AND
SOCIAL ORGANISATION AMONG
THE MIANMIN
Donald S t a n l e y Gar dner
S u b m i t t e d f o r t h e degr ee o f D o c t o r o f P h i l o s o p h y o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l
s pe ci f i ed, describe my own original work.
Acknowledgements
This t hes i s was produced with the help of many friends and
r e l a t i v e s .
Both in the f i e l d and during the writing up period Anne
Gardner has helped immensely in many di r e c t and i ndi r ect ways.
I
grat eful ly acknowledge her contri buti on to the form and content of the
t h e s i s .
My two supervisors have also helped gr eat l y; Anthony Forge
was a staunch supporter while we were in the f i e l d and since then
his i nci si ve c r i t i c i s m and kindly concern have been invaluable.
I
have also had the good fortune to be supervised by Alfred Gell.
Ever
since I have known him, his o r i g i n a l i t y and b r i l l i a n c e have been
tremendously st imulating.
However his fri endshi p has been no less
i ns pi r i ng.
Although acting as a friend rat her than as supervisor, nobody
has been more generous of his time and trouble than Michael Young
and for t hi s I owe him a great debt of gr at i t ude.
Discussions, both formal and informal, with many fri ends and
fellow students at the A.N.U. have also played a role in shaping the
ideas in t h i s t hes i s .
Among t hese, Howard Morphy, Daryl Fei l,
Ian Keen, Bob Smith, Jadran Mimica, Shirley Campbell, Peter Reynolds,
Simeran Gell, Kathy Robinson, Simon Harrison and John Morton are only
the more e a s i l y remembered.
In Papua New Guinea, many people extended both h o s p i t a l i t y and fr i e n d s h i p . I would p a r t i c u l a r l y l i k e to thank Mark Winfield and his w i fe , Sandy, and Deryck Thompson f o r t h e i r very great kindness and fr i e n d s h i p . Our stays in Telefomin are extremely fond memories thanks to these three fr ie n d s . Other people, government o f f i c e r s and
employees o f Douglas Airways and T a l a i r , were also extremely kind to us in Telefomin, Vanimo and Wewak. Among these I would esp ecially l i k e to thank Baina Laiyambiane, Terry Fibbs, Dave Bergus, Jim Hayward and Kevin Rigg. However, I would l i k e to express my gra ti tu d e to a l l members of the Administration of the West Sepik Province, who helped me tremendously whenever they were able to.
In Canberra and Sydney many frie nd s have been put to a great deal of tro uble in order to enable me to w r i t e my thesis. I therefore
thank Anne Gardner and John Morton, and esp ec ia ll y Colin Gaskin and Rhondda Glasson, who have shown me the utmost consideration, despite my a n t i - s o c i a l behaviour at home.
Other people, not mentioned already, whose f r i e n d l y assistance has contributed to the completion o f the th e s is , by commenting on sections, proof-reading or by providing other forms of help are Colin and Phyll Groves, Frances Morphy, Gra ziella Wurmli, Bob Tonkinson, Francesca Merlan and Alan Rumsey. I would l i k e to thank Jadran Mimica, who very k in d ly drew the diagrams and maps, and Margaret Lanigan f o r her e f f i c i e n t typing and general helpfulness.
I owe an enormous debt to the Mianmin. Many remarkable people went to a great deal of trouble to take care of Anne and myself in
Many members of the Gardner clan and i ts affines have supported
my protracted education, both materially and spiritually, and I am
conscious of my great luck in that regard.
If I could explain, in reasonable det ail , the debt I owe to
my mother and father then this volume would be considerably larger
Abst r a ct
The thesis is an analysis of the relationship between rituals of the male cult and social organisation among the Mianmin of the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. More specifically, i t deals with the West Mianmin, who live in the valleys of the major tributaries of the August River which flows out of the northern fringes of the central mountains.
The Mianmin are hunter-horticulturalists whose main staple is taro. They are a widely dispersed group making use of large areas in their subsistence a c t iv i t ie s . They are the most northerly
representatives of the Mountain Ok groups. Throughout the culture area a secret male cu lt, concerned with the in i t i a t i o n of boys and youths and the maintenance of subsistence production, is an important
dimension of social l i f e .
The West Mianmin have moved into the areas they currently occupy within the last four or five generations. This movement has
resulted in various changes in the social characteristies of the
migrating groups. There have also been transformations in the frequency, form and content of the in i t i a t i o n ri tu a ls which are the most important part of cult a c ti v i ty . More generally, the cult and the world-view which informs i t , are less important in the social l i f e of the migrant groups in lower altitudes than they are in that of the groups
remaining in the ancestral te r r it o r ie s of the Mianmin.
The thesis argues that the characteristics of cult rituals in differ en t parts of the area are to be understood in terms of the sociological changes resulting from the migration of groups. However the West Mianmin population is not to be seen as a collection of isolated groups. Rather, i t is a complex unit in which differences between groups are part of the general social processes which have been taking place during the last few generations. So, although cult practices are variable, they are all explicable in terms of the
historical developments of the migrant groups. The practices are also i n t e l l i g i b l e by reference to the same set of beliefs and ideas.
between groups that have migrated into the lowlands underlie the
attenuation of the cult rituals in these areas. Among the migrant
groups, the capacity of cult ideology to maintain its claim to be the
only legitimate means of reproducing Mianmin culture, is undermined
by the altered social relations obtaining in the lowlands.
The small West Mianmin population, and the heterogeneity of
social and cult practices, make it impossible to analyse social life
using orthodox structural models. The weak institutionalisation of
Mianmin social forms, including cult rituals, means that the analytical
procedures used in the explanation of social life in larger, more
Usa^e
The version of the name employed by P.N.G. a u t h o r i t i e s ,
'Mianmin1, is used throughout the t hes i s (although the a l t e r n a t i v e ,
'Miyanmin' is a be t t e r t r a ns cr i pt i on of the word).
I use 'Miyan' to
designate the language spoken by the Mianmin.
Telefol is si mi l ar l y
the language spoken by the Telefolmin people.
Generally the
t r a n s c r i p t i o n s of Miyan terms should be regarded as provisional.
I use the terms 'temple' and ' c u l t house' as synonyms throughout
the t h e s i s .
