







































 

 
 

 166 

 
Received:  

November 13, 2022 

 

Revised:  

January 01, 2023 

 

Accepted:  

January 01, 2023 

Venereal Diseases Treatment for Merauke’s Marind (Marind-Anim) 

Tribe in the Dutch Colonial Period  
 

Rosmaida Sinaga*, Hafnita Sari Dewi Lubis, Yushar Tanjung, Lister Eva 

Simangunsong 

Study Program of History Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Negeri 

Medan 

Percut Sei Tuan, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra - Indonesia 

 

*Corresponding Author: rosmaidasinaga@unimed.ac.id  

DOI: 10.14710/ihis.v6i2.16428 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract 

 
This article provides some proofs that influenced the increasing number of 

Marind-Anim people who suffering from venereal diseases. It also provides 

factual efforts that had been done by the colonial government as well as Catholic 

missionaries in Merauke to overcome this problem. This study applies historical 

methods with four stages: heuristics, verification (internal and external criticism), 

interpretation/explanation and historiography. Primary sources obtained from 

National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia i.e., Memorie van Overgave van het 

Bestuur over de Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea; letter of the Minister of Colonies to the 

Governor General of the Dutch East Indies; Report of Assistant Resident Zuid 

Afdeeling Nieuw Guinea to the Director of Government; and official printed sources, 

e.g., Volkstelling 1930. Michel Foucault's power relations theory is used to analyze 

the causes of venereal disease in the Marind Tribe. The results shows that the cause 

of the increasing number patients who had venereal disease in the Marind tribe, 

Merauke, was related to their traditional understanding which legalized free sex 

and deviant sexual activities in the Marind tribe. The imbalanced power relations 

between men and their wives and between men and adolescence men causing 

venereal diseases and sexual perversions in the Marind Tribe. The strategy 

implemented by the colonial government was to involve Catholic missionaries 

who were trusted to overcome the disease by building a housing model that can 

only be occupied by nuclear families who are not infected with venereal diseases. 

The colonial government demolished men’s houses because there were 

possibilities of homosexual intercourses which become one of the causes of 

venereal disease among the Marind Tribe. In addition, the government required 

the cenderawasih bird hunterers to have their genital health checked as a hunting 

permit. The government built hospitals and clinics and invented doctors who 

specialize in venereal disease to treat the patients. These strategies has succeeded 

in treating and eradicating venereal diseases among the Marind Tribe. 

 

Keywords:   Venereal Diseases; Marind (Marind-Anim) Tribe; Dutch Colonial 

Government; Catholic Missionaries; Merauke. 
 



 

 
 

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Introduction 

Sexually transmitted diseases are diseases caused by germs that are transmitted 

through sexual activity. One type of venereal disease is HIV/AIDS (Piot et al., 2001, p. 

971; Ruxrungtham et al., 2004, p. 69). The existence of HIV/AIDS in Papua is severe 

since the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has been increasing from since 1979. 

Papua has always been in the top five provinces with the highest number of HIV/AIDS 

cases in Indonesia (Sahiddin & Resubun, 2018, p. 1; Zeth, 2010). In 2020, HIV cases in 

Papua are in fourth place nationally with a total of 37,662 cases, while AIDS cases in 

Papua are in the top position with a total of 23,629 cases (Purba, 2018). 

Although it is not a category of HIV/AIDS disease, venereal diseases have hit the 

Marind (Marind-Anim) Tribe. During the colonial period in Papua, the Marind tribe 

suffered from venereal diseases. The Marind tribe is a local resident of Merauke in the 

south coast of Papua (Hapsari, 2020, p. 263). The venereal disease suffered by the 

Marind Tribe has greatly worried the colonial government. The colonial government 

was worried that the local population would become extinct if the venereal disease 

was not addressed (Gritantin, 2022, p. 1830). The government’s concern can be traced 

based on population census data which indicates that the childbirth rate is very low, 

while the population death rate is very high (Rumansara, 2015). 

