Karl Vieweg also longed to have a little dog, no, not one of those howling "New Guinea dogs" but one more modelled on European breeds. However, such a dream dog was hard to realise.
New Guinea dogs cannot bark, only howl. This quirk demonstrates clearly their close relationship to the Australian dingo whose voice doesn't function either. Both the Australian dingo and his cousin in New Guinea were, according to newer findings, probably brought along by immigrants thousands of years ago. The New Guinea dogs are small to medium-sized, have a fox-like head and a flat, rust-coloured coat. Characteristic is a peculiar skin fold on the forehead bestowing the animal a half-comical, half-peevish facial expression.
The dwellers of Blanche Bay kept the dogs primarily for hunting. Of course, not every dog was equally well-suited for this task. To sharpen the animals' scent some dog owners wrapped spiny tendrils around the muzzle as well as poking a thin skewer into their nostrils until they started bleeding. Together with the blood the "soul stuff" impacting the sense of smell was believed to flow out. If this radical cure did not work and the animal still didn't find enough game, then the wretch inevitably landed in the big cooking pot.
Normally the dogs were fed very poorly or not at all, so that they were constantly hungry and devoured anything half-way edible they could find. When the family was having dinner it wasn't unusual for the dogs to stick their muzzles quickly into the taro dish.
Just shortly before their violent end the chronic state of hunger was ended. The women had to make sure that the dogs were properly fed. Thus the doomed dogs enjoyed a final, unfamiliar corpulence. Dr. Wendland once passed by when the villagers had totally indifferently speared a live dog and were barbecuing the victim, that was howling in mortal agony, over the fire: "Masta! He no man, he dog."
It appears that only the inhabitants of the Witu islands and the Eipo clan in the highlands of New Guinea are an exception in the handling of that trusty quadruped. The Witu islanders keep dogs just for hunting but do not eat them. The Eipo have dogs only as playmates and entomb them as with humans on trees. [1]
In all other clans – as far as we know – the animal's teeth are broken out after the feast, especially the canines which are particularly in demand, and which are made up into all kinds of ornaments. In some areas they also serve as a means of payment.
Every Tolai man on the Gazelle peninsula knows that the dog in the dim and distant past had just a small muzzle and actually could speak! However, this ability set the seal on his fate because he had seen too much of the men's crimes and betrayed them to others, for example a theft or conjugal infidelity. Thereupon the men would have slit open the muzzle on both sides so that it became as big as it is today and now the dog instead of speaking can only howl.
Karl Vieweg had pity on these animals. Because no one could provide him with a "real" dog he finally agreed to get a young indigenous dog. At least he then could demonstrate to the natives what all could be done with a well-kept dog.
One of his overseers, To Waragi, had recently injured his lower leg badly and, until it was completely healed, was staying in Warangoi, a village for the workers of the Neu-Guinea Compagnie, about 12 km south of Kokopo. To Waragi knew that Master Vieweg wanted a little dog and because he knew someone selling dogs he wrote a letter in clumsy handwriting to Karl Vieweg. He put it in an envelop, folded it once again, took a short stick which he split at the top, clamped the letter in there and wrapped it with raffia so that it could not get dirty during transport.
The messenger bringing the letter to Kokopo the next day knew how important he was that day. On his way he let everybody know that he was delivering a "talking paper" and in return he would even get paid for it without having to work – just for walking!
The contents of the letter translates as follows:
Master Vieweg,
I am in Warangoi. The wound on my leg has healed. Important: Waragi Tovuna has a very small dog. Wait, I will bring it with me.
I am
To Waragi
It quickly got around that To Waragi coped with the art of writing perfectly. He became a very respected man. He almost was envied; for everybody knew: if To Waragi had a wish to be fulfilled by his ancestors he needn't wait until the ancestor in question appeared to him in a dream. He could contact them just by writing a letter and then depositing it at the deceased's grave.
As everybody could see the ancestors were sending all these wonderful things such as painted glass beads, knives, mirrors and much more on large canoes with funnels which gave out horrible smoke. But strangely enough they were always destined only for the white men from whom they had to be bought. This was annoying.
Even today the islanders are convinced that one day the ancestors will rise from the dead and return to them as white men. Then at last they will also bring lots of presents for them.
Karl Vieweg purchased the dog To Waragi had found for him. He called him Wuppdich. Wuppdich accompanied him on several ventures, here as well as later on the Witu islands.
Reference
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[1] |
Wolfhart Schultz: Forschungsprojekt Zoologie 1, in: Forschungen im Bergland von Neuguinea. Das interdisziplinäre West-Irian-Projekt (= Steinzeit – heute. Sonderausstellung Museum für Völkerkunde, Abteilung Südsee), Führungsblatt 7. Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, 1978 (ohne Paginierung).
[Wolfhart Schultz: Research project Zoology 1, in: Researches in the highland of New Guinea. The interdisciplinary West Irian project (= Stone age – today. Special exhibition of the Ethnological Museum, South Seas department), guidance sheet 7. National museums of the Prussian cultural heritage Berlin, 1978 (no pagination)]. The above picture of the New Guinea dingo is taken from this article.
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In 1990 a remarkable book was published by a small German publishing house entitled "Big fellow man: Muschelgeld und Südseegeister". Based on letters, diaries and personal narratives of his father Karl Vieweg, the author Burkhard Vieweg reports in this book how this man lived and worked at the beginning of the 20th century on behalf of the "Neu-Guinea Compagnie" in New Guinea. At this time parts of the archipelago were a
German colony.
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