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Tying the Time String Together: An End-of-Time Experience in Irian Jaya, Indonesia

Universiteit Leiden

Abstract.

The approaching millennium is a primary concern of the Inanwatan population. It is believed to herald a period of involution rather than an abrupt ending. The year 2000 is seen as bringing a new world order by restoring a mythical past and returning life-generating powers to the Inanwatan, rejuvenating them as well as society and the cosmos. This order is to be initiated by the Second Coming of Jesus. Narratives about the end of the world and meetings with Jesus may be interpreted as an attempt to gain control over this process of renewal. These narratives are closely related to origin myths of humans and society, when death and the flow of time were created. This article shows how the end of time is envisioned to reunite people with their original source of life force.