Reproduction, Sexual Culture and Colonialism among Kamoro People in West Papua

Abstract

This article focuses on the impacts of colonialism on Kamoro reproduction and sexuality. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Mimika regency, we show how colonial interventions directly and indirectly changed systems, practices and norms that guided Kamoro sexuality and reproduction. We see this as a form of reproductive abandonment. Most elders recall only negative aspects of precolonial sexuality—their perspectives shaped by the punishments of the Dutch period (1926–1962). In the Indonesian era, people argue that in-migration and the mining economy have fundamentally changed courtship and sexuality and further disrupted Kamoro systems. Christianity and Indonesian ‘shame culture’ encourage younger people to blame their sexual behaviour on societal problems. Disputation over these perspectives by older Kamoro reveals how reproductive abandonment can be contested. Addressing the misconceptions, stigma and assumptions about Kamoro cultural practices is necessary for a contemporary healing process. We highlight the essential role of West Papuan knowledge production to correct hegemonic epistemologies.