Eipo

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The Eipo (partly listed in the literature as Eipomek ) are inhabitants of the central mountains in the high valley of the Eipomek (the river of the same name) in western New Guinea . The Melanesian culture of the Eipo is one of the oldest in the world at 50,000 years old. In 1975 behaviorists counted 800 eipos.

Morphological features

The Eipo are small, pygmy-like people whose average height is less than 145 cm for men and less than 140 cm for women. The average body weight is 40 kg. Nevertheless, the Eipo are muscular and very productive due to their living conditions. They often carry loads (fruit and firewood) that are more than their body weight to their villages for hours.

Settlements

The Eipo live in 1600 to 2100  m altitude of the tropical high mountains, exactly in the rain zone. Temperatures range from 20 to 25 ° C during the day and between 11 and 13 ° C at night.

The villages are in good defensive positions and have the typical structure of a clustered village . Around ten to thirty round huts accommodate 40 to 150 residents per village. In the middle of the village are the sacred men's houses (the meeting place for men and the center of religious ceremonies) and the ceremonial square. The women's refuge is off. In the context of the missionary influences, the purpose of the men's houses changes. Information is increasingly being exchanged there or guests are being accommodated. They also serve as a repository for cult objects. The men's houses are still taboo for women today. The female eipos live in the women's shelter during their menstruation, in the event of illness and before childbirth, as these living conditions are considered unclean and therefore force them to segregate. Men’s access to the women's shelter is only permitted under special conditions, such as food.

economy

The Eipo cultivate horticulture, mainly sweet potatoes , bananas, vegetables and taro (arum family). In addition, the Eipo are hunters and gatherers, whereby animal protein is rare and only plays an insignificant role in the nutrition of the Eipo. Collecting is the job of women. Insects and small animals are collected. Children and women usually eat their catch themselves. Birds are attracted by skillful voice imitations. The men mainly kill marsupials, which are distant relatives of the kangaroos. The hunters use bows and arrows and are assisted by specially trained dogs. In addition to dogs, pigs are kept as pets. The pigs are slaughtered on special occasions. Members of some clans are not allowed to eat the meat because the pig is considered to be their mythical ancestor.

Stone knives, rodent tooth scrapers, bone daggers and other objects made of wood, bones, bark and fibers make up the equipment.

Culture

General

The Eipo belong to the Mek language and cultural family . Their language is a subset of the Mek language . Mek means water, river or stream.

The world of women and men is clearly separated. Nevertheless, both sexes support each other. The Eipos are an acephalic society (that is, without an established chief function). Roles as initiators can lead to the status of "big men". If charisma or vitality is lost, social influence is lost.

Birth and death

The women give birth in the open air, where they are cared for by women with experience in childbirth. Usually the child is born sitting or standing. The infant mortality rate is surprisingly low, and is in the first year of life 6%. Infants and toddlers are always treated very sensitively and lovingly by the Eipo. They have unhindered access to the mother's breast, are in physical contact with a caregiver for far more than half of the day and usually sleep next to the mother's body at night. The toddlers therefore develop quickly, often they can walk before they are even one year old. Nonetheless, in the mid-1970s, Wulf Schiefenhövel recorded that massive amounts of infanticide were carried out. In twenty births nine deaths were recorded, seven of which involved girls. The anticipation of nutritional problems was assumed to be the cause . More women alive meant more children to be fed and thus an intensification of the struggle for survival.

The Eipo are considered to be a very belligerent people. The fights among themselves and the wars against neighbors claim many deaths. About a fifth to a quarter of all men die violently. In some cases the killed enemy is eaten in the village community. Only in this way, say the Eipo, is it possible to completely destroy these hated enemies. Dead people in their own village are buried in the crown of defoliated trees. The corpse is protected from rain with leaves and bark. This creates a mummy that is later buried.

wedding

Women have great influence over the family, the household, and the neighborhood, but men make the important decisions. Women can separate from an unloved husband and in such cases move back to their relatives, who often live in a different valley, as strict clan exogamy (marriage only outside the clan) is observed. The children are assigned to the father's clan.

The marriage arranged by the parents is seen as the ideal connection, but the young people are often not happy about this decision and try to enforce their own choice, which they often succeed. Family gifts from the bride and groom as well as the organization of ceremonies and celebrations play a major role in marriage. Middle-aged women often begin extramarital affairs. Passionate love relationships and jealousy scenes are not uncommon. Often demanding songs are composed while in love (compare: Music and Dance of the Eipo ).

Myths and fairy tales

The Eipo trace their ancestry back to a mythical forefather who was set by supernatural forces. These myths of origin are closely linked to religious rituals and are withheld from women. In contrast, fairy tales are told.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Susanne Wittmann: In search of the ideal form of society ... Two Melanesian cultures in comparison ( Memento from May 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Wilhelm Reich Institute, 1996 (archived website)
  2. ↑ Roland Garve, Irian Jaya, p. 72 (see lit.)
  3. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/others/bp/04000025959910000000.pdf )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.iwf.de  
  4. ^ Werner M. Egli: Contributions to the ethnology of childhood. P. 167
  5. ↑ Roland Garve, Irian Jaya , p. 75 (see lit.)
  6. ↑ Rosemarie Plarre: Spontaneous Cartography and Other Drawings: Stages of Different Reality Constructs in New Guinea (West Papua). Internet Journal for Cultural Studies, No. 16, June 2006
  7. ↑ Volker Heeschen: The Eipo in Papua. World views, ethnography and narratives. Institute for Social Anthropology at the LMU, Munich 2015.