no tribal or elected leaders on the Maclay Coast.

The language of the Papuans of the Maclay Coast was not difficult to learn, and the traveler soon mastered the Papuan language so much that he could freely communicate with the residents neighboring villages. This required knowledge of approximately three hundred and fifty words. Total Miklouho puts the number of words in the Papuan language of this region at 1000.

It should be borne in mind that our traveler did not have any translators or dictionaries. To this we must add that almost every village on the Maclay Coast has its own dialect, and in order to understand the inhabitants an hour’s walk from Miklukha’s residence, it was necessary to hire a translator.

Miklouho-Maclay estimated the number of inhabitants around Astrolabe Bay at 3500-4000 people.

Return from the first trip

On December 19, 1872, the clipper “Emerald” came for Nikolai Nikolaevich. One sailor from the Vityaz, who had already visited New Guinea in 1871, when the Vityaz was transporting Miklouho-Maclay, was assigned to this ship. This is how the meeting with the traveler took place.

“We were approaching Astrolabe Bay, not without inner excitement. Is Maclay alive or not? The majority have long excluded Maclay from the list of the living, since in one of the Australian newspapers some time ago it was published that one merchant ship entered the Astrolabe, which found only Wilson alive...

It is very logical to start the story about our trip to Papuasia with a story about the Papuans themselves.
If there were no Papuans, half the problems on the trip to the Carstensz Pyramid would not have happened either. But there wouldn't be half the charm and exoticism.

In general, it’s difficult to say whether it would be better or worse... And there’s no reason to. At least for now - for now there is no escape from the Papuans on the expedition to the Carstensz Pyramid.

So, our expedition Carstensz 2015 began, like all similar expeditions: Bali airport - Timika airport.

A bunch of luggage, a sleepless night. Vain attempts to somehow get some sleep on the plane.

Timika is still a civilization, but already Papua. You understand this from the very first steps. Or from the first announcements in the toilet.

But our path lies even further. From Timika we need to fly on a small charter plane to the village of Sugapa. Previously, expeditions started from the village of Ilaga. The path there is easier, a little shorter. But for the last three years, so-called separatists have settled in Ilaga. Therefore, expeditions start from Sugapa.

Roughly speaking, Papua is a region occupied by Indonesia. Papuans do not consider themselves Indonesians. Previously, the government paid them money. Just. Because they are Papuans. Recent years fifteen stopped paying money. But Papuans are used to having (relatively) white people give them money.
Now this “must give” is displayed mainly on tourists.

Not so cheerful after the night flight, we and all our belongings moved to a house next to the airport - from where small planes take off.

This moment can be considered the starting point of the expedition. All certainties are ending. Nobody ever gives accurate information. Everything can happen in five minutes, or in two hours, or in a day.
And you can’t do anything, nothing depends on you.
Nothing teaches patience and humility like the road to Carstensz.

Three hours of waiting, and we move towards the plane.
And here they are - the first real Papuans, waiting to fly to their villages.

They really don't like being photographed. And in general, the arrival of a crowd of strangers does not evoke any positive emotions in them.
Well, okay, we have no time for them yet. We have more important things to do.
First they weigh our luggage, and then all of us. hand luggage. Yes, yes, this is not a joke. In a small plane, weight comes in kilograms, so the weight of each passenger is carefully recorded.

On the way back, during the weigh-in, the live weight of the event participants decreased significantly. And the weight of the luggage too.

We weighed ourselves and checked in our luggage. And wait again. This time in the best airport hotel - Papua Holiday. At least nowhere does one sleep as sweetly as there.

The command “it’s time to land” pulls us out of our sweet dreams.
Here is our white-winged bird, ready to be carried to magical land Papuasia.

Half an hour of flight and we find ourselves in another world. Everything here is unusual and somehow extreme.
Starting from a super short runway.

And ending with the suddenly running Papuans.

They were already waiting for us.
A gang of Indonesian motorcyclists. They were supposed to take us to the last village.
And the Papuans. There are a lot of Papuans. Who had to decide whether to let us reach this village at all.
They quickly grabbed our bags, pulled us aside and started debating.