Venereal diseases in Merauke have caused the region's population to decline 

drastically. Therefore, the colonial government implemented various policies to 

overcome it (Boomgaard, 2007, p. 25; Jaelani, 2019). The policies implemented by the 

colonial government in tackling the venereal diseases in the area have proven 

successful. Therefore, the author is obligated to write a study entitled “Treatment of 

Venereal Diseases of Merauke’s Marind (Marind-Anim) Tribe during the Dutch 

Colonial Period”. 

Several previous studies related to this topic will be elaborated to find gaps and 

add to the novelty of this research. In Papua New Guinea, Jeffrey Clark discusses how 

concepts of pollution and sexuality have affected, and been affected by, the 

encapsulation of Huli people by the colonial and postcolonial state. Hundreds of Huli 

people from the Southern Highlands Province arrived at Mt. Kare goldfield to take 

advantage of the fortunes. Clark examines the gold’s incorporation into Huli 

mythopoeia, relates it to men’s explanations of the illnesses they suffered at the 

goldfield, and shows how gold became analogous to menstrual blood as an agent of 

pollution. It is proposed that the polluting aspect of gold provides a metacommentary 

on the Huli experience of colonialism and new structures of power, and that this 

experience is interpreted through metaphors of gender. At Mt. Kare, male illness is 

attributed not only to the presence of women but to the extent of illicit sexual 

intercourse and prostitution. The men who cohabit with women are also at fault and 

broke the taboo, but because women are not supposed to be at Mt. Kare, it is they who 

figure prominently in male explanations of illness. Clark found that male illness more 

logical caused by gold dust contamination coming from women’s fingernail during 

the service their men (feeding and sexual prostitution) than consequences of breaking 

the taboo at sacred site of Mt. Kare (Clark, 1993, p. 742–746). 



 

 
 

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In West Papua, many cultural meanings and norms surrounding sexuality and 

reproduction have been affected by colonialism. Christianity and Indonesian cultures 

have had a significant impact on middle-class Papuan’s culture in urban Manokwari, 

a long-established Christian missionary station and the current capital city of the Bird's 

Head region (Richards, 2004, p. 80). These coastal Papuans regard chastity and 

Christian values as crucial strategies to preserve their identity as Papuans among an 

expanding community of non-Papuan migrants. They have ancestry in several of the 

places near Manokwari. However, they also set themselves apart from the portrayed 

as hostile and traditional residents of the nearby mountains. In the central highlands 

of Papua, young people are impacted by the attitudes toward sex and sexuality that 

Leslie Butt and Munro refer to as a "shame culture," in which Indigenous sex and 

sexuality are stigmatized as primitive and unrestrained and young women experience 

intense shame over premarital pregnancy (Butt & Munro, 2007, p. 591). 

In Mimika District (West Papua), Katmo, et al. analyses the impacts of 

colonialism on the Kamoro people reproduction and sexuality which by colonial 

interventions directly and indirectly had changed systems, practices and norms that 

guided Kamoro sexuality and reproduction. Social institutions, norms, gender roles 

and responsibilities that regulated relationships, including sexuality, which were 

present in marriage, family, and courtship practices, have been forcibly changed or 

discontinued. Instead of an interconnected, matrilineal clan system, the introduced 

institutions promoted patriarchal individualism. Before beginning the marital process, 

sexual activity was not permitted in the prior era. Any infraction of these guidelines 

would result in traditional penalties. However, these customary sanctions were 

outlawed when colonial legal systems were adopted. These modifications have 

influenced modifications in sexual behavior. They have harmed traditional structures, 

eroded social cohesion and social control, destroyed previous modes of sexual 

expression and sexual education, and given Kamoro men privilege as the head of their 

families. Pornography has increased public awareness of sex, but this awareness has 

not been matched by sufficient focus on sex education. Inadequate practical attempts 

are made to empower young Kamoro in addition to their substandard education. The 

use of condoms is taboo and stigmatized, which restricts access to this method of safer 

sex. Additionally, the definition of sexual activity has evolved. While younger people 

use it for power, love, or pleasure, older generations tied it to procreation (Katmo et 

al., 2022, p. 335). 

 

Method 

This study applies the historical research method which refers to four stages: 

heuristics, verification (internal and external criticism), interpretation/explanation and 

historiography (Sulasman, 2014, p. 75). In the heuristic stage, the author lists and 

collects historical sources related to the factors which cause the increasing number of 

Marind (Marind-Anim) people suffering from venereal diseases and the strategy of 

the Dutch Colonial government and Catholic missionaries in overcoming the disease. 

