For me, this region has held a fascination since a college primitive art course where we used a reference book called "Man as Art." And then, of course, my idol the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead did much gender research in the Sepik River area, (see https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mead/field-sepik.html) and included her Papua New Guinea observations in her famous 1935 book "Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies." So, 35 years after that college art course, I was able to convince my husband to travel there with me in 2001. Hats off to him -- his idea of roughing it is a Holiday Inn... I'm glad he went, for he has bragging rights for swimming in the Sepik River, but I would have gone by myself if I'd had to. You know me...
Papua New Guinea is in the region I call "Oceania", not far from Australia and Indonesia, but possibly one of the most inaccessible places for travelers.
It is divided into two regions, the western part belonging officially to Indonesia.. That part was initially named Irian Jaya, and more recently came to be called West Papua. This map below shows only Papua New Guinea. The capital city is Port Moresby. This map is wrinkled because, well, I used it during this trip...
PORT MORESBY
I opened this journal to write in it for the first time a
few minutes ago (in May 2001), although my friend Gloria Judson had given it to
me months past. The frontnote says it is
made from the argali shrub of Nepal, a fast-regenerating plant; this
alternative paper source thus helps preserve the endangered forest of Nepal.
Somehow this detail is very ironic, since the most
noteworthy sight on today’s quick “Tour of Port Moresby and surrounds” were the
makeshift stands on the roads not far from the city center – selling bundles of
firewood. I wanted to take a photo, but
our “guide” didn’t stop the bus. He said
the people would feel badly, since they were at the lowest rung of the economic
ladder, and this was the only way they could make a living. One Kina – approximately 38 cents US in 2001 –
for a bundle that represents half of a good sized 3 year-old tree.
Like all other do-gooders interested in the developing world,
I’ve heard time and again about the deforestration problem. People from the hills, or the plains, or the rivers,
move to the city for better lives, or are forced there by famine or fire or
conflict…and there IS no good life for them in the city. There’s only the firewood to be “gathered”
and sold, one Kina at a time, as the countryside erodes bit by bit.
The biggest “erosion” is the ugly gash in the hill across
the bay, site of the natural gas refinery terminus of the new pipeline project
to supply energy resources to Australia’s nearest big city, Cairns.
This enterprise wasn’t a surprise to me – it was touted in the
Air Niugini flight magazine – but its evident environmental impact was a startling
sight.
Our guide Lucas was one of the types I’ve encountered
before. Evidently bright, he purported
himself to be the P.R. person for the prime minister, and his friend Nelson,
the owner of the decrepit bus, the second secretary to the P.M. Somewhere along the line, Lucas worked for
the tour operator, who pressed him into service on a Saturday morning when he
himself really didn’t want to be bothered.
Excuse my cynicism – I keep learning the hard way why it is that tour
operators like Archaeological Tours of Harvard Museum really do deserve their
fees.
So I suppose that I won’t die from a few days of intense
body odor from guides clad in filthy clothes, but may I am getting too picky
for “adventure” travel.
Face-saving is a behavior everywhere, and we saw it today
when our dirty bus sped through an intersection where school children waved
signs to get motorists to stop at a fundraising car wash. Chad asked if they were taking the bus there –
a skipped beat of embarrassment – and then Nelson said there was “no time – the
bus was always busy”. Good save.
The discussion on education that was started by our fellow
tourist Jeff elicited the usual window-dressing answers about all children
starting at age 7 etc etc. But a few
more questions about who pays school fees (families – “reimbursed by the
government”) and whether uniforms were required and who paid for them (families…..etc)
leads me to believe that it’s the same-old same-old story of development. No one can afford uniforms, much less fees,
and so…. Only the privileged few.
At the Saturday handicrafts market, as always, we were
gently guided to the stalls of the friends of Nelson and Lucas, “my brother, my
uncle, from the hills like us…”
My selections didn’t exactly please them – buying from the
enemy you know, but I enjoyed my talk with the artist who does drawings of the
ancestor spirits and has seriously studied by book written by an anthropologist
on ancestor spirit myths. My choice, the
spirit snake kidnaps his daughter back from the bad husband and kills the
husband and then the daughter is free again (I’m sure that is a somewhat
mangled version of the myth….)
A gourd over-woven with basketry is carried by men during
dances, to hold their beetel nut – accessed intermittently for the stimulatory
affects. (Our guide Lucas decided to
indulge himself on the way back – gross, totally gross – red juices all over
the place, big chaw in his left mouth pouch, YUK!)
Last acquisition, a grass/raffia skirt, worn in “sing-sings”. Impulse buy, may have to be jettisoned (NB, I still have it 19 years later….).
The dollar goes a long way here, 2.6 of ‘em to the buck. At the TRAVELEX exchange counter in Cairns airport, the clerk agreed that the bills were very worn an dirty, but said at least they were fairly clean – and to beware of brownish notes in the hills, where tribesmen were know to conceal their money by rolling it up and “sticking it in their bums.” Other favorite banks – burying it in the ground. So, I think maybe we’ll just pay for things in nice round sums, and “keep the change.”
OMG, I see now that the 20 Kina note is quite quite wrinkled. Must have been "banked" many times before it got into our wallets....
