Jules Camps was born in Venray on 20 November 1924 and died in Sentani in West Papua on 2 March1995. He was a Roman Catholic missionary. He joined the Franciscan friars’ minor order as a novice in 1944 and was ordained as a priest in 1951. In 1952 he left as a missionary to Dutch New Guinea where he worked from 1953 to 1960 in Kokonau in the Mimika area. In 1963 he was placed in the Baliem valley, first in Wamena, then in Pugima and from 1969 to 1974 in Jiwika. In 1974 he was transferred to the nearby Ilaga Valley and in 1977 to the Wissel Lakes due to health problems. After a period of leave in the Netherlands and Argentina, he returned to West Papua in 1994 and worked in the Sentani area where he passed away in 1995.
During his stay in Jiwika he started making 8mm films of important events, rituals, habits and customs. He made a total of 43 films that are also preserved by the PACE foundation. In Jiwika, the anthropologist Karl Heider from the United States stayed with him for several months. Jules Camps later wrote two reviews of Heider’s books on the Baliem, The Dugum Dani and The Gardens of War, the latter together with United States anthropologist Larry Naylor. Both were published in the journal Irian of the Institute for Anthropology, University of Tjenderawasih in Jayapura. (1-2 and 1-3 pdf).

Larry Naylor, who wrote his thesis on cultural changes in the Baliem Valley in 1974, had met Jules Camps during his field research from 1971 to 1973 and was also grateful for the support and information he received from him. Larry Naylor has also described some of Camp’s films “Visit of Ibu Tien on the occasion of the ‘Operasi Koteka”, “Uang eka: voorlichting over geld”, together with Jules Camps “Ima Wusan II” and together with Jules Camps , Kirilmo, Uwo and Hanoma “Lijkverbranding II”). Larry Naylor also published an article together with Stephan Claassen, “String figures from the highlands of West New Guinea”, about string figures from West Papua collected by Jules Camps and documented in the films Hele-Mule shot in the Baliem valley and Ilaga IV shot in the Ilaga valley. Jules Camps’ movie Wam Ilho Pelabe can be seen on YouTube.
For more information or any messages or correspondence contact PACE through huublems81@gmail.com or srgales@ziggo.nl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Band 24

Geluidsband over de Baliemvallei

 

The Dutch title means a Sound tape on the Baliem Valley. It is a Pyral bande magnétique in a blue box and on a Scotch spool of 12.7 cm, two channel mono with a speed of 9.5 cm/s. The contents are songs, rituals, talks and sounds of pigs and insects recorded by Jules Camps OFM in the Baliem Valley probably around Yiwika. The language used is the local Dani language and was probably recorded in the 1970’s.

Side A is 32’28 and Side B is 33’18

Band 25

Modderfeest

 

A Philips LP 13 tape, speed 9.5 cm/s, 4 channel mono, recorded by Jules Camps OFM. It is a recording of a ritual, a hotaly festivity, a mud festivity for a girl after her first menstruation, in this case Milige Logo in the village of Sagatnokoma, on 17 March 1973. Jules Camps made also a movie of this occasion, Hotaly Milige Logo, and another movie of a similar ritual, Hotaly Pupukhe.  During the festivity women and girls engage in a mud game, hesi japin, where they try to put mud on the heads and faces of the others and become totally covered with mud. The other part on side B1 and B2 is called segetabin on the cover, of as yet unknown meaning. All these parts were recorded in the Baliem Valley in West Papua and the language is the local Dani language. The last part on side A2 is a recording of a speech in Dutch that Jules Camps gave at the opening of an exhibition of the artist Victor IV (Walter Carl Glück) and of primitive art of Africa and New Guinea in the Rank Xerox Social Centre at Venray from 7 September to 5 October 1972.

Side A1 is 42’06, Side A 2 is 14’51, Side B1 is 46’27 and Side B2 is 45’25

 

Band 26

Movie comments

 

Cassette Shannon C 120. The cassette is a recording of Jules Camps’ comments while showing a number of his movies, and answers to remarks and questions. He starts with Hotaly Milige Logo followed by Je Talin and as last on side A Ima Wusan (descend into the water), probably the movie called Ima Wusan III. On the B side he talks about the movies Wam Ebe Di Akho I en II, Wam Ebe (pig feast), Yiwika III, and Ilaga  I with traditional fire-making.
The location of the recording is unknown but probably in the Netherlands for aa audience who were familiar with the area. It might as well have been a group of other members and supporters of the Franciscan order.

Side A is 50’22 and Side B is 52’26

 

Band 27

In and around Ilaga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cassette Shannon C 120. The cassette is a recording of Jules Camps’ comments while showing a number of his movies, and answers to remarks and questions. Side A starts with the comments on the movie Ilaga II, followed by Lijkverbranding III (cremation III) from 1976, then a movie on Sentani, Wamena, Ilaga and Nabire from 1975 and ends with Paniai, Pilimo and Ilugwa. The last 2 films are partly from regions outside the Baliem valley and its surroundings; Sentani is near Jayapura on the northern coast of West Papua, Nabire is on the North Coast half way round the island, Paniai, Pilimo and Ilugwa are in the Wissel Lakes Enaratoli area.
Side B concerns the movie In and around Ilaga, Ilaga III.
The location of the recording is unknown but probably in the Netherlands for aa audience who were familiar with the area. It might as well have been a group of other members and supporters of the Franciscan order.

Side A is 61’10 and Side B is 35’55