Koreri Messianic Movements in the Biak-Numfor Culture Area : Koninklijk Instituut Voor Taal-, Land-, En Volkenkunde Translation Series 15

This study developed out of the personal experience of daily life that I and my family had in the years 1932-1942 among the Biak­ speaking people of the Radja Ampat area (Sorong), West New Guinea. Our family had become integrated into the community as far as possible, and we used the Biak language every day. Three of the movements described in this book took place in that area, so that I was able to study them under the favorable conditions of direct participation and observation. The first edition of the book in 1954 (in Dutch) was the writer's doctoral thesis (Ph. D.), written under the guidance of the late Professor J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong. I am very grateful to the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthro­ pology, Leiden, for publishing the revised English edition in its Translation Series. The Biak material deserves more readers than the Dutch edition was able to reach. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Introduction....Pages 1-4 The Setting....Pages 5-16 The Myth of Manarmakeri....Pages 17-36 The Return of Manseren Manggundi and the Conclusion of the Myth....Pages 37-49 The Meaning of the Differences in the Variants of the Myth....Pages 50-63 The Connection with Biak Mythology....Pages 64-96 The Advent Nights....Pages 97-101 History of the Movements 1855–1967....Pages 102-156 The Movements of 1938–1943 in Biak, Numfor and Japen....Pages 157-213 The Historical Factors and the Influence of the Contact-Situations on the Movements....Pages 214-230 Closing Remarks on the Movements as A Problem....Pages 231-273 Summary and Conclusion....Pages 274-282 Back Matter....Pages 283-333