Page
Acknowl edgements i v
A b s t r a c t . v i i
Notes on Usage i x
INTRODUCTION 1
PART ONE: THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL LIFE 7 Ch a pt e r One. THE PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL SETTING OF
THE WEST MIANMIN
The E nv i ro n m e n t 8
The West Mianmin 12
S u b s i s t e n c e 15
S e t t l e m e n t s 22
C o n t a c t H i s t o r y 25
The E t h n o g r a p h i c P r e s e n t 31
Notes 37
PART TWO: MIANMIN SOCIAL ORGANISATION 39
I n t r o d u c t i o n 40
C h apt er Two. GROUPS COMPRISING THE WEST MIANMIN
The N o r t h e r n M ou nt ai n Ok 46
West Mianmin Groups 47
The Recent H i s t o r y o f t h e I v i k Set o f Miit 49
O t h e r Groups: An Ov er vi ew 63
Summary 65
Notes 66
C h a p t e r T h r e e . KINSHIP 68
Use o f Kin Terms 72
C o nc ep t io n B e l i e f s 79
General F e a t u r e s o f K i n s h i p 80 M a r r i a g e i n R e l a t i o n t o K i n s h i p 86
Summary 89
C h a p t e r F o u r . GROUPS: THEIR COMPOSITION AND INTER RELATIONS
M i i t 95
M eleta n 102
L e a d e r s a nd O t h e r I m p o r t a n t R o l e s 117
M a r r i a g e a n d W a r f a r e 118
N o t e s 133
PART THREE: MIANMIN CONCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD AND THE
MEANS TO CONTROL IT 137
I n t r o d u c t i o n 138
C h a p t e r F i v e . THE ROLE OF AGENTS IN THE WORLD
B a k e l 139
K iin k a a n 143
O t h e r S p i r i t s 146
P r o b l e m s o f C o m p l e t e n e s s a n d C o n s i s t e n c y 150
S im ik a s Age n c y 153
S im ik a nd I t s R e l a t i o n t o Ta b o o 160
N o t e s 163
C h a p t e r S i x . RITUAL PROCEDURES 165
G e n e r a l O u t l i n e o f C u l t A c t i v i t i e s 166
R e b u i l d i n g t h e C u l t Hous e 168
I n i t i a t i o n 170
The I n i t i a t i o n R i t u a l s o f t h e Am N akai
Gr o u p 172
Yominam Awem 172
A la Awem 175
K w eil Awem 176
K il Awem 178
K esak Awem 180
Howlaak Awem 182
A t Dab Awem 182
The I n i t i a t i o n R i t u a l s o f t h e Sa N akai
Gr o u p 184
Curing R i t u a l s 188
Wa Sab a l Awem 188
Iremtoman Awem 1 90
Som E i t and Bloblotom an 192
Uowlaak Awem 193
Som Awem 195
R i t u a l s Concerned wi t h Taro 195
Dangbibas 196
Tobaisan 197
Notes 200
PART FOUR: CULT RITUAL AND SOCIAL LIFE 203
I n t r o d u c t i o n 204
Chapt er Seven. KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEFS UNDERLYING RITUAL
< PROCEDURES 205
The Myt hol ogi cal Background 206
The Yominam Ri t ual 209
Myth 1 212
Myth 2 214
Myth 3 214
Myth 4 215
R i t u a l s of t he Cul t Flouse 221
Ear l y St ages of t h e R i t u a l s 221
Myth 5 225
Myth 6 226
The Major Animals of t he Cul t I n i t i a t i o n s 226
Myth 7 234
Ot her Animals of t he Cul t I n i t i a t i o n s 235
Ri t ual and t he Li f e Cycle 237
Heat and T r a n s i t i o n 239
Curing and Ot her R i t u a l s 244
Summary 246
Notes 248
Chapt er Ei ght . THE EXPLANATION OF RITUAL 251
Baktaman Ri t ual 255
S p e r b e r ' s At t ack on Symbolic Meaning 260
Expr essi on in Sign and Symbol Systems 266
Summary 272
Notes 274
Chapter Nine. RITUALS IN THE SOCIAL PROCESS 277
Causation in R i t u a l 278
The E f f i c a c y o f Mianmin I n i t i a t i o n
R i t u a l s 282
Mianmin Pragmatism and the I n i t i a t i o n
R i t u a l s 290
The Soci ol ogy o f R it u a l V a r i a t i o n 294
The U ni ty o f the West Mianmin 316
Notes 319
Epilogue 322
Page
1. Area of Mountain Ok Cultures 7a
2. Mianmin in Relation to Other Mountain Ok Groups 13
3. Pri ncipal
Miit
of West Mianmin 61F ip u res
1. R ai nf al l recorded at Yapsiei Base Camp
between July 1974 and Apr il 1977 10
2. Genealogical r e la tio n s between prominent i n d iv id ua ls
in the recent h is to ry of I v i k and Serawania
miit
583. Consanguineal terms: Primary range 73
4. Genealogical connections between Kari
Awel
299 Tables^1. Height and weight of Mianmin in comparison with
other Papua New Guinean people 14
2. Spleen sizes in I b o l i o f i b 36
3. Kin terminology 68
4.
Miit
a f f i l i a t i o n s of Serawania 105 5. Main sacred items presented during r i t u a l s 171Plates^ Adjacent page
1. View across the Aki Valley 1
2. Garden house 15
3. Established Taro Garden 15
4. Established Taro Garden 22
5. An Ulap hamlet in the Aki Valley 22
6. Communal Dance House 95
7. The House of an Ulap
Kamok
95Photograph taken from Ulap t e r r i t o r y on the southern side of the r i v e r at about 1500 metres. Note the Ulap
T h i s t h e s i s i s based on some t w e n t y months' f i e l d w o r k among the West Mianmin o f the West Sepik Pr o vi n ce o f Papua New Guinea. The r e s e ar c h was c a r r i e d o ut d u r i n g the p e r i o d from 1975 t o 1977 under the aus p ic es o f t he A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y where I hel d an A.N.U. S c h o l a r s h i p from January 1975 u n t i l January 1979.
I went t o Papua New Guinea w i t h t he i n t e n t i o n o f worki ng among one o f t h e groups l i v i n g on t h e Sepik R i v e r i n t he v i c i n i t y o f Green R i v e r P a t r o l Post. I planned t o s t u dy c o nc e pt i on s o f personhood and mind as t h ey m a n i f e s t e d themselves i n d i s c u s s i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l s ' a c t i o n s , m o t i v e s , reasons and i n t e n t i o n s . In t he event I d i d n e i t h e r o f t hese t h i n g s . On a r r i v i n g i n Vanimo I di scussed my pl ans w i t h the P r o v i n c i a l Commissioner o f t he West S e p ik , John A r p i n i , and o t h e r A d m i n i s t r a t i o n O f f i c e r s . F o l l o w i n g t h e i r adv ice I went t o Yapsiei to have a l o o k around. Yapsi ei appeared t o be s u i t a b l e , w h i l e from what I c ou l d g a t h e r from people who knew the ar ea, Green R i ve r seemed t o be l e ss so. Moreover, t he A d m i n i s t r a t i o n were keen t o have a t t h e i r d i s p o s a l b as i c f a c t s about the s o c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t he people l i v i n g around Y a ps ie i s in c e the Base Camp t h e r e had been opened o n l y t h r e e year s e a r l i e r . A c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h Dan Jor gensen, an a n t h r o p o l o g i s t w o r k i n g w i t h t he T e l e f o l m i n who had c o n s i d e r a b l e
knowledge o f the gener al ar e a, l e f t me convi nced t h a t i n s p i t e o f the f a c t t h a t I had done no s p e c i a l p r e p a r a t i o n f o r f i e l d w o r k among t he Mountain Ok, Yapsi ei would be a s u i t a b l e f i e l d s i t e .
