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 Kupera Pukwa River.

The language of Merauke 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 Nufor 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 Nufor) in vocabulary and also in some points of grammar. It will probably be found to fall into the same class as the Nufor 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 Merauke.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).

Papuan.	Seka	West of Lake Sentani.
	Sentani	Lake Sentani.
	Moki (?)	Hinterland of Tana Mera Bay.
	...	Tana Mera.
	Tarfia (?)	Coast West of Tana Mera Bay.
	Takar	Mainland East of Mamberamo R.
	Wamberan	? Mamberamo R.
	Pauwi	Villages on Lower Mamberamo R.
	Angadi	Island in Jamur Lake.
	Goreda	South of Lake Jamur.
	Nagramadu	North-West of L. Jamur.
	Manikion	North of McCleur Inlet (Telok Berau).
Indonesian35	Jotafa	Humboldt Bay.
	Jamna	Island opposite Takar.
	Masimasi	Island West of Jamna.
	Moar	Islands West of Masimasi.
	Kumamba	Islands and Coast West of Moar and Takar.
	Waropin	East shore of Geelvink Bay.
	Mohr	Island opposite Waropin.
	Tandia	Coast South of Waropin.
	Jaur	South-West shore of Geelvink Bay.
	Dasener	West of Jaur.
	Wandammen	North of Dasener.

SOUTH COAST.

Papuan.	Mairassis	Inland from Lobo.
	Wuaussirau	On Kamaka Wallar Lake.
	Lakahia	On Telok Lakahia.
	Kiruru	On Telok Kiruru.
	Utanata	Inland from Utanata River.
	Mimika	Inland from Mimika River.
	KuperaPukwa	Kupera Pukwa River.
	Merauke	Coast between the Kumbe River and the British Boundary.
	Toro	Bensbach R.
Indonesian.	Onin	North of Kumava Peninsula.
	Kapauer	North-West of Kumava Peninsula.
	Karufa	South of Kumava Peninsula.
	Lobo	Kowiai Coast and Islands of Namatote, Mawara, Aiduma, and Kaju-mera.

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

Ex.	Angadi muti, Mimika and Utanata buÏti, bamboo. Angadi mopere, Nagramadu mobere(bu), Mimika bopere, navel. Angadi mirimoi, Utanata birimbu, Mimika birim, nose. Angadi mau, Utanata mouw, Mimika bauwe, foot. Angadi tohoma-pare, Mimika to-mari, arm.

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

Ex.	Angadi mi, Lakahia mu, Kiruru mi, Mimika mbi, mbu, water. Angadi metaho, Mimika mbatau, spit. Angadi imiri, Mimika imbiri, shin. Mimika amuri is Kupera Pukwa ambori.

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

Ex.	Angadi irea, Mimika ireka, Utanata eriki, fish. Angadi kauwa, Mimika kaukwa, woman. Angadi maare, Mimika makare, armlet. Angadi mae, Mimika mbage, Utanata make, cry, weep. Angadi hehe, Lakahia eika, finger-nail. Angadi (nata)pairi, Mimika pigeri, skin.

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

Mimika mare, Lakahia mana, finger. (Utanata to-mare, Angadi mahare, hand.) Mimika iribu, Utanata and Angadi iripu, Lakahia ini-fa, knee. Mimika amuri, Utanata amure, Angadi amore, Lakahia amuno, bow, Kupera Pukwa ambori.

