Mek (people)

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The small distribution area of ​​the Mek (colored green)

The Mek are a Melanesian Papuan people in western New Guinea . They are part of the highland Papuans, a dark-skinned, curly-haired and noticeably short breed.

Habitat and foundations

The Mek live in the central mountains of the Indonesian province of Papua . The Yali and Dani ethnic groups settle in the western neighborhood , the Ok territories border to the east (border area to Papua New Guinea ). Mek means - just like ok - water, river or stream. Farther to the east, behind the border from Papua New Guinea, lies the tribal area of ​​the small people of the Bimin-Kuskusmin .

In 1972 the Mek were first contacted in the Eipo area , and in 1974 contacts with them were perpetuated . Airstrips were built in the settlement area. In 1976, the neighborhood feuds ended. As part of the end of the traditional way of life, all attributes of the Stone Age habitus were given up. In 1981 every third Mek was baptized.

Society and religion

In ethnology , the social forms of the highland population of the Mek are called segmentary , according to which a society is divided into larger groups (clans), which in turn are subdivided into smaller groups (sub-clans), from which even smaller units emerge. Estates, boxes, chiefs, etc. are unknown. The groups that basically exist side by side become noticeable when rights are affected, such as marriage, inheritance or taking up housing in the family home ( dib eik ), because rules of conduct must be observed, including the general principles of patrilineal filiation or exogamy . The individual settlements, which are social and economic units in the above sense, are made up of 10 to 30 round huts. A settlement accommodates up to 140 people. The huts are built so close to each other that the roofs almost touch.

The social order and the resulting value system are based on the myths of origin . They are recognized in the rites of the " ancestral cult ". The religion of this people is therefore based on the ritual worship of the forefathers and ancestors. This is the job of the men and the council takes place in their men's houses ( yoek aik ), which like the once orderless world, were created by the moon and the sun ( Dukuramduweik ). In political terms, they decide when wars are to be waged, their pig festivals are held or protective alliances are agreed with neighbors. In wartime, a village stands together entirely for deliberation. The leadership of the village by a village chief is unknown to the Mek ( acephaly ). By virtue of natural authority there are nevertheless members of the tribe who can exert greater influence ( big men ).

economy

The Mek are sedentary farmers. Their main nutritional basis is the sweet potato , which they have cultivated for around 300 years . They also grow yams , taro , bananas and sugar cane. They are transported using nets made using looping technology ( aleng ). The soils are made arable by slash- and- burn and digging canes ( on kama ). Old cultivation areas are re- cultivated after fallow periods . Also is known the terrace cultivation , the plant of raised beds and drainage technology by trenches. The menu is supplemented with frog meat , caterpillars , crickets and smooth lizards . These are collected by women and children. Meanwhile, the men go hunting with bows ( yin ) and arrows ( paint ) and kill birds and marsupials. There is only one division of labor between the sexes; specialized occupational groups are unknown. Stacking and stock management are also unknown.

The cultivated gardens of the Mek are mainly at an altitude between 1200 and 2000  m . Below these heights they cultivate sago palms , from which they extract sago and harvest the large red fruit clusters of the pandanus conoideus, which belongs to the screw tree family . They cultivate other types of screw tree at altitudes above 2000 m .

Food is roasted on the fire or steamed in the "earth oven" ( fito ). Compared to the lowland cultures of New Guinea, the equipment with material goods is disproportionately simple. Means of production are human muscle power, fire, water and the simplest tools. The Mek use more ingenuity than on useful objects in the manufacture of jewelry. This is made from animal bones, teeth and skins, bird feathers, cowrie and spiny snails ("imports") and bast . Typical items of clothing of the Mek are the breastplate ( ting ), penis calves ( sanyum ) from the bottle gourd (men), short multi-layer aprons ( lye ) from the stems of the water chestnut (women) and, in the shape of a mum, a ceremonial occiput ( mum ).

language

The Mek language is spoken by around 40,000 people in three dialect chains (divided according to the settlement areas from east to center to west) and forms a separate branch within the Trans New Guinea languages . The Mek languages ​​are a valid, proven family of Papuan languages .

According to Heeschen (1998) three dialect chains can be differentiated:

  • East: Ketengban (including Okbap , Omban , Bime , Onya ), Goliath (also Una ), Eipo .
  • North center: Kosarek Yale –Nipsan Nalca .
  • West: Korupun - Sela (including Dagi , Sisibna , Deibula ).

literature

  • Stone Age - today - research in the mountains of New Guinea (No. 1–27), publisher: Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin / Staatliche Museen Prussischer Kulturbesitz, 1978.
  • Wulf Schiefenhövel : Childbirth behavior and reproductive strategies of the Eipo. Reimer, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-4960-1515-2 .
  • Roland Garve : Irian Jaya. The lost stone age. Kiepenheuer, Leipzig / Weimar 1991, ISBN 3-378-00456-8 .
  • Gerd Koch : Malingdam. Ethnographic notes about a settlement area in the upper Eipomek valley, central mountainous region of Irian Jaya / West New Guinea, Indonesia. Berlin, 1984.
  • Volker Heeschen: The Mek Languages ​​of Irian Jaya with Special reference to the Eipo Language. In: Irian. Bulletin of Irian Jaya Developement. Jayapura / Abepura 1977.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Stone Age - Today - Research in the Mountains of New Guinea (No. 1–27), publisher: Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin / Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 1978, sheets 15–27
  2. ↑ Volker Heeschen, Perspectives on the Bird's Head of Irian, Jaya, Indonesia , edited by Jelle Miedema, Cecilia Odé, Rien AC Dam, Connie Baak, (p. 294 f.)
  3. ↑ Sebastian Nordhoff, Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath, Martin (editor), Mek , Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (2013).
  4. ↑ Volker Heeschen, An Ethnographic Grammar of the Eipo Language (spoken in the central mountains of Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia) (1998).
  5. ^ Reimer Verlag :: An ethnographic grammar of the Eipo language spoken in the central mountains of Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia, 978-3-496-02659-4 .
  6. ↑ Ketengban .
  7. ↑ Una .
  8. ↑ Yale, Kosarek .
  9. ↑ Nipsan .
  10. ↑ Nalca .
  11. ↑ Korupun-Sela .