I t became c l e a r t o me e a r l y on i n my f i r s t s t a y t h a t my o r i g i n a l r es ea r ch proposal was t oo g r a n d i o s e . In t he t i me a v a i l a b l e m a st e ri n g t he m o r p h o l o g i c a l c o m p l e x i t y o f Miyan would r e q u i r e l i n g u i s t i c
c a p a c i t i e s f a r g r e a t e r than my own.
My i n t e r e s t i n r i t u a l and symbolism was sharpened by t he e a r l y r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t an e l a b o r a t e male c u l t was a maj or focus o f s o c i a l l i f e among t he Mountain Ok. I t was i n t h i s area t h a t I began t o c o n c e n t r a t e my i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
I t i s o f t e n s a i d t h a t t he kinds o f q u e s t i o n an i n v e s t i g a t o r asks are a f u n c t i o n o f h i s o r her i n t e r e s t s . But i t i s a l s o t r u e t h a t
i n i t i a l c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n s o f t he o b j e c t o f a n a l y s i s may shape t h e course o f the a n a l y s i s . In t h e i r st udy o f t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t i e s ,
local pressures for change.
It is the persistence of key features of
social l i f e across generations and their widespread distribution
through social space that the anthropologist has sought to explain.
In the face of the potential for change and variety which time and
differing environmental conditions are presumed to offer, the obvious
question is what exactly are the key features of this constancy and
how do they reproduce themselves through time? But after several
months' fieldwork among the Mianmin i t was precisely the wealth of
variety and the explicitly acknowledged hist oricity of social l ife
that demanded to be investigated. The local variation in the way
many aspects of social life were organised and the fact that there
had been a great deal of recent migrations into the area posed the
question: how are the various similarit ies and differences related
to one another both synchronically and diachronically?
It should be said that I did not i n i t i a l l y perceive that Mianmin
social organisation would pose any but the usual ethnographic problems
I anticipated that the Mianmin would be secretive about cult activity,
but after a few months i t seemed to me they were determined that I
should learn nothing of the way they organised any aspects of their
lives.
I could obtain no consistent accounts of the beliefs, norms,
or values underlying any significant social behaviour.
I took the
variation in the accounts I was obtaining as evidence of Mianmin
evasiveness rather than as evidence of the existence of real variation
I worried that I should never be in a position to use that hal l
mark of authoritative ethnography, the definite ar t i cl e.
Instead of
'the kinship terminology' I had a range of ways in which each term
might be used in different contexts; instead of 'the rules governing
marriage' I had a welter of precepts, opinions and homilies justifying
a variety of practices. And the same state of affairs obtained in
regard to other aspects of social l i f e .
Notwithstanding my prepared
ness to deal with the kind of structural 'looseness' or ' f l e x i b i l i t y '
widely reported of New Guinea societies, the Mianmin seemed to live a
remarkably unfettered social existence.
After encountering i t at every turn I eventually accepted
the accounts of ritual that I collected, I began to notice that men
from groups in certain areas always provided more detail than those
from others.
The same men had also undergone more ritual s in the
process of i nit iat ion than their fellow i ni t i at es .
Earlier on I had
simply seen the men who volunteered less detail in their accounts of
r itual s or who said that they had missed a certain stage as being
less cooperative than the others.
Once I had taken this rather simple step i t rapidly became
apparent that the key to the approach to Mianmin social l i f e had been
staring me in the face the whole time.
For informants had always
responded to my questions concerning the reason for the differences
between various groups by saying that each of them followed their
own ancestors. The circularity of the response seemed to get me
nowhere.
But this was because I missed the obvous reference to past
and the claim that the differences were the outcome of historical
processes.
I had assumed that my quarry, that is Mianmin social
structure, would provide answers about the past as well as the present.
I believed that the locus of 1Mianmin-ness1 as it were, was precisely
the timeless configuration that properly executed social-structural
analysis revealed. But no matter how valid such a perspective is for
the majority of societies which anthropologists deal with, i t cannot
capture the essential features of Mianmin social l i f e.
The Mianmin are not, of course, unique in having changed
through time, but they do seem to be unusual in the degree to which
they construe contemporary social relations in terms of their history.
Or perhaps i t would be more accurate to say that contemporary society
is organised in such a way that i t s historical derivation is explicit.
The thesis then is concerned with the relations between r i t ual ,
in particular that associated with the male cult, and the wider social
context in which i t operates.
However, because neither ritual
practice nor social organisation are sufficiently homogeneous i t is not
possible to relate the two realms in the way they usually are in the
analyses of anthropologists working in the tradition of structuralism
descended from Dürkheim.
In essence this position sees ritual as an
expression of an underlying social r eal ity. As applied to the Mianmin
data such an approach would seem to admit of but two possible
there are s i g n i f i c a n t var iat ion s in r i t u a l and then show how the members o f the pairs re la te to each other and how the pairs them selves are re la te d ; i i ) postulate a r a r i f i e d social stru cture which underlies a l l variants and then seek to abstract a 'symbolic core' from the r i t u a l data which, presumably, would be an expression of i t . The f i r s t option is u n j u s t i f i e d on h i s t o r i c a l and contemporary
sociological grounds, and i t also seems to me to take the Durkheimian po si ti on too much f o r granted. The second option would do violence to pr ecis ely those features of Mianmin social l i f e which most require explanation; moreover, i t ought to be discounted, at least as an i n i t i a l stra teg y, on the grounds th a t i t s m u l t i p l i c a t i o n of
unnecessary e n t i t i e s would v i o l a t e Ockham's Razor. In contrast the analysis undertaken here seeks to re la t e var iat ion s in r i t u a l
practice to the changes tha t have taken place as Mianmin groups have migrated in to v i r t u a l l y unoccupied t e r r i t o r y . The analysis depends as much upon the h i s t o r y o f groups as i t does upon t h e i r contemporary social c o n s t i t u t i o n and these are treated e s s e n t i a l l y as aspects of the same phenomenon.
