The Kunimaipa : the social structure of a Papuan people

McArthur, Margaret

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The Kunimaipa : the social structure of a Papuan people

Date

1961

Authors

McArthur, Margaret

Abstract

The people I am calling the Kunimaipa have no name for themselves or their language. They say they are 'real people' and the language they talk is 'real speech'. From Government census figures ere are probably about 8,000 people speaking dialects of their language, which i also call Kunimaipa. The border between Papua and the Trust Territory of New Guinea roughly follows the crest of the main mountain range in this region, and some 6,000 or more of those speaking the language live in Papua.