Marind people

The Marind or Marind-Anim are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. The Marind-anim live in South Papua, Indonesia. They occupy a vast territory, which is situated on either side of the Bian River, from about 20 miles to the east of Merauke, up to the mouth of the Moeli River in the west (between Frederik Hendrik Island and the mainland; east of Yos Sudarso Island, mainly west of the Maro River (a small area goes beyond the Maro at its lower part, including Merauke). The territory of the Marind tribe consists of a low-lying, deposited coastal area. This area is for the most part flooded in the wet season. The hinterland, which is situated somewhat higher, is intersected by a great number of rivers. Originally, either sago or coconut palm trees were planted, though stretches of bamboo could also be found. Mostly during the 20th century, Marind culture underwent major changes. The Dutch colonial administration forbade head hunting and ritual homosexuality, and also the rites in which many men had intercourse with one woman. These rituals accelerated the spread of the sexually transmitted diseases, in particular, granuloma inguinale (donovanosis) which erupted in a major epidemic from 1912 onwards. By this time the Marind had already experienced a marked reduction of birth rates, mainly attributable to earlier introduction of gonorrhoea to the Pacific region. Thanks to the efforts of the Missionary of the Sacred Heart, Petrus Vertenten, the Dutch government was alerted about the critical situation of the Marind, who due to the spread of the disease and their own particular practices were now risking extinction. Christian missions and the introduction of schools to assimilate the people to western culture also resulted in major changes in Marind culture. Jan van Baal (1909-1992), a Dutch social anthropologist who worked among the Marind, wrote in the early 1980s that traditional Marind culture was gone. The Marind languages form a small family of the Trans–New Guinea language phylum.