Pygmies & Papuans: The Stone Age To-day in Dutch New Guinea

Measurements of 22 Tapiro Pygmies (Males).

APPENDIX C

NOTES ON LANGUAGES IN THE EAST OF NETHERLANDS NEW GUINEA

By SIDNEY H. RAY, M.A.

I. INTRODUCTION

In considering the languages of Netherlands New Guinea it is convenient to divide the territory into six geographical divisions. These are:—

The present notice only refers to languages in the three last of these divisions.

At the Western end of the South shore of Geelvink Bay is the district of Wandammen, of which the language is fairly well known. For this we have a vocabulary with grammatical examples (9),26 and also for Windessi, which is the same language, a mission text-book. Eastward from Wandammen the numerals only are recorded (7), but at the Southern point of the Bay, in the district around Jamur Lake we have the collections made by Van der Sande during the Wichmann Expedition of 1903 (8). He gives a vocabulary of Angadi, an island in the Jamur Lake, some words of the Nagramadu dialect on the North-west, and the numerals of Goreda on the South of the lake. The languages of the Western Shore of Geelvink Bay are represented only by numerals (7) but there is more information of the language of Pauwi at the mouth of the Wamberam or Amberno or Mamberamo River, where F. van Braam Morris collected a vocabulary published by Robidé van der Aa in 1885 (6). This was considered faulty by de Clercq.27

Westward along the Northern coast very little linguistic material is available, and the few words recorded show great differences. The places of which the speech is known are, on the mainland: Takar, Tarfia and Tana Merah, and on the islands: Liki (in the Kumamba Group), Moar (called also Wakde), Masimasi and Jamna (4, 5).

For the region about Humboldt Bay we have short vocabularies of Jotafa by various collectors, and a fuller one by G. L. Bink (2), also Sentani lists by P. E. Moolenburg (3) and van der Sande (8). Moolenburg also gives a list from Seka, West of the Bay.

For the Southern shore of Netherlands New Guinea, we have nothing but vocabularies, none of very large extent, the most extensive being that of Merauke in the extreme West (15) which has also been ably discussed by Dr. N. Adriani.28

Commencing at Kamrau Inlet, the languages of the shore and islands are illustrated by the Kowiai vocabularies of Miklucho-Maclay (13), the papers of G. W. Earl29 and the lists of S. Muller (10), the last two being derived from the collections made during the voyage of the Triton under Lieut. Modera in 1828. The following languages are named:—

Lobo at Triton Bay (including Namatote, Aiduma, Mawara, and Kaju-Mera).
Wuaussirau, inland on the Kamaka-Wallar Lake.
Mairassis, inland from Lobo.
Lakahia, on Telok Lakahia.
Kiruru, on Telok Kiruru.
Utanata, on the Utanata River.

Westward of the Utanata a vocabulary of the language spoken on the Mimika River people was obtained by Mr. Wollaston in 1910-11. A list of the same language is given also in the account of the South-west New Guinea Expedition of the Royal Netherlands Geographical Association.30 The latter work contains a few words of the language used at the mouth of the Kupĕra Pukwa River.

The language of Mĕraukĕ has been recorded by J. Seijne Kok (15), and by J. C. Montague and E. F. Bik,[C] that of Toro by S. Bik.31

II. CLASSIFICATION OF THE LANGUAGES.

Of the three languages in the northern part of Eastern Netherlands New Guinea that of the Jotafa of Humboldt Bay has been ably discussed by Dr. Kern,32 who decides that in phonology, construction, numeration and word store it presents many points of agreement with the Mefoor or Nufōr of the North-west. But it undoubtedly also contains many words which are of non-Indonesian origin. The Sentani and Pawi languages seem to have very few or no words similar to the Indonesian, and may probably be found to be Papuan languages. But nothing is known of the grammar. The language of Wandammen presents agreements with the Mefoor (or Nufōr) in vocabulary and also in some points of grammar. It will probably be found to fall into the same class as the Nufōr and Jotafa. The languages of the north coast and islands also show a mixture of Indonesian with other words. So little is known of the structure of the languages in the Kumava Peninsula that their place cannot be determined with certainty. The numerals and much of the vocabulary appear to be Indonesian,33 but there are Papuan forms in the Grammar.

The Lobo languages of the Kowiai district on the south coast appear to be Indonesian, but those inland and south of Geelvink Bay have a distinct connection with those on the south coast west of the Kowiai district, and with those at the Utanata River and beyond the Mimika, at least as far as the Kupera Pukwa River. Beyond this point nothing is recorded until Princess Marianne Strait is reached, and here of two words known, one is Mĕraukĕ.34 The latter language extends to the Boundary. All west of the Lobo appear to be Papuan.

Using the scanty means available, the languages of the Eastern part of Netherlands New Guinea may be thus provisionally classified:—

NORTH COAST AND ISLANDS (INCLUDING EAST AND SOUTH SHORE OF GEELVINK BAY).

SOUTH COAST.

III. COMPARATIVE NOTES ON THE ANGADI-MIMIKA GROUP OF LANGUAGES.

This group consists of the Angadi, Nagramadu, Goreda, Utanata, Lakahia, Mimika and Kupera Pukwa dialects, and perhaps also Kiruru.

1. Sound changes.36

A comparison of vocabularies shows a certain amount of sound change between the dialects. Thus Angadi m becomes b in Utanata and Mimika and vice versa.37

The Angadi m is represented sometimes by mb in Mimika, but is retained in Lakahia and Kiruru. Utanata examples are not found.

Angadi in some words loses k or g which appears in Mimika and Lakahia.

A few words show an interchange of r and n between Mimika and Lakahia.