The primary source of this research was obtained through tracking at the National 



 

 
 

 169 

Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia – ANRI) in 

Jakarta. The primary sources found include Memorie van Overgave van het Bestuur over 

de Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea (the memory of handing over positions of the 

government officials in Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea), letter of the Minister of Colonies 

to the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Report of Assistant Resident Zuid 

Afdeeling Nieuw Guinea to the Director of Government, and official printed sources, 

e.g., Volkstelling 1930. 

The secondary sources used are books at the National library, Jakarta. In the 

second stage, source criticism is conducted through internal criticism and external 

criticism. Internal criticism is done by reading the contents of the document to find out 

the truth of the contents of the document in accordance with its original form. External 

criticism is conducted by looking at the date of manufacture of the document, the place 

of manufacture, the official of the maker, and the material for making the document 

(e.g., paper type). 

At the interpretation stage, an interpretation of historical facts is conducted to 

determine the interrelationships between historical facts, which are then analyzed and 

assembled into a single logical and harmonious whole of facts. At this stage the writer 

seeks and arranges a causal relationship according to the sequence of events from each 

fact that has been obtained. The last stage is the writing of history. Here, the 

compilation of facts in a complete synthesis, so that it becomes a historical story that 

tells about the prevention of venereal diseases of Merauke’s Marind community 

during the colonial period.  

 

Causes of Venereal Diseases of Merauke’s Marind Tribe during the Colonial Period 

The Marind tribe (Tugeri tribe) is the largest tribe in the southern part of Papua, which 

occupies areas along the southern coast of Papua to rivers in the hinterlands (Bulaka 

river, Bian river, Kumbe river, and Maro river). As the largest tribe, of course the 

Marind culture influences the surrounding tribes, e.g., body ornaments and clan 

organizations. The Marind tribe is genetically tall and large. In addition, the posture 

of the Marind Tribe is of course also influenced by the availability of abundant natural 

resources in their residential areas (Ramdhani, 2019). 

Even though the natural resources in the area where the Marind live are 

abundant, the population of the area has been in decline since 1915. The decline in the 

population is marked by a high death rate, while the birth rate is almost non-existent. 

On his first visit to Merauke, Resident Assistant L.M.P. Plate (Assistant Resident of 

Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea from 6 -7-1912 to 15-10-1915), obtained information about 

the general decline in the population of the Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea region, 

especially in Merauke which was caused by many local residents suffering from 

venereal diseases (Plate, 1915). In the memory of the handover, Plate wrote that many 

local residents in Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea (southern Papua region) suffer from 

venereal diseases. The cause of the venereal disease is related to the traditional rituals 

of the Marind Tribe. As for the traditional rituals referred to, e.g., at a wedding, the 

bride must do sexual intercourses with men of her clan. Plate proposed a plan to 



 

 
 

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control of the venereal disease to the colonial government because he was worried that 

the Marind tribe would become extinct (Jaelani, 2013; Sinaga, 2013, p. 104). 

In line with Plate, Baal also explained that many Marind people suffered from 

venereal diseases because the Marind tribe's traditional marriage rituals the allowed 

the practice of sexual deviations (Baal, 1939). The indicator of sexual deviation in the 

Marind marriage ceremony is the ritual of jus primae noctis (rights on the first night). 

On the night of the wedding day, male guests from members of the bride’s clan have 

the right to do jus primae noctis to the bride. The men from the members of the bride’s 

clan have the right to have sexual intercourse with the bride in turn on the first night. 

If there are men who have not had the opportunity to have sexual intercourse with the 

bride on the first night, the ritual will be continued on the following night. 

At the beginning of colonial rule in Southern Papua, there was a case of a bride 

having sexual intercourse with 30 men on the first night. The sex ritual was continued 

the following night until the bride had sex with all the male guests from her clan. 

Another customary leniency of the Marind tribe that allows free sex is that when a 

family clears a field or builds a house, the head of the family (husband) is obliged to 

give his wife to the workers overnight to have sexual intercourses. 

