Manus (island)
| Manus | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Bismarcksee | |
| Archipelago | Admiralty Islands | |
| Geographical location | 2 ° 5 ′ S , 146 ° 56 ′ E | |
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| length | 100 km | |
| width | 30 km | |
| surface | 2 100 km² | |
| Highest elevation |
Mount Dremsel 720 m |
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| Residents | 33,000 16 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Lorengau | |
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Manus is an island in northern Papua New Guinea . It is located in the Bismarck Sea and belongs to the Manus Province of Papua New Guinea.
Manus is the largest of the Admiralty Islands and the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea. The island is about 100 km long and up to 30 km wide. It is almost completely covered with tropical rainforest . The highest point is Mount Dremsel at 720 m .
In 1990 about 33,000 people lived on Manus. The island's capital Lorengau is also the capital of the Manus Province . A bridge connects Momote Airport on the offshore Los Negros Islands with the main island and capital.
Until the 1920s, the island, then known as the Great Admiralty Island, was almost only known to the locals.
Population and languages
Despite its relatively small size, there is an enormous diversity of languages and peoples on Manus (→ population and languages of the Admiralty Islands ) . For Manus alone, 21 languages are given. The indigenous inhabitants are ethnically counted among the Melanesians .
Around a third of the population sells fish or other products such as copra or cocoa to exporters. Only about 10% of the population pursue other professions and only 1% is self-employed in full gainful employment . The traditional food sources are now supplemented by imported products - especially rice, tinned fish and meat, pastries, tea, coffee, sugar, beer, cigarettes and tobacco. Until the mid-1990s, practically all objects, including houses and canoes, were still made traditionally. Since then, modern objects have increasingly appeared. However, the craft is also experiencing a revival through sales to tourists.
Cultures
Culturally, three different ethnic groups are commonly distinguished on Manus: (see also: Cultures on the Admiralty Islands )
Matakor
The group called Matakor (also Matankor or Matankol) are coastal inhabitants who live mainly in the west, north and east. They make a living from growing yams , raising cattle (pigs and chickens), fishing and hunting sea turtles . They inhabit floor-level huts. In the past, they made shell money and obsidian knives , which were also produced for bartering. Her ornate wood carvings such as ancestral figures and huge round bowls with spirally held handles or handles decorated with figures are still famous. Their ancestors are believed to be the last to come to the island.
Usiai
The group of Usiai (also Uisiai), who previously lived exclusively in the mountainous inland, also farm and live in huts at ground level. Their ancestors were the first to settle Manus, who were displaced inland by the newcomers over the centuries. Their small body size is striking. The Usiai are known for their artistic wickerwork, especially baskets, but also bowls and calabashes made waterproof. Although they were not respected by the coastal inhabitants in the past, there was a lively exchange of goods between them. (→ exchange system "fish for starch" )
Manus
The culture of around 4,000 titanium-speaking Manus (language of the Manus subgroup of the Admiralty Island languages, also called M'bunai, Moanus or Tito), who live on the southeast coast of the island and on Baluan , the San Miguel Islands and Rambutyo , were examined around 1960 by the American ethnologist Margaret Mead .
The manus specialize exclusively in fishing and until the Second World War lived on stilt houses that stand in the shallow lagoons. Other foods used to be exchanged for fish among the neighboring peoples. Personal economic success is extremely important to men and determines their social status . This competition often leads to an unhealthy zeal for work and in the past, together with the constant pressure of competition, often resulted in a significantly shortened lifespan. Respect for the property of others, a feeling of shame and physical training are also the highest values of the Manus society. The moral concepts (sexuality, marriage, order, honor, solvency) are very high and are reminiscent of the values in Europe in the 19th century. The exception to this is the bachelors' communal houses, who lead quite a fun, boastful, and immoral life on the fringes of society - until they get married. During adulthood, all energy is invested in the pursuit of success, so that personal motives such as affection and likes, but also aversion and hate, do not play a role. This socio-cultural system was reflected in the beliefs in the past: One did not seek harmony with nature or the spirit world with the help of spiritually transcendent methods, but simply tried to make the spirits favorable through small material offerings.