2. Vocabulary.

The great likeness of the dialects may be illustrated by the following examples:—

3. Pronouns. These are given only in Mimika for the singular number, and in Utanata for the first person singular, but the words for “I,” Mimika doro and Utanata area are unlike. In Mimika the possessive is shown by the suffix -ta, which is used also with other words. Dorota, mine, oro-ta, yours, amare-ta his, wehwaída-ta of another man. Wehwaída is compounded apparently of uwe (rí) man and awaída other. In Mairassis “I” is omona.

4. Numerals. No numerals are given by Müller or Earl for Utanata. “People of Utanata had very little knowledge of counting. When wishing to make known any number, they made use of the word awerí and counted on their fingers and toes.”38 In Angadi, Nagramadu, Goreda, Lakahia and Mimika, the numbers appear as follows:

These show a numeration only as far as two. “Three” and “four” are made by additions, 2 + 1 = 3 and 2 + 2 = 4, except in Angadi where awaitămă-jaminatia means “another two” with which cf. the Mimika awaida, other. Măhăre, maheri, mari in the words for “five” also mean “hand,” abbreviated to mă in măma of Nagramadu. The Goreda tăoru given for “ten,” is the Angadi tăöru, much, Mimika takiri, many. In Lakahia the words for “three,” “four,” “five,” “six” have the Ceram numerals which are also used in Lobo and Namatote. The Mairassis and Wuaussirau numerals agree with one another, but differ entirely from those of the Angadi-Mimika group.

The low numeration in all these languages may be regarded as an indication of their Papuan character.

5. Construction.

A few grammatical forms which appear to be indicated in the vocabularies may be noted here.

a. The possessive with pronouns and pronominal words is indicated by a suffix -ta. Mimika, doro-ta, of me, mine; oro-ta, thine; amare-ta, his; wehwaída-ta, of another man. In Angadi several compound words end in nata, which thus appears to be a noun, na (thing?), with the possessive suffix; and it seems possible to explain such words as ută-nata, firewood; kara nata, head of javelin—i.e. fire-thing-of, javelin-thing-of. Cf. also nata pairi given by v. d. Sande for “skin,” with Mimika pīgīri, skin, which suggests that nata pairi means skin of something.

b. The adjective follows the noun. Utanata warari napetike, water big, river.

c. A noun in the genitive relation precedes its substantive. Mimika bau mame, leg’s eye, ankle; iwau makarĕ, belly’s band. Angadi mahare hehe, finger nail; māū hehe, toe nail; mirimoi ipa, nose hole, nostril; ihani ipa, hole in ear lobe; ămore eme, bow’s rattan, bowstring.

d. The subject precedes the verb. Angadi jăū hinau-mara, sun rises (?), morning; jăū emapojemia, sun sets (?), evening.

e. The object also precedes the verb. Angadi ihani aimeri, ear pierce; mirimoi aimeri, nose pierce.

These five points indicate a Papuan structure of the languages.

6. Comparison with Merauke and the Languages of British New Guinea West of the Fly River.

The Papuan languages usually show so few agreements in vocabulary that the likeness of words, unless frequent, cannot be held to establish relationship. In the comparative vocabulary, words and numerals are added from the languages on British Territory.39 These show a few likenesses, which may, however, be accidental.

IV. MALAYAN INFLUENCE ON THE SOUTH COAST OF NETHERLANDS NEW GUINEA.

In a discussion of the languages of the south-eastern shores of Netherlands New Guinea, the extent of Malay influence in that region must be taken into account. Mr. William Churchill has lately put forward a theory that the Polynesian people entered the Pacific not only by coasting along the northern shores of New Guinea to the Solomon Group, but also by a passage through Torres Straits, and thence along the south-eastern coast of British New Guinea to the New Hebrides.40 On tracing the languages westward from Polynesia, it is an indisputable fact that many words which are identical with Polynesian are found in use along the shores of British New Guinea, though they are not used in a Polynesian syntax, or in the simplified forms usual in the Eastern tongues. It is also a fact that many of these same words are current also in the western islands of Indonesia. For example, hua, fruit; ina, mother; lala, blood; lau, leaf; au, I; ruma, house; inu, drink; utu, louse; tohu, sugar cane, and many other words are identical in the south-east of British New Guinea and in Ceram. But in British New Guinea the languages which show likeness to Polynesian end abruptly at Cape Possession, and are not found west of that point.41 Hence it becomes important to inquire how far the similar tongues of Amboyna and Ceram have influenced the New Guinea languages to the east of them. That there is such an influence is plain from the vocabularies of the languages. Indonesian words, such as the Onin (10) kayu, wood; tanigan, ear; nifan, tooth; fenu, turtle; mani, bird; afi, fire, are of common occurrence in the islands of the Arafura Sea, and on the coast of the mainland. But these words are more common in the west, and gradually disappear towards Torres Straits, and are not found beyond. In Rosenberg’s Karufa list (12) we find such characteristically Indonesian words as ulu, hair; mata, eye; uhru, mouth; taruya, ear; nima, hand; ora, sun; uran, moon; niyu, coconut. Words of this kind are found also in Lobo (10) and Namatote (13), as, for example, wuran, moon; labi, fire; nima, hand; nena, mother; rara, blood; metan, black; tobu, sugar cane; wosa, paddle; matoran, sit; mariri, stand. Some of these words seem to have passed into Utanata (10) and Lakahia (13), and apparently, though not so freely, into Wuaussirau (13), Mairassis (10), and Mimika (14). The Kiruru vocabulary of Maclay does not appear to show any words of this kind. The following are examples of Indonesian or Ceram words in the Utanata-Mimika group of languages.