Abstract

PIP: The focus on donovanosis (venereal granuloma) in Dutch South New Guinea is relevant because the epidemic number of sexually transmitted disease cases (10,000) occurring between 1922-52 affected a small population (15,000) of the Marind-anim people. The history, evolution, and control are discussed as well as the relationship between medical and social factors and depopulation. Sections are devoted to identification of sources, the ethnographic background of the Marind-amin, evolution of the epidemic, the systematic campaign to eradicate the disease, and a final report on the relationship between the illness, depopulation, the original culture, and the effects of contact. The principle data sources were the Kooyman's SPC report of 1954, the medical report of 1913, the medical literature of Thierfelder and others, memoranda of government officers from the Resident Office at Merauke, and the logbook of the Roman Catholic mission begun in 1905. The 1954 report concluded that the coastal Marind-amin population dropped from 10,000 to 5,000 between 1900-20 due to a lowered birth rate and influenza mortality, and occurred before the spread of donovanosis. Sexual practices account for the low birthrate before 1923. When sexual practices were intensified upon the arrival of foreigners, donovanosis was spread more rapidly. The ritual was to avert sickness by having 1 woman have intercourse with many men. Government intervention in 1923 stabilized the birth rate. The population remained static due to the lack of young people, a high infant mortality rate, and a 1938/9 influenza epidemic. Nutrition was found not to be a factor. In the ethnographic literature, the belief in otiv--bombari is described. This emphasis on sexual activity (promiscuous sex with a religious base and semen as a curative power) was responsible for the spread of the disease. It is surmised that the disease appeared at a festival in 1905 and the spread was apparent by 1908. Model villages were established which were free of donovanosis and compulsory treatment enforced. The present culture may reflect the government and religious intervention of the 1920's.