The thesis is divided in to four sections. The f i r s t consists of a single chapter devoted to the physical environment and the
contact h i s t o r y o f the West Mianmin. The second section describes the h i s to r y and sociology of the West Mianmin and seeks to bring out the weakly i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d nature of almost a l l facets of social l i f e . The t h i r d section describes Mianmin b e l ie f s concerning the basic nature of the world and the e n t i t i e s tha t i t contains. Ideas pe rtain ing to both the sacred and profane realms are discussed and sacred r i t u a l s are also described and analysed. The fourth and f i n a l section is concerned with the i n te gr a ti on of the analyses of sections two and three. The thesis as a whole is organised around the idea that social processes in small, widely dispersed populations, such as those found in the frin ges of the mountains of Papua New Guinea, are not amenable to the kinds of analysis th a t are normally employed by
anthropologists working among populations with what Dürkheim would have called high social volumes and social den si ti es.
Chapter One describes some of the salient geographical,
environmental and physical features of the area occupied by the West
Mianmin.
This is necessary to establish the size and ecological
heterogeneity of the area and the impact this has on the subsistence
patterns of the various groups.
The chapter also contains a b rie f
account of the contact history of the area since this too provides
evidence of the f l u i d nature of pre-contact society.
In the second chapter I t r y to exemplify the social processes
underlying the coming together and the s p l i t t i n g up of groups and
the ir migrations. In part this is done by a detailed history of a set
of groups which have interacted closely during the last two
generations.
In the next two chapters I discuss kinship - both the
terminology and sociology thereof - and the structuring of residential
groups.
The role of big men in group dynamics, and the p o li ti c a l
de finition of boundaries through marriage, co-residence and warfare
are described.
Chapter Five is a discussion of Mianmin beliefs about the non-
empirical world; about ghosts, sprites and demons.
The descriptions
are not concerned with the sacred realm, with i t s details about the
mechanisms that created the world and sustain i t , but they do present
aspects of the supernatural as they impinge upon the daily lives of
the Mianmin.
The chapter therefore establishes the ideas Mianmin
have about the kinds of things there are in the world, the way certain
kinds of interactions take place and the forms of behaviour i t makes
sense to engage in when attempting to control the course of human
existence.
Chapter Seven is an examination, in some d e ta il , of the important
r i t u a l elements described in the previous chapter.
The aim is to
present the empirical and mythological beliefs that the Mianmin have
about the various animals, plants and other items which make their
role in the rit u a l comprehensible.
Chapter Eight is a theoretical discussion which defends, against
the position of such scholars as Turner, Leach and Douglas, the approach
to the understanding of ri tu a l and symbols adopted in this thesis.
I
argue that while th e ir position, which is traceable to Radcliffe-Brown
and Dürkheim, is untenable as a theory of symbolism, their analyses
produce real insights about the way the world is conceived by all
people.
Chapter Nine, the final one, draws together the sociological
and rit u a l data in an attempt to establish that the attenuation of
i n i t i a t i o n rit u a ls can be explained in terms of the sociological
changes which have taken place among the lowland groups as they have
migrated into new areas.
I t is argued that 'sacred' beliefs
associated with the cult are to be seen as an integral part of a
broader set of ideas about the world. The authority of the cult does
not derive from any inherent intellectual cogency of i t s account of
the way the world is to be conceived and coerced; for in that regard
i t is no more than an application of general notions which character
ise all Mianmin beliefs about the non-empirical realm.
Rather, it s
ascendancy derives from i t s place in a certain socio-political
context.
I t is the alteration of that context among the migrant
communities which leads to the diminution of.the importance of the
cult in social l i f e .
Overall the conclusion points to the need to comprehend cults and
the r it u a ls associated with them, especially those that define
PART ONE
Sk
e
tc
h
M
a
p
1.
A
re
a
o
f
M
o
u
n
ta
in
O
k
Cu
lt
ure
Chapter One
THE PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE WEST MIANMIN
The Environment
The Sepik River r ises in a b e a u t i f u l v a l l e y s i t u at e d almost
a t the very centre of the i sland o f New Guinea (see Map 1 ) . In i t
are b u i l t the headquarters of Telefomin Sub-Province. The area
takes i t s name from the Tel ef ol mi n people who occupy the v a l l e y , which
they c a l l the I f i t a m a n . They are the most centr al of the Mountain Ok
peoples who l i v e in the mountains between the S t r i c k l a n d Gorge in the
east and the t e r r i t o r i e s o f the Dani peoples in the west. The
Tel ef ol mi n are also centr al in the r i t u a l and mythological l i f e of
the regi on.
I f one f ollows the Sepik River out o f the Ifi taman i t flows in
a n o r t h - w e s t e r l y d i r e c t i o n and, leavi ng behind the broad grasslands
of the v a l 1ey, piunges through narrow gorges. A few miles downstream
the El ip River enters the Sepik from the r i g h t (see Map 2 ) . In i t s
v a l l e y l i v e a l ar ge group o f Tel ef ol mi n whose ancestors drove out the
o r i g i n a l i n h ab i ta n ts a few generations ago. I f one continues on down
the Sepik the north-west end o f the Donner Range looms ahead and
beyond t h a t the Thurnwald Mountains can be seen. Between these two
ranges the Fak River emerges to swell the adolescent S e p i k J This
r i v e r marks the boundary between the Tel ef ol mi n and the Mianmin and
in the v a l l e y s of i t s waters l i v e many East Mianmin. Further on down
the Sepik, a t a point where one of the many small r i v e r s flowing out
of the Thurnwald Mountains e nt e r s , is the boundary marking the
t e r r i t o r y of the f i r s t of the West Mianmin groups. The r i g h t bank is
dominated by the steep slopes of the massive Three Pinnacles Mountain
which r is e s to nine thousand f e e t above sea l e v e l . These slopes were
t r a d i t i o n a l l y unpopulated since they were too close to the t e r r i t o r y
of Atbalmin enemies who l i v e on the southern side of the Sepik.
North of the Thurnwald Range, in a n or t h - w e s t e r l y d i r e c t i o n , run
f i r s t the Tabo River and then the Aki Ri ver. Downstream these two
r i v e r s merge to form the August River (which the Mianmin c a l l the Aki
too) which flows westwards to converge upon the Sepik. At a point
the August turns abruptly to the north and only j o i n s the meandering Sepik many miles downstream, a f t e r i t has emerged from West I r i a n . The northward flow o f the August forms the western boundary of the Mianmin t e r r i t o r y .
I t is in the mountains and valleys of the August River system th a t the West Mianmin l i v e on approximately three hundred square miles of t e r r i t o r y . In these mountains one finds none of the broad f l a t valleys tha t may be found in the more central ranges and almost a l l of the Mianmin t e r r i t o r y is extravagantly prec ipi to us. Apart from some areas in the western part of the t e r r i t o r y the land is r a r e l y f l a t and a l l o f the seven hundred or so West Mianmin are hardy and accomplished walkers.
