DKH01-071_Momay_dok2 - Tupela dok sindaun i stap, wetim papa bilong ol (Momay) ‘Two dogs sitting, waiting for their owner’

This is another string figure from Asangamut, which everybody perceived familiar enough for it to be added to the Awiakay string-figure repertoire, provided I explain that it originated in Asangamut. The string figure represents two dogs who are waiting in the bush, howling to call their owner who went back to the village, forgetting about them. While telling the story, the string figure-maker makes the howling sounds and clearly empathises with the dogs who were left alone. The Awiakay often use dogs’ vocalisations to tell how the dogs are feeling, whereby they often project their own feelings and values onto dogs. An example of this is a song in Kaunjambi, the all-night song/dance cycle, in which a whole song is dedicated to dogs’ vocalisations (Hoenigman 2015: 232). For the Awiakay, dogs are perceived to be their owners’ extensions. Evidence for this can be found also in grammar: when the Awiakay speak about their dogs, they apply inalienable possessives to them, as they do to their body parts and their kin. People depend on dogs to a great extent for their help in hunting. A man does not go to the bush without his dogs, and if he does not have them, he often borrows them from his siblings, parents, etc. When a dog dies, the owner cries for him/her as they would for a family member (more on human-dog relationships among the Awiakay see Gillespie & Hoenigman 2013). Image: 02: two dogs sitting Gillespie, Kirsty & Darja Hoenigman. 2013. Laments and Relational Personhood: Case studies from Duna and Awiakay societies of Papua New Guinea. In: Stephen Wild, Di Roy, Aaron Corn and Ruth Lee Martin (eds.) One Common Thread: The Musical World of Laments. Special issue of Humanities Research Journal. Vol. XIX No. 3, pp. 97-110. ANU E-press. . Language as given: Awiakay

本作品为阿桑加穆特（Asangamut）地区的另一款绳编造型，经我说明其起源于阿桑加穆特后，所有人均认为该造型足够熟悉，可被纳入阿维亚凯（Awiakay）的绳编造型总集。该绳编造型表现了两只在丛林中等候的犬只，它们正嗥叫着呼唤返回村落却将它们遗忘的主人。在讲述该故事时，绳编造型创作者会模仿嗥叫声，显然对被独自留下的犬只抱有共情。阿维亚凯人常通过犬只的鸣叫声传递犬只的情绪状态，借此将自身的情感与价值观投射于犬只身上。考恩扬比（Kaunjambi）的通宵歌舞循环曲目便有这样一则范例：整段曲目均以犬只鸣叫声为主题（Hoenigman 2015：232）。对阿维亚凯人而言，犬只被视作主人的延伸。这一观点在语法中亦有佐证：当阿维亚凯人谈及自家犬只时，会如同指代身体部位与亲属一般，对其使用不可转让所有格形式。当地居民在狩猎活动中极大程度依赖犬只协助。男性进入丛林狩猎必然携带犬只，若自身没有犬只，通常会向兄弟姐妹、父母等亲属借取。当犬只离世时，主人会如同悼念亲属一般为其恸哭（关于阿维亚凯人与犬只之间的关系，详见Gillespie & Hoenigman 2013）。
图片：02：蹲坐的两只犬只
Gillespie, Kirsty 与 Darja Hoenigman. 2013. 《恸哭与关系性人格：巴布亚新几内亚杜纳族与阿维亚凯族的案例研究》。收录于：Stephen Wild、Di Roy、Aaron Corn与Ruth Lee Martin（编）《一条共同的线索：恸哭的音乐世界》，《人文研究期刊》特刊，第19卷第3期，第97-110页，ANU E-press。
语言说明：阿维亚凯语