2. Vocabulary.

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

	Angadi.	Utanata.	Mimika.
Arm.	to (in compounds)	to	to	Lakahia esu-rua (?)
Arrow.	ka-tiaro (in bundle)	tiare	tiari
Boat.	ku	ku	ku
Chin.	kepare	..	kepare
Coconut.	utiri	uteri	uteri	Kupera Pukwa otiri.
Dog.	uwiri	wuri	wiri	Lakahia iwora, Nagramadu iwora, Kupera Pukwa uweri.
Ear.	ihani	iÄni	ene
Eye.	mame	mame	mame
Fire.	utamai	uta	uta	Lakahia usia, Kiruru uta, Nagramadu uha.
Give.	kema	..	kema
Hair.	rup-ere	uiri	viri	Kupera Pukwa, uÏri
Hand. mahare	tu-mare	mare	Lakahia, mana (finger).
Head.	rupau	upauw	kapa-ue	Lakahia uwua.
House.	kame	kami	kame
Iron.	jau (pot)	(puruti)	tau
Laugh.	oko	oku	oko
Lip.	iri	iri (mouth)	iri	Kiruru uru (mouth).
Moon.	pura	uran	pura	Lakahia bura.
Mountain	..	(pamogo)	pukare	Lakahia bugura, Wuaussirau wara.
Neck.	amoiÏ	ema	ima	Lakahia umia, Nagramadu umeke.
Paddle.	pÁ	po	poh	Lakahia boa.
Pig.	oho	u	u	Lakahia u(fa), Nagramadu oha, Kupera Pukwa uwe.
Rain.	keke	komak	ke	Lakahia ge(fa), Kiruru ke.
Sago.	amata	(kinani)	amota	Lakahia ama, Nagramadu ema, Kupera Pukwa ameta.
Sleep.	ete	ete	ete	Kupera Pukwa ete.
Sugarcane.	..	mone	moni	Lakahia moni(fa).
Sun.	jau	youw	yau	Lakahia aya.
Tongue.	mere	mare	mali	Lakahia mara.
Tooth.	titi	titi	titi	Nagramadu si.
Wind.	kimiri	lowri	kimire	Kiruru kemuru.

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:

	Angadi.	Nagramadu.	Goreda.	Lakahia.	Mimika.
1.	janauwa	nadi	unakwa	onarawa	inakwa
2.	jaminatia	abÅma	jamanini	aboma	yamani
3.	jaminati-janauwa	abÅma-nadi	..	(torua)	yamani-inakwa
4.	awaitama-jaminatia	abama-bÅmo	..	(fat)	ama-yamani
5.	mahare-ajaherauri	mama-riba	maheri-herori	(rim)	..
6.	mahare-janauwa	mariba-nadi	..	rim-onarawa	..
10.	mahare-jaminatia	mama rabÅma	taoru	..	..

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 awaitama-jaminatia means “another two” with which cf. the Mimika awaida, other. Mahare, maheri, mari in the words for “five” also mean “hand,” abbreviated to ma in mama of Nagramadu. The Goreda taoru given for “ten,” is the Angadi taÖru, 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.

	One	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Ten
Mairassis	tangauw	amooi	karia	ai	iworo	iwora-moi	werowa-moi
Wuaussirau	anau	amoi	karia	aiwera	iworo	iwor-tanau	iwor-toki-tani

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 uta-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 pigiri, 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 makare, belly’s band. Angadi mahare hehe, finger nail; mau hehe, toe nail; mirimoi ipa, nose hole, nostril; ihani ipa, hole in ear lobe; amore eme, bow’s rattan, bowstring.

d. The subject precedes the verb. Angadi jau hinau-mara, sun rises (?), morning; jau 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.

Arm. Mimika to, Dungerwab tond, Dabu tang, Miriam tag, Kiwai tu

Arrow. Mimika tiari, Kiwai tere.

Arrow barb. Mimika imari, Kiwai were.

Basket. Mimika temone, Kunini diba, Jibu dimba, Mimika eta, Kiwai sito, Mowata hito.

Bird. Mimika pateru, Bugi pa (?), Dabu papa (?).

Earth. Mimika tiri, Bangu tiritari.

Eat. Mimika namuka, Bangu jamukwa.

Elbow. Mimika to-mame, Mowata tu-pape.

Fire. Mimika uta, Miriam ur.

Forehead. Mimika metar(re), Bangu mithago, Miriam mat.

Head. Mimika kapane, Bangu kambu.

Iron. Mimika tau, Dungerwab tod.

Nose. Mimika birim, Dabu murung, Saibai, Miriam pit.

Pig. Mimika ap, Meranke sapi.

Rat. Mimika kemako, Bugi makata, Saibai makas, Miriam mokeis.

Shore. Mimika tiri, Dungerwab tredre.

Sleep. Mimika ete, Bangu ete-betha, Dungerwab eda-bel, Miriam ut-eid.

Tree. Mimika uti, Kiwai ota.