Motuan people

Motuan people

The Motuans are native inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, living along the southern coastal area of the country. Their indigenous language is known as Motu, and they are believed to be the descendants of Polynesian immigrants who intermarried with the native Melanesians of the area.[1] They are the original inhabitants and owners of the land on which Port Morseby - the national capital city of Papua New Guinea - stands. The biggest village of all Motuan villages is Hanuabada which is also the biggest village in Papua New Guinea. Hanuabada is north west of Port Moresby, Port Moresby is built on Hanuabadan land.

Friedrich Ratzel in The History of Mankind[2] reported in 1896 on tattooing in Melanesia that among the light-skinned Motus he found tattooing in patterns similar to those of Micronesia. He also reported, among the old women, blacking the body with a kind of earth which gives a lustre like black lead. This was said to be a sign of mourning.

References

  1. ^ Deryck Scarr (1990). The History of the Pacific Islands–Kingdoms of the Reefs. Macmillan Publishers. pp. 13–The Scientific Record of Early Human Beings. ISBN 0 7329 0210 X. http://www.amazon.com/History-Pacific-Islands-Kingdoms-Reefs/dp/0732902096. 
  2. ^ Ratzel, Friedrich. The History of Mankind. (London: MacMillan, 1896). URL: www.inquirewithin.biz/history/american_pacific/oceania/melanesian-tattooing.htm accessed 21 October 2009.

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