Details

Latitude

-4.71979

Longitude

143.6055

Start Date

2018-08-15

End Date

2018-08-15

When the design of this string figure is finished, the string figure-maker puts it in front of his/her mouth and imitates whatever the person in front of them utters. The Awiakay say that this is a ‘bad figure’, as it tends to make the person whose speech is being imitated angry. The string figure-maker is supposed to be stubbornly persistent, so, not being able to stop them any other way, the person whose speech is being repeated often just walks away, annoyed. The spectators, however, find this very amusing. The word mimbikiñ is derived from mimbia ikiñ ‘imitate the talk’ in the second or third person and is therefore best translated as ‘the one who imitates the talk’ or ‘the imitator’. At the same time, mimbikiñ is also the Awiakay name for pygmy parrots (curiously enough, these parrots do NOT imitate speech. For a discussion on this, see Hoenigman, forthcom.). Images: 02: Darja Munbaŋgoapik showing the final design of mimbikiñ ‘the imitator’ 03: Mimbikiñ ‘Pygmy parrot’ hatchlings Hoenigman, Darja. Forthcoming. Talking about strings: The language of string figure-making in a Sepik society, Papua New Guinea. Language Documentation & Conservation Journal.

Sources