In the colonial times, the manus were feared by the Europeans, as they often attacked settlements and ships. During World War II, many of them fought alongside the Americans against the Japanese. Afterwards, they left the artificial pile-dwelling islands and, because of the impressions of war (dark-skinned soldiers were respected, modern goods had power), they moved to the coast and inland to pay homage to the preacher Paliau Maloat, who promised the arrival of goods from America when the people had theirs Aligned everyday life according to the American military model. In 1947 the Australians withdrew Maloat from circulation; however, the religious reorientation of the followers could not be reversed. (see also: Cargo cult )
"Non-destructive-aggressive societies"
The social psychologist Erich Fromm analyzed in the context of his work Anatomy of human destructiveness based ethnographic records 30 pre-state peoples to their propensity to violence, including the Manus. He finally assigned them to the “non-destructive-aggressive societies”, whose cultures are characterized by a sense of community with pronounced individuality (status, success, rivalry), targeted child-rearing, regulated manners, privileges for men and, above all, male tendencies to aggression - but without destructive ones Tendencies (destructive rage, cruelty, greed for murder, etc.) - are marked. (see also: "War and Peace" in pre-state societies )
economy
Today the island has a thriving economy and education system, and has produced many of Papua New Guinea's leading citizens.
Nevertheless, most of the islanders - with the exception of the residents of Lorengau - are still fishermen and subsistence farmers . The inhabitants of the surrounding islands and the Titan Manus of the south coast used to trade fish and coral lime in the interior of the main island for agricultural products such as sago, fruit and vegetables. This complex bartering or shell money system "fish for starch" was so weakened during World War II that many inland residents were forced to move to the coast to fish and collect corals themselves. Since around 1970 it has been largely replaced by modern forms of trade.
The integration into the modern money economy takes place through the local sale of coconuts, vegetables, bananas, betel nuts, fish, cocoa and fruits. Another source of money for many families are the regular remittances from high-ranking Papua New Guinea politicians, who very often come from Manus. In return, the local communities ensure the social and spiritual well-being of the donors (e.g. rituals and festivals, help in life crises and illnesses).
Due to the linguistic and cultural differences, community projects that affect several local groups are difficult to implement.
history
The island of Manus was discovered in 1529 by the Spanish navigator and merchant Álvaro de Saavedra for the European cultural area and called Uray la Grande . From 1885 to 1899 Manus belonged to the German Protected Area and from 1899 to 1914 to the German New Guinea colony . During this period, German mining companies began to mine phosphates and other mineral resources, the first trading posts were set up on the offshore islands, and ethnologists made contact with the natives. All activities of the colonial rulers often met with fierce opposition, which resulted in numerous victims. The Europeans punished this with also violent punitive expeditions - some with the participation of warships - in which hundreds of locals died. In July 1914, the Liebenzeller Mission began its work on Manus. By 2015, their work had resulted in 22 primary schools and 18 secondary schools.
In November 1914 the island was occupied by Australian troops and after the war it was administered as a mandate of the League of Nations of Australia. After the conquest in 1942, Japan set up a military base on Manus. On March 17, 1943, the few Europeans living on Manus, including the German missionaries and their relatives, were killed by the Japanese. In 1944 the island was captured by the United States' armed forces . A US supply base for the British Pacific Fleet existed on the island well beyond the end of the war.
From 1949 the island of Manus belonged to the United Nations Trust Territory of Papua and New Guinea administered by Australia . In 1950 and 1951, the Australian military held the final trials of Japanese Category B and C war criminals on the island. This was chosen as the court venue because it was the closest part of Australian territory to Japan. The Japanese prisoners were in the 1953 Sugamo Prison of Tokyo transferred.
The American anthropologist and ethnologist Margaret Mead lived on Manus before and after World War II and, in her book Growing up in New Guinea, provided a detailed research report on the habits of children on Manus and their thinking in comparison with the thinking of Western children.
Since 1975 the island of Manus has been part of the independent state of Papua New Guinea.
Refugee camp
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In 2001 the Manus Regional Processing Center , an internment camp for asylum seekers , was set up on Manus . This detention center, where asylum seekers are taken into immigration custody, was part of Australia's “ Pacific Solution ”, a concept designed to prevent refugees from entering Australian territory. The temporary last inmate of the camp was Aladdin Sisalem, who was held in solitary confinement at Manus from July 2003 until he was finally granted asylum in Australia in 2004 .
In August 2012, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced another U-turn in Australian refugee policy with the resumption of the expulsion of boat refugees to Manus. According to a government employee, however, the camp is "completely unsuitable for housing people". In 2015, several refugees died in unrest and self-harm.