Rainfall in the area is heavy a l l year round. During the t h i r t y month period f o r which the figures from Yapsiei are a v a i la b l e , r a i n f a l l averaged less than 50mm per week only once ( F i g . l ) . The fi gures are inadequate f o r the purposes of est ab lish ing c l e a r l y whether there is any s i g n i f i c a n t seasonality in the area as a whole, but from my own observations near Yapsiei i t did seem tha t there were some differences
in the pattern o f r a i n f a l l between the f i r s t part of the year and the remainder. During the f i r s t four months of the year cloud tended to come from the north and bu ild up against the mountains; i t was more l i k e l y to remain cloudy a l l day and rain would f a l l moderately heavily f o r a number of hours. For the res t of the year the pattern was one in which low misty cloud lingered on in to the morning to give way to
b r ig h t cloudless days. At Yapsiei, which is not by any means typical of the area as a whole, the evening often saw dr ama tically v i o l e n t storms r o l l out of the higher mountains upstream. These storms lowered the temperature so th a t nights were ra re l y uncomfortably hot.
These observations and the figures underlying the graph ( F i g . l ) may be of l i m i t e d si gn if ic a nc e since i t is my strong impression tha t
Figure 1 ; Rainfall recorded at Yapsiei Base Camp
between July 74 and April 77
mm a
Jul A S O N D J F M A M J
74
75
[image:26.562.25.544.20.804.2](Paijmans 1976:86). The Mianmin evidence suggests that cloud cover may be of great importance to taro c u l t i v a t o r s in these kinds of environments. ^
Forest cover varies with a l t i t u d e . The West Mianmin occupy areas which range in a l t i t u d e from 400 fe e t to 9000 fee t above sea l e v e l. But in a l l areas, because o f the highly accidented nature of the topography, there are considerable var ia ti on s in a l t i t u d e . Thus the West Mianmin t e r r i t o r y encompasses a range of f l o r i s t i c s tr u ct ur e s; lowland rain f o r e s t , and even lowland a l l u v i a l f o r e s t , may be found in the western margins of the area while lower montane
f o r e s t , some of i t moss f o r e s t , is c h a ra c te ri S ti c of the greater po rtion. Generally speaking the complexity of the topography, soi l types and local climate seem to have interacted to produce a v a r ie ty o f micro-environments each with t h e i r own c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f l o r a .
The high r a i n f a l l is responsible f o r the complex topography of the area. Localised downpours, confined to a p a r t i c u l a r peak, may send flas h floods careering down the small streams and ri v e r s that drain i t . On such occasions a wall o f water may suddenly sweep down a water course carrying a l l before i t . During 1977 a young man of a group l i v i n g at the head of the Tabo River was car ried away and
drowned by such a flood. More widespread r a i n f a l l , which may only l a s t f o r an hour or two, is often so voluminous that the August River
rises eig ht or nine fee t in an hour. Normally the August flowed broad and c lea r outside my house, o f f e r i n g an i n v i t i n g r e l i e f to the t r o p i c a l heat. But a f t e r such r a i n f a l l i t qui ck ly became an awesome, tr e e- u pr o ot in g , muddy surge of water.
The West Mianmin
The seven hundred or so West Mianmin are divided int o a number of t e r r i t o r i a l l y d i s t i n c t groups which are often sub-divided into re s id e n ti a l u n i ts . These dispersed people are referred to as the West Mianmin by the ad m in is tra ti on , the name "Mianmin" apparently de riving from the word f o r dog (miyan) in ce rt ai n neighbouring
languages. T r a d i t i o n a l l y they had no name f o r themselves as a u n i t . They are the West Mianmin in d i s t i n c t i o n to the East Mianmin l i v i n g in the valleys o f the May and Fak Rivers (Morren 1974, 1977, 1979).
The Mianmin (the s u f f i x -min means 'people' in many of the languages of the Mountain Ok) were o r i g i n a l l y named by the groups tha t surround them with whom they had various but t y p i c a l l y h o s t i l e r e l a t i o n s . They are members o f the Mountain Ok group o f cultu res. Other members o f t h i s group include the Telefolmin (Craig B. 1969; Craig R. 1969; Jorgensen 1976, 1977, 1979), the Oksapmin (Perey 1973), the Tif alm in (Wheatcroft 1975), the Bimin-Kuskusmin (Poole 1974,
1976a, 1976b), the Faiwolmin (Barth 1971, 1975; Jones 1976), the Wopkaimin (Hyndman 1979), the people of the Star Mountains (Pouwer
1964), and the Atbalmin who remain, as y e t , unstudied by anthrop o l o g i s t s . The area of the Mountain Ok spans the central mountains from the lowlands in the north to the lowlands in the south between, as I have already mentioned, the St rick lan d Gorge in the east and the Dani speaking peoples in the west. The group as a whole is characterised by a taro based subsistence - although there are one or two i n t e r e s t i n g exceptions - and by an elaborate r i t u a l l i f e which usually takes the form of a secret c u l t i n to which only males may be inducted as f u l l members.
The Mianmin are the most no rt h e rl y of the Mountain Ok. To
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Atbalmins and Telefolmins while to the east are what seem to be a congeries o f small groups known to the government as the Nenataman Fu - so named because they l i v e in the valleys o f the Nena and Fu Rivers. The Mianmin were involved in h o s t i l e r e la t i o n s with most of t h e i r neighbours almost continuously during the l a s t few generations.
The northern Mountain Ok appear to have been undergoing a
continuous period o f social and p o l i t i c a l change of varying i n t e n s i t y f o r the l a s t one hundred or so years. This has been reported f o r the Telefolmin (Craig B. 1969; Jorgensen pers. comm.), the East Mianmin
(Morren 1974) and, as Chapter Two w i l l suggest, i t is c e r t a i n l y true o f the West Mianmin. The groups th a t form the focus of t h i s thesis have been moving down the valleys of the Aki and Tabo f o r the l a s t three or four generations. They have been expanding int o sparsely s e t t le d areas la r g e l y at the expense of Abaus. These Sepik people l i v e in small family units f o r most o f the time, depending upon sago and hunting f o r t h e i r subsistence. They were r e l a t i v e l y ea si ly displaced by the more organised Mianmin groups.
The Mianmin are noticeably t a l l e r and more robust than t h e i r Mountain Ok neighbours, a f a c t remarked upon by Patrol Of ficers who
3 f i r s t contacted Mianmin groups from Telefomin (Aisbett 1958). The average height and weight of Mianmin men and women is presented in Table 1 with figures from other groups of montane Papua New Guinea.
Table 1
Group Height (cms.) Weight ( k g s . ) Source
Mianmin m. 158.0 52.0
Mianmin f . 153.0 44.7
Gadio Enga m. - 55.5 Dornstreich 1973
Gadio Enga f . - 44.3 fl II
Tsembaga m. 147.6 46.6 Rappaport 1967
Tsembaga f . 137.9 38.4 ll II
Boma i
Angoinang m. 156.2 49.5 Clarke 1971
Bomai
Angoinang f. 145.8 41 .3 M ll
Goilala m. 154.4 50.7 Hallpike 1977
Goi1 a 1 a f . 145.0 42.7 ll ll
Wopkaimin m. 157.3 53.2 Hyndman 1979
[image:30.562.29.551.136.809.2]House b u i l t in newly-cleared area in lowlands.
