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KOITA PEOPLE

Koita people are a tribe located in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is composed of several hundred outer islands and the eastern half of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world. Situated in the Southern hemisphere, the island lies just north of Australia. The Motu Koita people of the south coast of Papua New Guinea included both Austronesian and Non-Austronesian characteristics in their cultures. This mixture contributed to a unique textile style that distinguished the Motu Koita from the rest of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands region. The Motu and Koita are distinct peoples, a great deal of cross-cultural exchange has occurred over the centuries, and they have become generally known as the Motu Koita people.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

"The Motu and Koita people inhabited the southern coastal and immediate inland areas of New Guinea, living between the western costal village of Galley Reach,the national capital Port Moresby and Hood Point along the southeast coast. The Koita have inhabited the Sogeri Plateau adjacent to the costal city of Port Moresby andimmediate inland areas for some three thousand years. The Motu were the last to migrate into the central south coast area with an archaeological record dating between one thousand two hundred and one thousand seven hundred years ago".

SOCIAL INFORMATION

Koita claim to be the original inhabitants of those areas which they now share with the Motu. A legend of the Port Moresby Koita recalls a day when Motu canoes appeared outside the harbor. Seeing the smoke from a Koita village, so the legend says, the Motu put in to shore. They had fish with them. The Koita hungry for fish, suggested that the visitors settle permanently at Port Moresby and regularly trade their fish for Koita yams and bananas. Motu inhabit villages on the beach. Their lands never extend very far into the interior. They are notably a maritime people, traders and fishermen, though they also make gardens. Some Koita inhabit villages situated a mile or two inland. Others inhabit villages on the foreshore. A substantial number live as minority groups in seaside villages inhabited mainly by Motu. The Koita are hunters, gardeners by tradition, but those who now live by the sea have learnt how to fish and sail.

LANGUAGE

Where Koita live in the same village as Motu, the Motu language prevails and only old men speak Koita. Where they live in isolation from Motu-speaking people, Koita still speak their own language, though usually they are also fluent in Motu. Koita is a Papuan (or not Melanesian) language ; Motu is a language of Melanesian type. The name of the language is Koitabu and it is spoken between the 3.8000 Koita people.

RELIGION

90% of the tribe are Christians and 10% believe in indigenous gods and religions. Christianity has been passed on through the Germans and the British who were situated there from 1884 up until 1975, when they subdivided the Papua Guinea.

TATTOO

"A tattoo is made by the inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification. They are also used on animals as an identification purpose. The 1st written reference “tattoo” also known as {Samoan Tatau} appears in the journal of Joseph Banks around the year 1769. “I shall mention they mark themselves indelibly”…." In 1912, Koita People Tattooing among females of New Guinea, traditionally began at age 5. Each year another was added on with the V-shaped tattoo on the chest representing that she had reached her marriageable year. With various different traditions in many different countries you see that tattooing had a totally different meaning depending on the tribe and its culture.

REFERENCES

http://inkandattitudes.wordpress.com/the-origin-of-tattoos/ http://www.academia.edu/3129446/The_Motu_Koita_of_Papua_New_Guinea-_Berg_Encyclopedia_of_Costume http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40329218?uid=3738128&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102386822817 http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=12744&rog3=PP