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{{Short description|Ethnic group from Central Papua, Indonesia}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Amung people<br /><small>Amungme / Amuy people / Amui people / Hamung people / Uhunduni people</small>
| image            = 
| caption          = 
| population       = 17,700<ref>{{cite web|url=http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11480/ID |title=Amung in Indonesia |publisher=[[Joshua Project]] |access-date=2014-09-24}}</ref>
| popplace         = {{flag|Indonesia}} ([[Central Papua]])
| langs            = [[Uhunduni languages]], [[Indonesian language]]
| rels             = [[Christianity]] (predominantly){{cn|date=April 2025}}, [[Animism]]
| related          = [[Dem people]], [[Damal people]], [[Kamoro people]]
}}

[[File:TM-60026098_Portret_van_een_groep_Amungme_Papua's_tijdens_een_onverwacht_bezoek_aan_de_leden_van_de_Colijn_Expeditie_naar_het_Centrale_Bergland_van_Nieuw-Guinea_1935_bewerkt_(51172575324).jpg | thumb | right]]
The '''Amung''' (also known as '''Amungme''', '''Amungm''', '''Amui''', '''Amuy''', '''Hamung,''' or '''Uhunduni''') people are a group of about 17,700 people living in the highlands of the [[Central Papua]] province of [[Indonesia]]. Most Amungme live in [[Mimika Regency|Mimika]] and [[Puncak Regency|Puncak]], in valleys like Noema, Tsinga, Hoeya, Bella, Alama, Aroanop, and Wa. A related group lives in Beoga Valley, [[Puncak Regency|Puncak]] and they are called [[Damal people]].<ref name="Parmita 2021">{{cite web | title=Papua - PDF | website=Scribd | date=2021-08-05 | url=https://id.scribd.com/document/402047396/Papua | access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>

Their language, [[Uhunduni languages|Uhunduni]], has several dialects.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-03 |title=Amung Tribe of Central Papua A Tribe Known for Their Strong Ties to the Mountain |url=https://westpapuavoice.ac/social-culture/amung-tribe-of-central-papua-a-tribe-known-for-their-strong-ties-to-the-mountain/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=West Papua Voice |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Amung language|Amung]]-kal is spoken mostly in the southern regions and in the north, it is called Damal-kal. Additionally, they have symbolic languages called Aro-a-kal and Tebo-a-kal. Tebo-a-kal is only spoken in sacred areas.<ref name="Parmita 2021"/>

The traditional beliefs of the Amungme people are [[animistic]]. The Amungme people did not have the idea of "gods" that are separate from nature where spirits and nature are the same.<ref>{{cite book|author =Craig A. James|title=The Religion Virus|year=2010|publisher=John Hunt Publishing|isbn=978-1-8469-4272-3}}</ref> They see themselves as the eldest child of God ''Nagawan Into'', hence conqueror and ruler of the world ''Amungsa''.<ref name="Parmita 2021">{{cite web | title=Papua - PDF | website=Scribd | date=2021-08-05 | url=https://id.scribd.com/document/402047396/Papua | access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>

The position of Amungme leader is not inherited by lineage.<ref name=":0" />

The Amungme people practice [[shifting agriculture]], supplementing their livelihood by [[Hunter-gatherer|hunting and gathering]]. The Amungme are very tied to their [[ancestral land]] and consider the surrounding mountains to be sacred.

This has led to friction with the Indonesian government and the American mining company [[Freeport-McMoRan]], which is eager to exploit the vast [[mineral]] deposits contained there. Major changes in the Amungme of the highlands and Kamoro of the lowlands lifestyle have been brought about by the [[Grasberg mine]], situated in the heart of Amungme territory and owned by [[Freeport-McMoRan]], the region's largest single employer.

Extensive [[gold]] and [[copper]] mining have altered the landscape, and the presence of the mine and its infrastructure has attracted numerous other economic migrants from regions in Indonesia including other Papuans, some of whom have tried to settle on traditional Amungme lands. This has caused a land dispute regarding customary land rights between the Amungme people against the Freeport mining company in [[Timika]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=August Kafiar |author2=Tom Beanal |title=PT. Freeport Indonesia Dan Masyarakat Adat Suku Amungme|year=2000|publisher=Forum Lorentz}}</ref> In the last 35 years, the Amungme have seen their sacred mountain destroyed by the Freeport mine and watched as their relatives are killed and caught in the conflict between Indonesian soldiers and [[Free Papua Movement]] rebels, while the Kamoro have more than 200,000 tons of mining waste pumped into their rivers each day.<ref>{{cite book|author =Jeremy Seabrook|title=Consuming Cultures: Globalization And Local Lives|year=2004|publisher=New Internationalist|isbn=1-9044-5608-1}}</ref> All these factors have created complex social and political stresses and led to somewhat frequent protests and/or social conflicts, some of which have been violently suppressed by the Indonesian police or military.<ref>{{cite book|author1= <nowiki>Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University</nowiki> |author2=<nowiki>United Nations. Global Compact Office, Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights </nowiki>|title=Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide|year=2008|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-0-9752-4425-8}}</ref>

== Notable people ==

* [[Yosepha Alomang]], human rights defender and environmental activist

==See also==
{{Portal|New Guinea}}
*[[Indigenous people of New Guinea]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Clear}}

{{Papuan ethnic groups}}
{{Ethnic groups in Indonesia}}

[[Category:Indigenous ethnic groups in Western New Guinea]]
[[Category:Mining in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Papua (province)]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Indonesia]]

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