Plate 3. Established Taro Garden.
Subsistence
The Mianmin are best described as h u n t e r - h o r t i c u l t u r a l i s t s (Morren 1974). The staple is taro which is grown by land extensive methods; other garden crops include bananas, c ur c ur b it s, sugar cane and a v a r i e t y o f green vegetables. Pandanus, b r e a d fr u i t and paw-paw are also planted; where possible sago may be planted too. In
addition a wide v a r i e t y of nuts, f r u i t s and vegetables are gathered from the f o r e s t . Hunting of wi ld fauna, ranging in size from grass hoppers to w i l d pigs and cassowaries, is an important source of protein. The Mianmin, l i k e other groups l i v i n g on the fringes of the great mountains of Papua New Guinea, derive a high proportion of t h e i r pro te in from wild animal sources (Dornstreich 1973; Morren 1974; Hyndman 1979). This s i t u a t i o n is in contrast with that
obtaining in more densely s e tt le d parts o f the country where hunting is of ideological but not economic sig n ifi c a nc e (Bulmer 1968:302). Nevertheless taro i s seen as the most important food; i t is said to be dam whereas meat is s i b i i l - these two terms normally apply to the f i r s t and second wives r e s pe c ti v e ly o f a polygynous man. As one young man explained to me: "Taro is the bone of the Mianmin."
The Mianmin make use of large areas in supporting themselves and by some standards they are p r o f l i g a t e in t h e i r e x p l o i ta ti o n of the environment. However, at about two persons per square mile, t h e i r population density is not unduly low by the standards of the highland fringes where groups l i k e the Outer Enga (Dornstreich 1977:246) and Wopkaimin (Hyndman 1979:9) have s i m i l a r fi gu re s. Mianmin h o r t i c u l t u r a l techniques require access to large amounts of v i r g i n fo re st or very old secondary growth. Gardens are cleared from areas of the
fo r e s t deemed to be sui ta bl e f o r taro growth as the name imen ban
( l i t e r a l l y ' t a r o ground1) suggests. Certain species of trees are said to be c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f such areas but the most important features of good taro s o i l s are t h e i r richness and water re ta in in g properties
Gardens are often communal with the whole of one or, on some occasions, more than one community cooperating in the clearing o f an area. Most often however t h i s communal e f f o r t is not made u n t i l a s k i l l e d gardener - usually, but not always, the big man or kamok of a group - has pioneered the area. Clearing proceeds over a period of time a f t e r the i n i t i a l f e l l i n g of trees and p la n ti n g , with taro stems being planted as they become av aila ble from harvests of mature gardens. A large and wel l-e sta bli sh ed garden area then w i l l have d i f f e r e n t
portions under various stages o f the gardening cycle. Some, having been harvested, w i l l be under grass and low shrubs while others w i l l be under taro at d i f f e r e n t stages of maturation. Other areas w i l l have been cleared and await the harvest of other gardens before the taro stalks are a v a i la b l e , and f u r t h e r areas w i l l not yet have been cleared. Gardens may be anywhere between two minutes and two hours walk from the v i l l a g e depending on the length of time the community has been s e tt le d in an area. Normally a community has gardens in d i f f e r e n t portions o f i t s t e r r i t o r y and i n d iv id ua ls have a number of smaller family plots at various points throughout the area under occupation.
In large garden areas a number of houses w i l l have been b u i l t . Often these houses are much simpler than those found in the permanent v i l l a g e s (see Plate 2) having only a small area of wall or even none at a l l . Nevertheless these houses are occupied f o r much of the time and a family may spend as much as h a l f i t s time in such houses. Some times the houses are b u i l t and owned j o i n t l y by a number of fa m i l i e s , although use o f them is not r e s t r i c t e d to those that took part in t h e i r construction. The big man o f the v i l l a g e in'which I liv ed had b u i l t a garden house on the Sepik River with the aid of his three wives. However, because i t was the only one in the area, i t was used by many people. Even a f t e r a garden has been abandoned such houses may be kept in reasonable re pa ir to be used by hunting parties or those journeying to other settlements.
Heavy clearing is done by men. T r a d i t i o n a l l y t h i s was achieved with stone adzes which were used to f e l l smaller trees d i r e c t l y ;
tra versing the garden when the taro crop is growing, and a f t e r , when secondary growth is dense. The route across a garden follows the trunks o f the t a l l trees tha t were f e l l e d during clea ring. Morren reports th a t the East Mianmin f e l l trees in such a way as to provide a means of erosion control (Morren 1974:70). Certain large trees and some smaller ones are l e f t standing u n t i l the planted stalks have put new leaves. This is to provide shade fo r the taro and the soil in order to prevent excessive loss of moisture. Later more trees are f e l l e d but some o f the lar ge r ones are l e f t standing. These are
k i l l e d by rin g-barking or by having f i r e s b u i l t at t h e i r bases. Years l a t e r these f o r e s t leviathans w i l l crash down in to the surrounding secondary growth. I t sometimes happens that someone is working in or passing through the v i c i n i t y when t h i s happens and accidents may re s u l t . Twice in the l a s t tw en ty -f iv e years such accidents have resulted in deaths; on one occasion a man and his son were sleeping in an old garden house when a nearby tree crashed down upon i t and on the other f i v e res tin g t r a v e l l e r s were k i l l e d when a sudden gust of wind blew down a huge tree in a garden in the Tabo Valley.
Mianmin gardens are ne ither f i r e d nor t i d i e d up very much. The French an thropologist Bernard J u i l l e r a t v i s i t e d the Mianmin while I was in the f i e l d ; he i s a field work er o f many years' experience in both New Guinea and West A fr ic a and he was deeply shocked by the untidy and apparently uncared-for gardens o f the West Mianmin. The f a l l e n trunks, p i l e s of branches and the debris scattered everywhere combine with the f a c t tha t the gardens are unfenced to suggest tha t the Mianmin are indeed crude, careless gardeners. However the Mianmin l i v e in an
environment in which strong sunshine alternates with t o r r e n t i a l rain and both c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s provide them with problems. The strong sun shine is a problem ea rly on in the l i f e of a garden when the taro stems have not yet put up new leaves. Exposed soi l would qu ick ly dry and the mo isture-loving taro would be unable to survive. However, the t o r r e n t i a l and voluminous rain of the area tends to impact exposed s o i l and to leach n u tr ie n ts from the top s o i l . As with the Kaluli
f l u t t e r to the ground. The debris which covers the s o i l decays, providing nu tr ie n ts f o r the growing crop, but i t also provides a layer of protection fo r the s o i l u n t i l the canopy of taro leaves
is complete. David Hyndman, who has studied the subsistence practices of the Wopkaimin of the southern fringes, cal 1s t h i s form of
h o r t i c u l t u r e "slash and mulch" (1979:194). His research shows that the release of nu tr ie n ts from the decaying l i t t e r is such tha t they provide the greatest amounts j u s t as the corms are beginning to grow
(194). As I w i l l show in l a t e r chapters gardening practices provide models f o r the conception of the way th a t the growth o f human beings
is aided and c o n tr o l l e d by the sacred r i t u a l s performed by the Mianmin.
