Facial expressions

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The Mimika or Kamoro are a tribe in Western New Guinea . In the past, travelers' facial expressions were also called Koaiwi or Koviai . In addition to Kamoro, their own name is Papua. The translation of the proper name Kamoro is living people and true people with which they differentiate themselves from the dead, the plants, the spirits and animals. Other tribes like the Asmat refer to them as cannibal people and the mountain people as ghosts.

Settlement area

The Mimika live in the middle layer on the southern coast of western New Guinea. Their settlement area is between the Triton Bay and the southeastern Otokawa River and the Korvar area. The Otokawa also marks the border with the Asmat. The Amungme settlement area is located to the northeast . The Mimika and Asmat form the main tribes between the Vogelkop Peninsula and the Yos Sudarso Island .

Culture

language

The language of mimics is called Kamoro and is spoken by about 8,000 people. Kamoro is divided into at least seven different dialects. The dialects are called Western Dialect , Tarya Dialect , Central Dialect , Kamora Dialect , Wania Dialect, and Upper Wania Dialect . The most widely spoken dialect is the Central Dialect with 4300 speakers (as of 1975). The language belongs to the Asmat-Komora language family.

art

The mimic art is considered to be related to the art of the western and eastern neighbors. Their art form is described as architectural. The combination of carved human figures from fixed and loose parts is typical.

The mbitoro ( German  ghost sticks ) are considered the most outstanding form of art . These poles are made from mangrove-like trees. The trunk and the support root are used for this. These piles reach up to 7 m in height. The human figures in the mbitoro represent the deceased ancestors. However, the human figures are carved as empty bodies.

Rituals

The Yamate ceremonial tablets are used to represent recently deceased relatives. The Yamate serve so-called emakame rituals ( German  bone house ), a creation rite of mimics, dedicated to the beginning of life and woman's fertility . These rituals are held in special newly built ceremonial buildings in which the bones of the deceased are stored after the celebrations. This is where the name of the tablets comes from. It is assumed that the Yamata tablets are related to the tribe's war shields. In the eastern mimic area, the emakame festival is also called the kiawa festival. In the kiawa ceremonial house, the wooden statues of four large pregnant women are placed next to the entrance.

literature

  • Oceanic Art, Anthony Jp Meyer, 1995 Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, Die Mimika, page 76-80, ISBN 3-89508-080-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b papuaweb.org: Information on facial expressions (PDF; 43 kB), (Dutch), (English)
  2. ^ Moseley, Christopher and RE Asher, ed. Atlas of the Worlds Languages (New York: Routelage, 1994) p. 110, (English)