Abelam

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Gable wall of an Abelam ceremonial gabled house in Kinbangwa

The Abelam are a population of around 30,000 in Papua New Guinea . Their settlement area is in the hinterland of the north coast, in the East Sepik Province , in one of the most densely populated regions of New Guinea . Immediate neighbors are the relatively well-explored Arapesh . The region has been “pacified” since the 1930s, and since 1938 there have been two Catholic mission stations .

The Abelam villages are divided into hamlets , the division of which reflects the social situation. The hamlets, which in turn consist of two village units, the ceremonial groups, are essential for exchange relationships or marriage rules and are in constant competition with one another. All members of a hamlet are considered to be related to one another and are assigned to a clan . The center of each hamlet is the cult house, which is also understood as a political and religious center. The Abelam live from horticulture, with the tuberous yams being the most important food and component of ceremonies . In addition to yams, taro , bananas and sugar cane are grown. In addition, dogs, chickens and pigs are domesticated on animals.

Yams are grown on the one hand by women as food for the family, on the other hand by men as ceremonial yams, outside of any nutritional role, but with a high prestige value. The meaning of the yam goes back to the mythical ancestor of Abelam, who was originally a cassowary woman, turned into a human woman, married and gave birth to two sons. At her bid to kill a cassowary, the first son resisted, the second obeyed the order. She had previously turned back into a cassowary and was killed herself. She appeared to her children in a dream and asked to be allowed to rot undisturbed and fenced in to the bone. The first yams, henceforth the most important crop, arose from the bones.

Unlike other cultures in New Guinea, the Abelam do not carry out their artistic paintings as body painting, but decorate their cult houses ( tambaran houses) with paintings. The mesh pockets of the Abelam ( Bilum ) are a mirror of the social roles. For men they serve as a “tool bag” and as jewelry, for women as a means of transport and carrying and as a cradle. They are made of vegetable fibers only by women and have different meanings depending on the decoration. The bags are a part of women's clothing and are closely related to the assessment of the workforce and skills of women. As a symbol of femininity and fertility, they play a role in initiation.

The Abelam cult house

The up to 25 meter high cult and haunted houses form the center of the Abelam planter settlements. It has a stable triangular structure made of bamboo tubes and lilians and takes about three months to erect. The cult house is the main place of contact with the ancestors, richly decorated and reserved for men . It is the focal point of social and religious events such as wakes, weddings, dispute settlements, gatherings, and initiations .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Susanne Schröter : Witches, Warriors, Cannibals , p. 272 ​​f. (see lit.)
  2. ↑ Abeleam on Wissen.de ( Memento of November 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on January 10, 2011
  3. ↑ a b page 53 (margin note); On the case myth: p. 133
    Susanne Schröter : Witches, warriors, cannibals, fantasy, rule and gender in New Guinea (women's cultures - men's cultures; 3.) . In: Women's cultures - Men's cultures - Volumes 1-3) . tape 3 , no. 1 . LIT Verlag, Münster, Hamburg, Germany 1994, ISBN 3-8258-2092-0 , p. 372 (German; IT book version (accessed on March 9, 2016)).

literature

  • Gerd Koch : Abelam culture. State museums, Museum of Ethnology, Berlin 1968.
  • Barbara Huber-Greub: Coconut palm people: soil and everyday life and their meaning in the self-image of the Abelam of Kimbangwa (East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea). Wepf & Co., ISBN 3-85977-180-9 .
  • Susanne Schröter : Witches, warriors, cannibals , fantasy, domination and gender in New Guinea; Muenster; Hamburg: Lit. 1994 (women's cultures - men's cultures; 3.); ISBN 3-8258-2092-0 .
  • Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin. 1991. Museum of Ethnology, Basel. (Initiations at the Abelam in Papua New Guinea. Cathedrals of the Stone Age)
  • Ingrid Heermann. 1989. The South Seas Department. Stuttgart: Linden Museum. (The Abelam).
  • Mona Suhrbier, Eva Raabe: People and their objects. Amazonia - Oceania. Frankfurt a. M .: Museum of World Cultures. 2001.