| rdfs:comment | - The name dema comes from the Marind-anim peoples of south-west Papua and has been used to refer to similar concepts in Melanesian Religion and elsewhere. Dema Deities are mythological figures (human, animal, or super-human) who have given to certain peoples their land, food-crops, totems, and knowledge (how to cultivate crops, raise poultry, make boats, perform dances, perform sacred rituals, etc.) In some cases, it is claimed that from their dismembered bodies, blood, e.t.c., came the different communities or tribes that are now in existence, together with their territory. Both local culture and natural environment remain permeated with the super natural power of these creative deities.
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| abstract | - The name dema comes from the Marind-anim peoples of south-west Papua and has been used to refer to similar concepts in Melanesian Religion and elsewhere. Dema Deities are mythological figures (human, animal, or super-human) who have given to certain peoples their land, food-crops, totems, and knowledge (how to cultivate crops, raise poultry, make boats, perform dances, perform sacred rituals, etc.) In some cases, it is claimed that from their dismembered bodies, blood, e.t.c., came the different communities or tribes that are now in existence, together with their territory. Both local culture and natural environment remain permeated with the super natural power of these creative deities.
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