The women sat separately. Closer to us. Laugh, chat. Even flirt a little.

The men in the distance got down to serious business.

Well, I finally got to the morals and customs of the Papuans.

Patriarchy reigns in Papuasia.
Polygamy is accepted here. Almost every man has two or three wives. The wives have five, six, seven children.
Next time I will show a Papuan village, houses and how they all live there in such a big cheerful crowd

So here it is. Let's get back to families.
Men are engaged in hunting, protecting the home and solving important issues.
Women do everything else.

Hunting doesn't happen every day. There is also no one to protect the house from.
Therefore, a man’s typical day goes like this: he wakes up, drinks a cup of tea or coffee or poo and walks around the village to see what’s new. Returns home by lunchtime. Having lunch. He continues his walks around the village, communicating with neighbors. In the evening he has dinner. Then, judging by the number of children in the villages, he deals with demographic problems and goes to bed to continue his hard everyday life in the morning.

A woman wakes up early in the morning. Prepares tea, coffee and other breakfast. And then he takes care of the house, children, garden and other nonsense. The whole day from morning to evening.

The Indonesian guys told me all this in response to my question: why do men carry practically nothing, while women carry heavy bags.
Men are simply not designed for hard daily work. As in the joke: war will come, and I’m tired...

So. Our Papuans began discussing whether to let us through Sugapa or not. If allowed, then under what conditions?
Actually, it's all about the conditions.

Time passed, negotiations dragged on.

Everything was ready to go on the expedition. Boots, umbrellas, weapons and other necessities.

A couple of hours passed in conversation.
And suddenly a new team: motorcycles! Hurray, the first stage is completed!

Do you think that's all? No. This is just the beginning.
The village elders, two military men, two policemen, and sympathizing Papuans set off with us.

Why so much?
To resolve emerging issues.
Questions arose literally immediately.

As I already wrote, since the seventies, the Indonesian government has been paying money to the Papuans. Just. All you had to do was go to the bank once a month, stand in line and get a bunch of money.
Then they stopped giving money. But the feeling that the money should be there just like that remains.

A way to get money was found quickly enough. Literally with the arrival of the first tourists.
This is how the favorite entertainment of the Papuans appeared - rod blocks.

A stick is placed in the middle of the road. And you can’t step over it.

What happens if you cross the line?
According to the Indonesian guys, they might throw stones, they might throw something else, in general, please don’t.
This is puzzling. Well, they won't kill you...
Why not?
Human life there's no value here. Formally, Indonesian laws apply in Papua. In reality, local laws take precedence.
According to them, if you killed a person, it is enough, in agreement with the relatives of the murdered person, to pay a small fine.
There is a suspicion that for the murder of a white stranger, not only will they not be fined, but they will also receive gratitude.

The Papuans themselves are hot-tempered. They quickly move away, but at the first moment they don’t have much control over themselves in anger.
We saw how they chased their wives with machetes.
Assault is the order of the day for them. At the end of the trip, the wives who set off with their husbands walked around covered in bruises.

So, they will throw stones or shoot you in the back with a bow - no one wanted to experiment.
Therefore, negotiations began at each stick placed on the ground.

At first it looks like a theatrical performance.
Ridiculously dressed people in shorts and T-shirts, decorated with colored plastic beads and feathers, stand in the middle of the road and begin to make a fiery speech.

Speeches are given exclusively by men.
They perform one at a time. They speak passionately and loudly. In the most dramatic moments, throwing their hats on the ground.
Women sometimes get into arguments. But somehow they always come together in unison, creating an unimaginable hubbub.

The discussion flares up and then dies down.
The negotiators stop speaking and disperse different sides, sit and think.

If we translated the dialogue into Russian, it would look something like this:
- We won't let these white people through our village.
- You should let these nice people through - these are already paid elders of other tribes.
- Okay, but let them pay us and take our women as porters
- Of course they will pay you. And we’ll decide about the porters tomorrow.
- Agreed. Give us five million
- Yes, you went nuts

And then the bargaining begins... And again the hats fly to the ground and the women cry.

