The Kamoro – New Guinea Communications, Volume 10

The 18,000-odd Kamoro ethno-linguistic group occupy some 300 km of land along the north shore of the Arafura Sea. Their homeland lies to the west of their better-known language relatives, the more numerous Asmat.

For better or worse, a section of the Kamoro lands lie within the contract of works area of the huge Grasberg mine operated by Freeport Indonesia, and majority owned by the Indonesian government. The mining company has financed several large-scale programs beneficial to the affected villages to compensate them for their lost sago groves.

One of these programs which I ran for 20 years helped to revive and encourage their culture and traditional woodcarving skills. Whilst I have based this book on my personal experiences on this group, I have also sought out the works of explorers, missionaries and anthropologists who have gone before me.

KAMORO: The Mimika Tribe                                                                                                     v
Preface                                                                                                                                             vii
Table of contents                                                                                                                       ix
Introduction                                                                                                                               xiii

1. Background……………………………………………………………………………………………1
The most remote ancestors………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
The Kamoro language:
how it fits into the larger picture………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Kamoro myths………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
2. Social Structure …………………………………………………………………………………………..11
Effects on the environment…………………………………………………………………………………………..13
The ‘paraeko’…………………………………………………………………………………………..14
The ‘taparu’…………………………………………………………………………………………..15
The village …………………………………………………………………………………………..17
3. Early Kamoro Contacts with the
Outside World …………………………………………………………………………………………..21
First contacts with Europeans…………………………………………………………………………………………..24
Events since the 1850s…………………………………………………………………………………………..27
4.  The Kamoro 100 Years Ago: The British
Ornithological Union Expedition …………………………………………………………………………………………..33
Canoes…………………………………………………………………………………………..35
Dwellings and settlements…………………………………………………………………………………………..36
Clothing …………………………………………………………………………………………..37
Rituals and art …………………………………………………………………………………………..39
Fishing and weapons…………………………………………………………………………………………..41
Disposal of the dead …………………………………………………………………………………………..43
Expedition problems and final opinions…………………………………………………………………………………………..45

5.  The Dutch Government, the Roman Catholic Mission
and WWII: Drastic Changes………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47
Changes in Kamoro lives………………………………………………………………………………………….. 51
Asmat raids………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
A hydroplane base in Kamoro-land ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55
World War II………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56
6.  The Post-WWII Period ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 61
Changes in the Roman Catholic Church………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63
The Protestants try again. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 67
Evolution of Kamoro attitudes………………………………………………………………………………………….. 68
Freeport and the Kamoro: encouraging carving ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70
7.  Kamoro Rituals.…………………………………………………………………………………………. 75
Kamoro initiation: Father Zegwaard…………………………………………………………………………………………..81
8.  The Karapao Today ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 85
9.  Kamoro Art:
Revival , Evolution And Commercialization………………………………………………………………………………………….. 95
Reviving Kamoro art ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 99
Types of Kamoro art made today………………………………………………………………………………………….. 99
Kamoro lifestyle, markets, problems and needs:
the role of carvings …………………………………………………………………………………………..111
The tools of the trade …………………………………………………………………………………………..114
Kinds of wood used …………………………………………………………………………………………..115
10.  The Yearly Kamoro Kakuru Festival………………………………………………………………………………………….. 117
Freeport contributions…………………………………………………………………………………………..121
Out to the villages: spreading the news…………………………………………………………………………………………..121
The festival’s changing locations…………………………………………………………………………………………..123
Problems …………………………………………………………………………………………..125
The following festivals…………………………………………………………………………………………..127
The auctions…………………………………………………………………………………………..129
Positive aspects of the festival …………………………………………………………………………………………..133
The bottom-line: why the festival was canceled…………………………………………………………………………………………..136
11.  Picking Kamoro Art………………………………………………………………………………………….. 139
Criteria for Kamoro art purchases…………………………………………………………………………………………..143
Resurrection and new creation …………………………………………………………………………………………..147
Choosing carvings for the yearly festival…………………………………………………………………………………………..148
Choosing carvings for exhibits/sales…………………………………………………………………………………………..150
The Kamoro Art Gallery …………………………………………………………………………………………..152
12. Taking carvers out of West New Guinea………………………………………………………………………………………….. 155
Exposition in Holland…………………………………………………………………………………………..159
An emotional visit…………………………………………………………………………………………..160
Daily activities…………………………………………………………………………………………..161
Carvings and the auction…………………………………………………………………………………………..163
The end of the Leiden Kamoro exposition:
disappointments…………………………………………………………………………………………..166
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 167