Chimbu people

Chimbu, Kuman are a Papuan people native to the central highlands of Papua New Guinea. The settlement of Kundiawa, the administrative center of the Chimbu country, is located in one of the many spurs of the valley formed by the Chimbu River and lying at an altitude of approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The number is about 250,000 people.

Chimbu people

Ol Chimbu pipel
Total population
around 250,000 (Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea) Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea (including those of ancestral descent)
Regions with significant populations
Papua New Guinea
Languages
Chimbu; Tok Pisin
Religion
Catholicism; Protestantism; Papuan traditional beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Indigenous people of New Guinea

Culture

Religion

A significant part of the Chimbu are Catholics and Protestants, and traditional beliefs are also preserved. Syncretic Christian-animist cults are widespread.

Traditional activities

The main occupation of the Chimbu is manual farming in the highland areas, the main crop being yam. Pig farming is widespread. Since the middle of the 20th century, cattle, horses, chickens, and coffee have also been raised, mainly for sale. Migrant work is common.

Social system

A traditional settlement usually consists of a man's house and houses scattered around it, where married women and children live (pigs are also kept there). The huts, built from wood, Bamboo or reed, reach ten meters in length.

The Chimbu are divided into both territorially localized tribes and divided non-exogamous phratries, uniting several patrilineal clans. Exogamous prohibitions also apply to the subgenus of the mother.

Tribes have an ancestral lineage. The "ancestor" of a clan is thought of as a group of brothers. So, one of the clans comes from 7 brothers, and all the men of the clan are their sons, “one blood”.

All areas of traditional Chimbu life are dominated by men. Chimbu marriage is patrilocal, in the past polygynous, now monogamous. Traditionally accompanied by a large marriage price, often consisting of the most expensive animals for the Chimbu - pigs.

Traditions

Bugla Gende is a festival celebrated every five or ten years when thousands of pigs are slaughtered. All the many years of work of the Chimbu culminate in this solemn slaughter, for which a huge number of animals must be prepared. And they, like people, eat only sweet potatoes in this valley - yam. In the years preceding Bugla Gende, the Papuans clear more and more fields in order to provide food for the continuously increasing number of pigs, the number of which during this period is several times greater than the population of the valley. After the inhabitants of the valley celebrate their holiday by exterminating all the pigs in a few days, many fields become unnecessary. And since the Papuans have not yet learned to produce more than they consume, these plots of land are simply abandoned. The Pig Festival is accompanied by ceremonies for the distribution of property such as potlatch. During this holiday, connections and acquaintances were established between young people who enjoyed premarital sexual freedom.

Pigs are sacrificed not only during bugla gende, but also on other occasions, for example, before the start of a hunt, as a sign of gratitude for a good harvest sent down by the spirits, before starting the construction of a new hut, in the event of a person's death. When a leader dies, several dozen pigs are killed at once.

See also

• Kuman — the language of the Chimbu
• Kundiawa — the capital of Chimbu Province
• Chimbu Province

Literature

• Khlenov M. A. Chimbu // People and religion die / Chapter. ed. V. A. Tishkov. M.: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 1999, p. 682.
• Butinov N. A. Papua New Guinea: (economy, social structure). - M.: Nauka, 1968.
• Brown, P. Chimbu and stranger. Ethnology // Vol. 31, No. 1. — P. 27–43, 1992.
• Brown, P. Gender and social change: new forms of independence for Simbu women. Oceania // Vol. 59, No. 2. — P. 123–142, 1988.

External links

• Sidney Morning Herald. Compass: Papa Bilong Chimbu.