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The Amung (also known as Amungme, Amungm, Amui, Amuy, Hamung or Uhunduni) people are a group of about 17,700 people living in the highlands of the
Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province ( id, Provinsi Papua Tengah) is an Indonesian province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 11 November 2022 from the former eight western regencie ...
province of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Most Amungme live in
Mimika Mimika Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Central Papua. It covers an area of 21,693.51 km2, and had a population of 182,001 at the 2010 Census, but grew to 311,969 at the 2020 Census. The official ...
and
Puncak Puncak or Puncak Pass (Indonesian for "top" or "peak") is a mountain pass in West Java, Indonesia. The pass connects the city of Bogor and Bandung, and is spread within the regencies of Bogor, Cianjur, and Sukabumi. Puncak Pass is located betw ...
, in valleys like Noema, Tsinga, Hoeya, Bella, Alama, Aroanop, and Wa. A related group live in Beoga Valley,
Puncak Puncak or Puncak Pass (Indonesian for "top" or "peak") is a mountain pass in West Java, Indonesia. The pass connects the city of Bogor and Bandung, and is spread within the regencies of Bogor, Cianjur, and Sukabumi. Puncak Pass is located betw ...
and they are called Damal people. Their language is called Amung-kal spoken mostly in the southern regions. While in the north it is called Damal-kal. Additionally they have symbolic languages called Aro-a-kal and Tebo-a-kal. Tebo-a-kal are only spoken in sacred areas. The traditional beliefs of the Amungme people are
animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
. The Amungme people did not have the idea of "gods" that are separate from nature where spirits and nature are one and the same. They see themselves as the eldest child of God ''Nagawan Into'', hence conqueror and ruler of the world ''Amungsa''. They practice shifting agriculture, supplementing their livelihood by hunting and gathering. The Amungme are very tied to their ancestral land and consider the surrounding mountains to be sacred. This has led to friction with the Indonesian government and
Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, is a major copper producer and operates the world's ...
, which is eager to exploit the vast
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ...
deposits contained there. Major changes in the Amungme of the highlands and Kamoro of the lowlands lifestyle have been brought about by the Grasberg mine, situated in the heart of Amungme territory and owned by
Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, is a major copper producer and operates the world's ...
, the region's largest single employer. Extensive
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
and
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
mining have altered the landscape, and the presence of the mine and its infrastructure has attracted numerous other economic migrants from regions in Indonesia including other Papuans, some of whom have tried to settle on traditional Amungme lands. This has caused land dispute regarding customary land rights between the Amungme people against Freeport mining company in
Timika Timika is a chartered city (''kota''), and the capital of Mimika Regency on the southern coast of Central Papua, Indonesia. At the 2020 Census, the district which includes the town (it remains administratively within the Regency, rather than havi ...
. In the last 35 years, the Amungme have seen their sacred mountain destroyed by the Freeport mine, and watched as their relatives are killed caught in the conflict of Indonesian soldiers and
Free Papua Movement "Free Papua Movement" ( id, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM, tpi, Fri Wes Papua Grup) is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papuan or West New Guinea territory which is currently being administrat ...
rebels, while the Kamoro have more than 200,000 tons of mining waste pumped into their rivers each day. All these factors have created complex social and political stresses, and led to somewhat frequent protests and/or social conflicts, some of which have been violently suppressed by the Indonesian police or military.


See also

*
Indigenous people of New Guinea The indigenous peoples of West Papua in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands: a first wave from the Malay Arch ...


References

Indigenous ethnic groups in Western New Guinea Mining in Indonesia Papua (province) Ethnic groups in Indonesia {{asia-ethno-group-stub