After the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea last ruled the detention center illegal in August 2016, Australia announced it would be closed. However, the Australian Migration Minister Peter Dutton declared that he did not want to take in the approximately 800 people interned at Manus. His country will work with Papua New Guinea to organize the settlement of those affected or their return to their home countries. The Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea declared in March 2017 that the then 861 camp inmates could now move freely outside the camp and that the camp would finally be closed on October 31, 2017. The camp was closed as planned, the personnel withdrawn and the supply of electricity, water and food ceased. At the beginning of November 2017, around 600 men were still on the site, most of them from Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The men had refused to accept alternative offers from the Australian state, such as relocation to the Nauru Regional Processing Center in the island state of Nauru , or to Lorengau , the capital of the Manus Province , or a settlement in Cambodia . On November 24, 2017, police took the last 370 men from the camp. They were transported to the new East Lorengau Transit Center , West Lorengau Haus and Hillside Haus warehouses . All three camp complexes are located around 30 kilometers from the provincial capital Lorengau.
tourism
Cruise ships call at Manus from time to time .
literature
- Margaret Mead: Youth and Sexuality in Primitive Societies. Volume 2: Childhood and Adolescence in New Guinea. 4th edition. Munich 1979, ISBN 3-423-04033-5 .
Web links
- manusisland.com
- Map of Papua New Guinea with the location of Manus marked
- Amnesty International Germany, Annual Report 2004, Australia
- Amnesty International Germany, Annual Report 2015, Papua New Guinea
- Map of the languages of Manus
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Schnee (ed.): German Colonial Lexicon. Volume 2: HO. Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1920, p. 501 f.
- ↑ a b c d Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon (1920), Volume I, p. 12 ff.
- ^ Map ethnologue.com , accessed on August 1, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d James G. Carrier: Manus - Economy. In: Countries and Their Cultures at everyculture.com, accessed July 29, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Roland u. Miriam Garve: Among Papuans and Melanesians. Verlag Neue Literatur, Jena / Quedlinburg / Plauen 2010, ISBN 978-3-940085-37-5 . Pp. 188-190.
- ↑ Hartmut Motz: Languages and Peoples of the Earth - Linguistic-Ethnographic Lexicon. 1st edition, Volume 2, Projekt-Verlag Cornelius, Halle 2007, ISBN 978-3-86634-368-9 . Pp. 228, 234.
- ↑ a b c Erich Fromm: Anatomy of human destructiveness . From the American by Liselotte et al. Ernst Mickel, 86th - 100th thousand edition, Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1977, ISBN 3-499-17052-3 . Pp. 191-192, 196-199.
- ↑ Göran Burenhult (ed.): Illustrated history of mankind. Volume: Primitive people today. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0745-8 (Original: Traditional Peoples Today , Harpercollins 1994). P. 102.
- ↑ Tim Flannery: In the Realm of the Islands: My Search for Undiscovered Species and Other Adventures in the South Pacific. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2013, ISBN 978-3-10-402515-5 . Cape. 6th
- ^ Hermann Mückler: Mission in Oceania. facultas.wuv, location year, ISBN 978-3-7089-0397-2 . P. 216.
- ^ Mission in focus , magazine of the Liebenzeller Mission, issue 10-2015, p. 3 DNB 551057963 .
- ↑ Walter Stern: Life picture: Friedrich Doepke - pioneer missionary of the Liebenzeller Mission in Papua New Guinea. In: Friedrich Doepke - Liebenzeller Mission. google.co.uk
- ↑ Margaret Mead: Youth and Sexuality in Primitive Societies. Volume 2: Childhood and Adolescence in New Guinea. 4th edition. Munich 1979, ISBN 3-423-04033-5 .
- ↑ Sarah Stephen: Manus Island's last prisoner denied justice. ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Green Left Weekly. Sydney October 22, 2003, accessed January 29, 2007.
- ↑ Australia plans to send refugees offshore for processing. In: theguardian.com , August 13, 2012
- ↑ Dealing with boat refugees: The deceptive role model Australia. In: spiegel.de , April 20, 2015
- ↑ Australia closes controversial refugee camp on Manus. In: derStandard.at , August 17, 2016
- ↑ Eric Tlozek: Chief Justice finds Manus Island detention center is actually closed ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on ABC News. Retrieved March 18, 2017
- ↑ Despite the catastrophic conditions: Refugees do not want to leave the camp on Manus. In: spiegel.de , November 3, 2017
- ^ Russel Goldman, Damien Cave: What Is Happening on Manus Island? The Detainee Crisis Explained. In: nytimes.com , November 2, 2017
- ↑ spiegel.de November 24, 2017
- ↑ Ben Doherty: Manus detention center cleared of all refugees and asylum seekers. In: theguardian.com. November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017 .