In addition, if there were guests, those guests were welcome to sleep with their 

wives. Sometimes a Marind husband was willing to give his wife to a villager just for 

tobacco. In fact, in traditional parties and traditional dance parties, women had to 

serve many men  (Baal, 1939, p. 315–316). Marind Tribe women are often required to 

change sex partners in traditional ceremonies, so women are vulnerable to sexually 

transmitted diseases. Newly married women are prone to contracting venereal 

diseases and experiencing uterine damage for having numerous sexual intercourses 

with many men at their wedding. 

This is one proof of gender inequality in the Marind community. Women are the 

victims who are greatly disadvantaged in the traditional ceremonies of the Marind 

Tribe. The wives must obey the orders of their husbands because the dowries of the 

wives have been paid by their husbands. Wives must be willing to serve men who are 

not their husbands at the behest of their husbands. Husbands can ask their wives to 

serve others. Such conditions show an unequal power relationship between adult men 

and their wives in the Marind Tribe. 

This unequal power relationship is because the husband has paid the dowry to 

his wife, so that the husband has full power over his wife. The relationship of power 

in the Marind Tribe’s social environment shows that the relationship that develops 

between husband and wife is not balanced. The dowry that had been paid by the 

husband makes him legitimate to the power to regulate and determine the fate of his 

wife. The wife must accept the domination of power from her husband as a 

consequence of the dowry she has received. 

Another sex deviation which caused venereal disease in the Marind tribe is 

homosexual practice among the Marind tribe. According to the customary rules, 

adolescence men who just hit puberty (when their pubic hair begins to grow) must 

stay in the youth initiation house (gotad). In general, the youth initiation house (gotad) 



 

 
 

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was built at the back of the village, where it was not visible to the women. In gotad, 

adolescence men who enter puberty live with other youngsters. Before the initiation 

ceremony, in gotad the youths received education about the life of men. Moreover, in 

gotad the youths started homosexual relationships with their patron fathers and among 

fellow youths (Baal, 1939, p. 317–318). Here, the venereal disease was passed on by 

their patron father to the youngsters who had just entered their puberty period 

through the homosexual intercourses. 

The youths in the initiation house were powerless to reject the homosexual 

relations with their patron father or with the other older youngsters. This proves that 

there was a power relation of the patron father and the older youngsters over the new 

adolescence members of the initiation house who just hit puberty. As a result, the new 

members of the house were also infected with venereal diseases. This means that both 

young women and young men got the venereal diseases because of the Marind tribe's 

traditional rituals and unequal power relations. The grown man who becomes a patron 

father has the complete power over his foster children in gotad based on his knowledge 

of the life of Ha Anim (true men). The power relationship between the patron father 

and his foster children in gotad is unequal. Mature men who have knowledge of true 

men life are considered omniscient the man entering puberty accepts the dominance 

of power from his patron father and other older men as a consequence of the 

knowledge he gains from their patron father. 

Another factor that causes venereal disease is an intoxicating drink made from 

wati (Piper Methyscum Forst). The wati plant is a plant similar to kava in Melanesia. The 

Marind tribe consumed it as a traditional drink that can make you drunk. To obtain 

the raw materials for this wati drink, the Marind tribe chews the roots and stems of the 

wati plant to extract the water. The water from the wati plant is poured into a coconut 

shell container. The person who chews wati must be in the same family as the person 

who will drink it. The wati plant as a traditional drink has an important role in the 

traditional ceremonies of the Marind Tribe (Baal, 1939, p. 312–313). The wati drink is 

often used during traditional meetings or when conflicts occur within groups or 

between ethnic groups. If the person who chews the wati suffers from a venereal 

disease, it is possible to transmit the venereal disease to someone who drinks the water. 

 

The Colonial Government’s Strategies in Overcoming Venereal Diseases of the 

Marind Tribe 

Assistant Resident Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea, L. M. P. Plate, concerned about the 

extinction of the local Merauke population due to venereal disease would become a 

reality since childbirth rates were very low in the region. The number of local residents 

in the Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea region was decreasing every year. This can be seen 

from the results of the census as follows. 