Taro stems are planted among the f a l l e n debris. A digging s t i c k is used to make a hole f o r the stem which is pressed i n to po s iti on with the fo o t. Each family plants i t s own p l o t w i th i n the communal
garden. Boundaries between plots are marked by natural features or by the pr actice o f planting the adjacent stems of d i f f e r e n t fa m ili e s at s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t angles. Taro dominates a l l Mianmin gardens. They recognise at least f i f t y named v a r i e t i e s and most gardens contain a number of these.
Weeding is normally only done once during the period o f growth and t h i s work seems to f a l l most heavily - i f not exc lu s iv e ly - upon women. Taro takes between nine and twelve months to grow in the higher a l t i t u d e s , whereas i t seems to be necessary to harvest i t while s t i l l comparatively small, a f t e r only six or seven months, in the lower a l t i t u d e s . Men say th a t i f i t is l e f t in the'ground any longer than t h i s i t develops a form of ro t . My own observations - unsystematic though they were - confirm th a t corms grown in higher a l t i t u d e s are considerably l a rg e r than those produced in gardens around Yapsiei. But from my perspective as a discerning consumer I must say th a t the Yapsiei taro tasted much be tt e r than those from higher a l t i t u d e s ; i t seemed to me that a good taro combined the gustatory v i rt u e s o f a potato and the well roasted chestnut). The lar g es t taro I have ever seen were produced in the high a l t i t u d e gardens of the Telefolmin where they took well over one year to mature.
and low a l t i t u d e gardens then t h i s w i l l have some e f f e c t upon the p r o d u c t i v i t y of h o r t i c u l t u r a l techniques in the two areas. I f the high a l t i t u d e corni was, on average, twice as large as that produced in low a l t i t u d e s (ignoring the f a c t th a t there is no sharp d i s t i n c t i o n between high and low a l t i t u d e s in these matters), and t h i s does not seem to me to be impossible, then gardens in the higher a l t i t u d e s would be 33% more productive than those in lower a l t i t u d e s (assuming
a six month growing period in the l a t t e r areas and a nine month in the former). Moreover, since clea ring and weeding are the most labour intensive part of the h o r t i c u l t u r a l cycle, p r o d u c t i v i t y of labour is affected to an even greater extent; in a t h i r t y - s i x month period the lowland gardener would have cleared and weeded six gardens in
comparison to the four cleared by his highland counterpart. In
addition Paijmans (1976:72) reports th a t lowland rain fo r e s t contains a higher proportion of the lar ge r tree species so tha t i t may be the case th a t the act o f clea ring i t s e l f is more labour intensive in the lower a l t i t u d e s . Other aspects o f the work involved in taro
production would also increase under the circumstances hypothesised here.^
While Mianmin h o r t i c u l t u r e is not labour intensive as compared to the practices o f many groups l i v i n g in New Guinea, the garden does form a very important focus of t h e i r way of l i f e since so much of t h e i r time is spent in houses b u i l t near gardens. Harvesting, r e pl a n tin g , weeding and clearing are car ried on in continuous cycles wi th no seasonal rhythm. Each morning w i l l see some women and children
leaving the main settlement carrying large bundles o f stems, which have been harvested from one garden, to be planted' in a new area. They w i l l return in the la te afternoon with taro tubers and, perhaps, some stems to be transported to a new s i t e . I f f o r any reason there is a gap between taro harvests then a family makes do with wild foods, g i f t s
5
from r e l a t i v e s and f r i e n d s , and cassava. This does not normally happen very often but with the pressure of the demands made by the Base Camp, i t s upkeep and development, i t did sometimes occur in v i l l a g e s close to Yapsiei.
v i l l a g e may be almost completely deserted. The Mianmin sometimes say - only h a l f j o k i n g l y - that they are r e a l l y creatures of the fo r e s t
who grow t i r e d o f being exposed to the hot sun th a t beats down on
the v i l l a g e . The s u f f i x b i b , which derives from the noun f o r ' v i l l a g e ' , is appended to the term meaning 'garden' when i t is used of the large communal gardens. This r e f l e c t s the extent to which the Mianmin are committed by t h e i r h o r t i c u l t u r a l methods to spending large portions of t h e i r l i v e s away from the v i l l a g e .
There are other a t t r a c t i o n s offered by periods in the garden. Garden areas are, in the nature of th in gs, closer to undisturbed rain f o r e s t than the v i l l a g e . Hence they aff ord greater opp or tun ities f o r hunting. For t h i s reason i t is not unusual f o r two or three f a m i l i e s , related by kinship or bonds of f r i e n d s h i p , to remain together in a garden f o r fou r or f i v e weeks. (Although menstruating women must not remain near gardens). The women work in the garden while t h e i r
husbands go o f f to hunt. The men w i l l normally work through the bush in a systematic fashion, searching d i f f e r e n t sections of the area on d i f f e r e n t days, looking f o r evidence of wild pigs, cassowaries,
marsupials and birds or trees in f r u i t that w i l l a t t r a c t any of these. Another a t t r a c t i o n of l i f e in the garden, although i t is one which people w i l l say only applies to other Mianmin, is that game
successfully hunted does not have to be shared as widely as tha t which is taken back to the v i l l a g e .
The garden, in short, takes' on some of the q u a l i t i e s of both the fo r e s t and the v i l l a g e ; i t is an area which is inhabited and which has some o f the social q u a l i t i e s of l i f e in the v i l l a g e .
However i t is located in the fo r e s t without cleared plazas and many of the other amenities o f the v i l l a g e proper. In spanning the
v i 11age/forest dichotomy the garden seems to symbolise the f a c t that the Mianmin way of l i f e is a synthesis o f two opposing elements which would lose i t s d i s t i n c t i v e c h a ra c te ri s ti e s i f the balance between
Hunting takes up a large part of the time of a l l men young and f i t enough to withstand the rigours of the chase. Before the advent of the shotgun the bow and arrow was the most important tool used by
Mianmin hunters. Hanging traps were set fo r cassowaries but they do not seem to have been very productive. Large game was hunted with arrows f i t t e d with bamboo blades; birds and li z a rd s were hunted with multi-pronged arrows. Small birds and l i z a r d s , or animals l i k e
b ir d s -o f -p a ra d is e , with valuable carcasses or skins, were shot with heavy blunt arrows. The bamboo bladed arrows usually incorporated black palm sections carved and painted with designs thought to have the power to make them more e f f e c t i v e . Bows are made of black palm. Every man is able to provide himself with the basic hunting equipment but some men acquire a reputation f o r arrow making which leads to a wider demand f o r t h e i r products. Usually they are traded f o r
ornaments, tobacco and other valuables.