The guys seeing this all for the first time are quietly freaking out. And they say quite sincerely: “Are you sure you didn’t pay them for this performance?”
It all looks too unreal.

And the main thing is that local residents, especially children, perceive it all as a theatrical show.
They sit and stare.

Half an hour passes, an hour, in the most severe cases - two hours. Negotiators reach the generally accepted sum of a million Indonesian tugriks. The stick moves away and our cavalcade rushes on.

The first time it's even funny. The second one is still interesting.
The third, the fourth - and now it’s all starting to get a little annoying.

From Sugapa to Suangama - the final destination of our trip - 20 kilometers. It took us more than seven hours to overcome them.
There were six road blocks in total.

It was getting dark. Everyone was already wet from the rain. It was starting to get dark and it was getting downright cold.
And here, from my valiant team, I began to receive more and more persistent proposals to switch to commodity-money relations and pay the Papuans as much money as they wanted so that they would let us through quickly.

And I tried to explain that that’s all. These same commodity-money relations do not work.
All laws ended somewhere in the Timika area.
You can pay once. But next time (and we have to go back) they will ask us to pay much more. And there will no longer be six, but sixteen blocks.
This is the logic of the Papuans.

Somewhere at the beginning of the trip, I was asked in bewilderment: “Well, they hired us to work, they must fulfill their obligations.” And these words made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

The Papuans have no concept of "obligation". Today one mood, tomorrow another... And in general, the Papuans are somehow tense with the concept of morality. That is, it is completely absent.

We overcame the last block in the dark.
The protracted negotiations were beginning to strain not only us. Motorcyclists actively began to hint that they needed to return to Sugapa. With or without us.

As a result, in the dark, along a mountain road in the rain, on motorcycles without headlights, we reached the last village before the jungle - Suangami.
The next day there was another show called “porters are hired for an expedition.” And how this happens, why it cannot be avoided and how it all ends, I will tell you next time.

Material culture Papuans and Melanesians

Until recently, Papuans walked almost naked (and in some places they still do). Women wore a small apron, and men wore a penis sheath - holim, kateka, up to 60 cm long. Melanesian women more often wore skirts, men wore aprons and loincloths. For beauty, pieces of bone, feathers, and wild pig fangs were inserted into the nose and ears. Like all peoples with very dark skin, the Papuans predominated in scarring, but among the Melanesians tattooing was also common. Papuans and Melanesians, especially men, paid attention to their hair and were very proud of their full head of hair.

Papuans of the Yali tribe. Baliem Valley, Western New Guinea(Indonesia). 2005.

A Papuan of the Dani (Yali) tribe on the way to his village. The short dani, recent cannibals, live in the Baliem mountain valley of Western New Guinea (Irian). An orange stick at the bottom of the abdomen - kateka, a cylindrical fruit worn on the penis - is the only clothing of Dani men. 2006.

Melanesian of the Koita tribe (New Guinea). She got the tattoo above her chest when she reached marriageable age. Seligmann G.G., with a chapter by F.R. Barton. The Melanesians of British New Guinea. Cambridge: Univ. Press. 1910. Photo: George Brown. Wikimedia Commons.

The Papuans lived in houses on high stilts; Each house housed several families. Special large houses were built for meetings and for the residence of young men, the so-called “men's houses.” The Melanesians preferred to live in houses located on the ground, with low walls and high roofs, typical of the Polynesians. Papuans and Melanesians used stone axes to clear forests and process wood, knew bows and arrows and used spears, spears and clubs for hunting, fishing and wars. Particularly noteworthy are the achievements in shipbuilding. They built boats with a balance beam and large double pirogues that could accommodate dozens of people. They usually went sailing. The Melanesians were more skilled than the Papuans in shipbuilding and navigation, but the Fijians were especially distinguished, whose ships were famous even among the Polynesians.