 

 

 

 



 

 
 

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Table 1. Results of the Population Census in Afdeeling Nieuw, South Guinea 

Region 
Population 

1915 1916 1917 

Merauke 1034 1000 844 

Kumbe 2420 2328 2289 

Okaba 3750 3672 3674 

Total 7204 7000 6807 

Source: Data processed from Archive Inventory of Algemene Secretarie Serie Grote 

Bundel Telegram Gouvernement Secretarie, 2013. 

 

Based on the data from the table, it is known that the number of local residents 

of Merauke has decreased every year. During the two years from 1915 to 1917 the 

population of Merauke decreased by 190 people or decreased by about 18.4% 

(Yambeyapdi, 2019). The decline in the population of Merauke in particular and 

Afdeeling Nieuw of southern Guinea in general, prompted the Colonial Government to 

eradicate venereal disease among the local population. Assistant Resident L. Berkhout 

who served as Assistant Resident of Afdeeling Niuew South Guinea from 15 October 

1915 to 26 January 1918, proposed the following actions (Sinaga, 2013, p. 105–106): 1) 

All residents and all those who visit the hinterlands must be checked for health and 

punish patients who refuse to be treated, 2) Health checks must be conducted in the 

hospital, 3) Local residents are required to stay at home with their families, 4) Healthy 

residents were ordered to live in separate villages, 5) Promote youth marriage, 6) 

Sentenced to forced labor for 3 months for those who violated the bride on her 

wedding day, 7) Prohibit the establishment and management of brothels (Report of 

Resident Assistant L. Berkhout Submitted to the Government through a Letter from 

the Director of Government No. 3370, 1918). 

Based on the proposal of Assistant Resident L. Berkhout, it is known that various 

policies were taken by the colonial government to eradicate venereal disease among 

the Marind Tribe. All residents must be checked for venereal health so as not to infect 

people who are still healthy. Local residents are required to live with their families 

since young men who enter puberty had become victims of homosexual relationships 

by their patron fathers and fellow older youngsters in gotad (Misbahuddin et al., 2021). 

Therefore, the government requires local residents to live with their families. The 

imposition of a 3-month forced labor sentence on a person who commits an offense 

against the bride on her wedding day is intended so that male guests from female clan 

cannot have the jus primae noctis to the bride on her wedding day (Fibiona et al., 2020). 

Sentenced to forced labor for 3 months was, of course, very hard for the Marind tribe 

since they are not used to work hard to meet their food needs. The Marind tribe does 

not need to work hard for the natural resources on their settlement are abundant. The 

sea has rich source of protein (various types of fish, shrimp, crabs, and others) and 

around the coast grows coconut and sago as their source of carbohydrates. 

The prohibition on the establishment and management of brothels proves that 

during the colonial government, brothels had already been established and managed 



 

 
 

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in Merauke. The establishment and the management of brothels in Merauke was of 

course intended to meet the demands of traders and cendrawasih bird hunters in 

Merauke’s forests. In general, traders and bird hunters who come to Merauke did not 

bring their families/wives with them. Such conditions allow brothel businesses to be 

opened and managed because there was a market share (Handoko & Hasirun, 2019).  

 In following up on the government’s proposal regarding an order for healthy 

residents to live in villages that are separate from settlements of people suffering from 

venereal diseases, the Inspector of the Public Health Service conducted the 

establishment of a new village for the Marind Tribe who are still healthy, especially 

for the younger generation (Sumantri et al., 2022). The establishment of a new village 

for healthy young people aims to free the younger generation from the transmission 

of venereal diseases and eradicate immorality. Another strategy adopted by the 

colonial government to eradicate venereal disease among the Marind Tribe in Merauke 

was to impose penalties on people who committed sexual perversions and by forcing 

people with venereal diseases to have their genital health checked regularly by the 

doctor (Sinaga, 2013, p. 106).  

Genital health checks are not only aimed at local residents, but also for bird 

hunters who come to the area. This was written in the Letter of the Inspector of the 

Public Health Service to the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies Number 4031, 

dated March 31, 1920. In the letter it was written that bird-of-paradise hunters were 

required to have their genitals checked before obtaining a permit to hunt birds of 

paradise in the Afdeeling New Guinea region of South Guinea. If the bird hunter was 

proven to be a source of infectious disease for the local population, the government 

will revoke their permits as the bird hunter. The colonial government implemented a 

very short period of validity for hunting permits. When the expiration date for a 

hunting permit has expired, the permit holder must return to have his genital health 

checked. A new hunting permit would be issued by the colonial government after a 

genital health examination was conducted and was declared as healthy (Sinaga, 2013, 

p. 106). 

