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| Amungme people | |
|---|---|
| Group | Amungme |
| Regions | Papua (province), Indonesia |
| Languages | Amungme language, Indonesian language |
| Religions | Christianity, Animism |
| Related | Dani people, Moni people, Ekari people, Una people |
Amungme people The Amungme are an indigenous Melanesian people of the central highlands of New Guinea in Papua (province), Indonesia, whose homeland centers on the mountainous Mimika Regency and the Freeport-McMoRan-operated mine site at Grasberg mine. Their identity intersects with regional actors such as the Papuan Nationalist movement, local clans, and transnational corporations, and they are linked culturally and linguistically to neighboring groups in the Central Highlands (New Guinea).
The ethnonym "Amungme" is used in Indonesian and academic sources and appears in works alongside designations for neighboring groups like the Dani people, Mee people, and Moni people, while colonial-era administrators from the Netherlands and officers of the Dutch East Indies recorded related names in ethnographies. Scholarly references by institutions such as the Australian National University, the University of Papua (Uncen), and the Royal Geographical Society situate Amungme identity within broader Highland networks including the Lani people and the Yali people. Modern identity politics connect Amungme leaders with the Papuan Presidium Council, local councils in Timika, and representatives who engage with entities such as Freeport-McMoRan and the Indonesian government.
Amungme oral histories recount migration across the New Guinea Highlands and settlement near peaks including Puncak Jaya, and these narratives are recorded in ethnographies by researchers affiliated with the Netherlands School of Economics and the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. Colonial contact increased following expeditions by Dutch administrators and explorers, and later the region drew attention from companies like Freeport-McMoRan and governments including the United States and Indonesia during the mid-20th century. Encounters with missionaries from denominations such as the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church shaped religious change, paralleled by political pressures from movements like the Free Papua Movement and negotiations involving the Papua provincial government and the Indonesian Armed Forces.
The Amungme language belongs to the Trans–New Guinea languages cluster and is studied alongside languages of nearby groups, with comparative work hosted by linguists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Australian National University, and University of Sydney. Cultural practices reflect Highlands traditions seen among the Dani people, Ekari people, and Moni people, such as bark-cloth production noted in ethnographic texts and ceremonial exchanges recorded by scholars from the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. Folktales and songs are comparable to narratives archived by the British Council and referenced in collections at the Leiden University and Cornell University.
Amungme society is organized around clans and lineage groups akin to structures described in studies of the Papuan highlands; local authorities include customary leaders who interact with administrative units of the Mimika Regency and officials from the Papua provincial government. Subsistence patterns historically emphasize shifting cultivation and pig husbandry as found among the Dani people and Muyu people, while trade networks connect Amungme communities to market towns such as Timika and coastal ports like Jayapura. Economic relations involve plantations and small-scale commerce similar to systems analyzed by economists at the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in regional reports.
Amungme claims to the highland territory encompassing the Grasberg mine have been central in disputes involving Freeport-McMoRan, the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and provincial authorities in Papua (province). Land tenure concepts correspond with customary land systems studied by legal scholars at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University, and conflicts over compensation and environmental impact have invoked international bodies including the United Nations and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Agreements and protests have referenced Indonesian laws and institutions, with interventions by the Supreme Court of Indonesia and parliamentary committees in Jakarta.
Christian missions from organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and various Protestant Church missions introduced Christianity, which integrates with indigenous ritual systems akin to those described for the Dani people and Asmat people. Sacred geography centers on mountaintops like Puncak Jaya and rivers in the Mimika basin, and ritual specialists perform ceremonies that parallel shamanic roles explored in publications from the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and ethnographic work archived at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
Relations between Amungme communities and mining firms, principally Freeport-McMoRan and its Indonesian partners, involve disputes over environmental degradation, resettlement, and revenue sharing that have drawn attention from national bodies such as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Indonesia) and international investors including the Newmont Corporation and Rio Tinto. Activism includes alliances with NGOs like Friends of the Earth, legal representation in Indonesian courts, and advocacy through forums connected to the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Incidents of protest and negotiation have featured local leaders, representatives from the Papuan Presidium Council, and interventions by security forces associated with the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the National Police of Indonesia.
Category:Ethnic groups in Indonesia Category:Indigenous peoples of New Guinea