Boys begin to hunt with miniature bows and arrows at an early age. I t was common to see boys o f seven or eight sta lk in g small l i z a rd s in the areas immediately surrounding the v i l l a g e . Later they w i l l begin to j o i n men on large hunts f o r pig and other large game. The occasion of a youth's f i r s t k i l l of a pig or other s i g n i f i c a n t game is cause f o r great happiness. Young men spend a very large part of t h e i r time hunting in small groups and even alone. The Mianmin conception of manhood is in t i m a t e l y bound up with hunting and bachelors are normally net producers of meat f o r t h e i r communities. Being a poor hunter, next to being a poor gardener, is something which could not be more damaging to a man's reputation and chances of f i n d i n g a woman happy to become his wife.
This garden was on the banks o f the middle reaches o f the Tabo River.
share in the spoils.
Dogs are used principally in cornering and
worrying game until the arrival of the hunters.
Hunting is the subject of a great deal of magical activity.
Most men, at least before contact, carried net-bags containing
fragments of the bones of their fathers and other close male
relatives as an aid in hunting. Other charms were carried too.
Rituals were performed on hunting dogs to increase their tracking
powers.
Consistent hunting failure was usually dianosed as being due
to some supernatural interference (mostly from the ghosts of matrikin).
The usual response was to perform r i t es in which substances said to be
loathsome to ghosts were burned in an attempt to drive away the culprit.
The general availabilit y of game, especially large game, is thought to
be under the control of powerful ancestors and act ivi ties and sacra
of the male cult are aimed at ensuring that the supply of game in the
community's hunting areas is maintained.
Few men escape attack from the animals which they hunt at some
point in their lives. Many men bear large scars inflicted by wounded
animals - invariably pigs. Morren reports that in 1969 a young East
Mianmin man was gored to death by a pig during a hunt (1974:164).
It
is not surprising therefore that hunting is seen in the same light as
warfare and is often called wasi-warfare.
An animal that injures a
man may be pursued for many days by friends and kinsmen seeking to
avenge him.
The Mianmin (Morren 1974, 1977), like other groups occupying
the fringes of the mountains (Hyndman 1979; Dornstreich 1973), derive
a high proportion of their animal, and hence -high quality, protein
from hunted sources; characteristically too, this is a comparatively
high proportion of total protein intake. This importance is reflected
in the extent to which the patterns of movement and settlement are
influenced by the availabilit y of game.^
Settlements
Mianmin settlements vary in the degree of their nucleation. The
most compact form of residence is the communal dance house,
am i t can(Plate 6) in which some fifteen family hearths are built around a
dance floor forming the central feature of the house; bachelors are
housed separately in a
t i i m am.This type of housing is most
area. Later on the community is likely to be housed in a variable
number of smaller family houses in which one, two or perhaps more
nuclear families live. Again bachelors are housed in separate
structures. Sometimes a residential unit is split into a number of
hamlets but these were always within shouting distance of one another.
Settlements were traditionally situated on ridges or spurs since this
made for greater safety. Settlements of communities which were involved
in the regional male cult to a significant extent also constructed
temples -
am koisam -to house sacred objects and for the elders to
sleep in when necessary.
Before contact all houses were built with floors raised only a
few inches. Today houses in many villages are built with considerably
higher floors as a result of advice given by Administration officers.
This practice facilitates the cleaning of the area beneath the house
but in the traditional view this space is polluted and should be as
small as possible to prevent children, pigs and dogs from entering it.
The floors are made of bark into which a hearth is sunk. The walls are
of bark or split wood and the roofing consists of carefully placed
leaves which give the impression of having been placed anything but care
fully. The villages in the lowlands today contain houses thatched
with sago leaves sewn in the manner known in Pidgin as
"morota". The
houses are dark and often cramped with the inner walls blackened by the
soot of numerous fires. Most family houses have a verandah in front,
a practice which, I believe, is traditional. Settlements normally
contain a small hut built somewhat away from the main houses, on the
margins of the village, which is used by women who are menstruating or
giving birth.
In some of the lowland settlements with higher houses
women may be permitted to remain in the main village while they give
birth and afterwards, provided they sit beneath their own houses, in
the space already polluted by virtue of the fact that women sit on the
floor above it.
It is the women's task to keep the village clear of
grass and to remove offensive substances such as children's and dogs'
faec e s .
behaviour are on view. Thus who shares food with whom, who co-operates with whom, the way men t r e a t t h e i r wives and the way that women t r e a t t h e i r husbands are a l l the subject of public s c ru ti n y . This contrasts with the garden s e tt in g where i t is more l i k e l y tha t the only other people around are one's closest fri en ds and r e l a t i v e s . Even more stro ngly the v i l l a g e contrasts with the small family gardens and the houses b u i l t in or near them; these have always existed but they are more numerous than formerly was the case, when the danger of raids from enemies was greater.
Many fa m ili e s have a house - or at least hearth space - in more than one v i l l a g e . This appears to have been a more widespread practice before contact and is also more usual among the East Mianmin than i t is among those in the west. Even so i t is not unusual f o r a family to have a main house in the v i l l a g e of the group to which the head of the household is most f i r m l y a f f i l i a t e d and a c c e s s to another, at le a s t, in the v i l l a g e of in-laws or m a tr i k i n . Often the secondary dwelling w i l l be one which the head of the family helped to bu ild. (The p r i n c i p l e of 'one married woman, one hearth' which the East Mianmin espouse (Morren
1974:140) does not appear important among the West Mianmin. Houses th a t are shared by two f a m ili e s f o r part or a l l of the time often simply have bigger hearths than normal; the same applies to the hearths of polygynous households). The extent to which a group's members maintain more than one residence - apart from garden houses - is d i r e c t l y related to the rate and con fi gu ra ti on of exogamous marriages w i t h i n i t (see Chapter Three). Maintaining more than one residence means maintaining gardens in d i f f e r e n t areas and t h i s e n t a i l s investing considerable time away from the settlement to which the head o f the household is p r im a r i l y a f f i l i a t e d , since neighbouring settlements are r a r e l y less than f i v e hours' walk away from one another, and fre quently one or two days. Under such circumstances fa m ili e s decamp f o r months at a time, taking t h e i r possessions with them and shutting up t h e i r houses.