The Colonial Government's strategy in tackling venereal diseases in the Marind 

Tribe in the Afdeeling Nieuw Guinea region of South Guinea was to assign venereal 

disease experts to the area. The venereal disease doctor assigned to the Afdeeling Nieuw 

Guinea region of South Guinea were dr. N. Cnopius and dr. M.U Thierfelder and their 

wives. The venereal disease doctors were succeeded in combating venereal diseases of 

the Marind people. In addition, the strategy of the colonial government in overcoming 

the venereal diseases of the local residents of Afdeeling Nieuw, South Guinea, especially 

in Merauke region was also cooperated with the Catholic missionaries who worked in 

the area (Sinaga, 2013, p. 106). Evidence of cooperating with the Catholic missionaries 

to eradicate venereal disease of Marind people is based on the written evidence of 

Catholic missionaries in eradicating venereal disease in the region. 

 

Catholic Missionary Strategies in Overcoming Venereal Diseases of the Marind 

Tribe  



 

 
 

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Catholic Missionaries conducted evangelism in the Afdeeling New Guinea 

region of South Guinea. Evangelistic work began in that area which was marked by 

the presence of Pastor H. Nollen, Pastor P. Braun, Brother Roessel and Brother Oomen 

in Merauke on August 4, 1905 (Vriens, 1974, p. 611–613). At the beginning, the 

missionaries taught religious, ethical, and general subjects, e.g., writing, reading, and 

arithmetic to the local population. The lessons conveyed by the missionaries were 

aimed to direct the younger generation to abandon their old habits and beliefs. In 

conducting their evangelistic work, the missionaries were supported by the 

government. The government support was marked by the provision of subsidies to 

schools run by the missionaries (Baal, 1939, p. 101). The provision of subsidies proves 

the cooperation between the government and missionaries in the field of education. In 

other words, the government and missionaries are working together in developing 

human resources in the Afdeeling Nieuw region of Southern Guinea. 

The cooperation between the missionaries and the colonial government was not 

only in the field of education, but also in the prevention of venereal diseases of the 

local population of the Afdeeling Nieuw region of South Guinea (Budi, 2017, p. 114; 

Manurung, 2022). The colonial government took the missionaries to deal with venereal 

diseases suffered by the local population. The engagement of Catholic missionaries 

was based on the work of the missionaries in the region. Therefore, Dr. N. Cnopus, an 

expert on venereal diseases assigned to the area, suggested to the colonial government 

that the services of Catholic missionaries can be used as the guidelines for eradicating 

venereal diseases among the local population. The missionaries built a model village 

to accommodate younger generation who had not contracted to the venereal disease. 

Teachers on duty at schools run by the missionaries are tasked with educating students 

at school, preventing traditional ceremonies that are considered immoral, prohibiting 

homosexual relations, and encouraging local residents to wear clothes (Baal, 1939, p. 

346). In other words, the teachers at missionary schools are not only on duty at school, 

but also on duty to make people aware of the better life. 

The strategy adopted by the Catholic Missionaries to deal with venereal 

diseases of the Marind people was to treat people who have contracted venereal 

diseases in the designated hospital. Another strategy adopted by Catholic missionaries 

in tackling venereal diseases is to separate the Marind people who are still healthy 

from those who suffer from venereal diseases. Marind people who are still healthy are 

placed in the new settlements called “Desa Teladan” or model villages. Marind people 

who are still healthy are asked to remove the jewelry from their old customs and wear 

ordinary clothes. Removing the traditional jewelery is not an easy matter for the 

Marind-Animha (true Marind) people. Removing the traditional jewelery is 

considered very shameful. Other Marind people view Marind people who give up 

their old traditional jewelery as Marind-Puanim (foreign Marind) or as apostates. 

Another requirement for living in the model village is that every healthy family 

is placed in one house. A family consisting of father, mother and children is placed in 

a separate house. Previously the men’s and women’s houses were separated, but in 

the model village the husband, wife and their children were placed in one house. This 



 

 
 

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caused the husband to no longer be able to escape his wife’s scorn, and the wife also 

constantly had a husband in the house who constantly issued orders. The placement 

of Marind people who are still healthy in the model village has increased the number 

of healthy Marind people, because only in this model village are new healthy babies 

born, whereas outside the model village no babies are born. In Father Petrus 

Vertenten’s diary, it is recorded that in 1917 the number of people in the model village 

in Merauke had only reached 20 families and in 1919 the number of people in the 

model village had reached 100 families. (Duivenvoorde, 1999). The coping strategy 

adopted by Catholic missionaries to overcome venereal disease of the Marind Tribe in 

Merauke has succeeded in overcoming the extinction of the Marind Tribe. In the 

management of model villages, Pater Vertenten compiled various programs as 

follows: 1) The model villages were established in Merauke, Kumbe, Okaba and 

Wambi, 2) Each model villages have a school for their children, 3) Youth initiation 

houses (gotad) were removed, 4) People who are still healthy build a family home, 5) 

Control is expected from the local government, 6) Religious freedom is guaranteed. 

In conducting his program, Father Vertenten received a subsidy from the 

colonial government for five years (Duivenvoorde, 1999). Providing subsidies to 

Catholic missionaries in overcoming venereal diseases suffered by the Marind Tribe 

proves that the colonial government took missionaries in hand. Cooperation between 

the missionaries and the colonial government proved to be able to overcome venereal 

diseases of the Marind Tribe, so that the number of sufferers of venereal diseases in 

Merauke did not increase. The success of the colonial government and Catholic 

missionaries in overcoming venereal diseases can be seen from the increase in the 

number of local residents in the region. The increase in population can be seen from 

the results of a population census conducted by the colonial government in 1930. Based 

on the census results, it is known that the local population of the Afdeeling Nieuw of 

Southern Guinea region is 15,817 (Volkstelling 1930 Deel V, 1935, p. 124). The results of 

the population census prove that the population of the area is increasing. 

 

Conclusions 

The cause of the Merauke’s Marind tribe suffering from many venereal diseases during 

the colonial period was the traditional ritual of jus primae noctis (right on the first night) 

for the brides. The male members of the bride’s clan have the right to have sexual 

intercourses with the bride on the first night. Another factor is the persistence of 

homosexual relationships among young men entering puberty and their patron father 

and fellow youngsters in youth initiation houses (gotad). The next factor is the 

customary leniency of the Marind tribe which allows free sex, e.g., during the 

establishment of the fields, building houses, and/or receiving male guests, the head of 

the family (husbands) is obliged to present their wives to their helpers or guest 

overnight. Sometimes a Marind Tribe husbands were willing to trade their wives for 

tobacco. In fact, Marind Tribe women were often required to have multiple sex 

partners in traditional ceremonies, leaving women vulnerable to sexually transmitted 

diseases. 



 

 
 

 176 

The colonial government’s strategy in overcoming venereal diseases were by 

examining the health of all residents and all those who went to the interior at the 

hospital; punish patients who refuse to be treated; obliging local residents to stay at 

home with their families; obliging healthy residents to live in separate villages; 

promoting youth marriages; impose a three months forced labor sentence on a person 

who commits an offense against the bride on her wedding day; and prohibiting the 

establishment and management of brothels. 

The strategy of Catholic missionaries in overcoming venereal disease were to 

treat Marind people who suffer from venereal disease in hospitals run by Catholic 

missionaries and to separate Marind people who are still healthy from those who 

suffer from venereal disease. Marind people who were healthy were placed in a new 

settlement called “Desa Teladan” or model village. The provision of subsidies to 

Catholic missionaries in overcoming venereal disease suffered by the Marind Tribe 

proves that the colonial government cooperated with missionaries to overcome 

venereal disease suffered by the Marind Tribe in Merauke. The strategy of overcoming 

venereal disease carried out by the colonial government together with Catholic 

missionaries succeeded in eradicating venereal diseases suffered by the Marind Tribe. 

 

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