*NOTES FROM TRANS NIUGINI TOURS Company:
"Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is a
collection of hot, sprawling suburbs scattered around the hilly terrain." I can't even remember where we stayed overnight in Port Moresby -- henceforth and forever called by me "THE ARMPIT OF THE UNIVERSE" ... but I am prejudiced. Probably because the so-called hamburger that I ate made me so sick ... I am sure in retrospect that it was a rat burger...
Anyhow, it was great to leave Port Moresby. So, we flew to Tari.
TARI
TARI
“The great Tari Basin and surrounding mountain slopes are
the home of the Huli Clans, one of the largest ethnic groups in the Southern
Highlands and one of the most culturally intact in all of Papua New
Guinea. The flamboyant Huli Wigmen of the
the Tari Valley have formed a strong bond between themselves and the beautiful
Birds of Paradise; men revere the birds by imitating them in both daily and
ceremonial life, decorating their human hair wigs with the plumage of only the
most beautiful birds. The tour designed
by Ambua Lodge near Tari Airport was designed to enable us to observe the
village life and customs of people who live with nature and the environment as
they have for thousands of years. Tari
is one of the few places left where men and women can be seen wearing
traditional dress made from the natural jungle materials as part of daily
living.“
To add to the sing-sing, this man plays a reed instrument
that makes a twanging sound, a lot like the old Jew’s Harp. ( Click here to experience the sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJu9L4ooO6c
)
Our next stop is the Sepik River area.
River Area Maps courtesy of https://symbiosis-travel.com/
The first village we visited was MANJAMAI
Our next Village to visit was KAMBIRIN VILLAGE
Note the woman in the top photo above...She can’t see through the glaucoma, most of her teeth are gone, but at 65 or 70, she’s the oldest woman and is keeping the traditions alive. It does seem strange to think that these older villagers have probably been cannibals when they were young.
River Area Maps courtesy of https://symbiosis-travel.com/
Kraimbit Village is in the left center of the map, just below a lake-like area.
Kraimbit Village is in the left center of the map, just below a lake-like area.
“The Sepik Region is a vast area that includes the Sepik
River, its many tributaries including the Karawari River, swamps and lake systems. In this region are many rarely visited
villages where the spirit world and the peoples’ everyday life merge in a
fascinating mixture of ceremonies, carvings and haus tamberans. People in the villages are prolific and
famous carvers. Each village has its own
ceremonial house and is decorated with monumental masks and many carved
objects.”
Now we are in the BLACKWATER area, and the first village here that we visited was KRAIMBIT VILLAGE
Up in the rafters of the old spirit house (no longer in use... see the new spirit house below...) was a basket mask. Made by men, it had to be carried out in a gunny sack – because a River Spirit mask like this is too powerful to be seen by women and children. It made its way to California, River Spirit and all, and somehow made sense to be at Lake Tahoe, near the Ward’s Creek stream that feeds the lake.
Next on the agenda was a dugout making demonstration, held in front of the new spirit house at Kraimbit Village...
Some close-up views of the exterior decoration of the new Spirit House:
In this Spirit House at Kraimbit (as elsewhere), a family
has a reserved bench for its members. MEN ONLY.
Back on the jetboat, all of the travelers looked over their purchases of art.
After a busy day of touring in the intense heat and humidity, a return to the lounge on the Sepik Spirit was welcome.
We were fortunate to be traveling in a big boat... because there are PIRATES! ON THE SEPIK RIVER!
Chad recalls: "When we were coming back down river, we encountered this private boat that had been pirated and scuttled. The owners were standing on the deck waving at us and we stopped and took them on board to get them out. The pirates stole money, camera equipment and other incidentals from the boat owners.
Chad also recalled: "I also remember trying to do a swim workout alongside the boat we were on when we were moored in the middle of the Sepik. The current was so fast, that I could hardly stay abreast of the boat!"
We were fortunate to be traveling in a big boat... because there are PIRATES! ON THE SEPIK RIVER!
Chad recalls: "When we were coming back down river, we encountered this private boat that had been pirated and scuttled. The owners were standing on the deck waving at us and we stopped and took them on board to get them out. The pirates stole money, camera equipment and other incidentals from the boat owners.
Chad also recalled: "I also remember trying to do a swim workout alongside the boat we were on when we were moored in the middle of the Sepik. The current was so fast, that I could hardly stay abreast of the boat!"
Our excursion the next day was to KANIGARA VILLAGE
Our next explorations will be in the Karawari Area.
After passing the junction of the Konmei River, we reach
Karawari. The lodge there, Karawari
Lodge, is located on a lone ridge amidst a vast expanse of dense tropical
lowland rainforest. “We are in Arambak
country here, one of the most remote and unpeopled areas of Papua New
Guinea. The Kwawari River if only 300
feet below the ridge, and is the only way in or out. This tropical lowland forest is one of the
earth’s most complex of habitats, housing an immense variety of flora and fauna
along with a unique culture. “
First visit is to Mameri Village, which specializes in flute handicrafts.
Our next stop is Mindimbit-1
Our next visit was to the village of Kundiman 2
End of the tour, but time for some last minute art acquisitions. Luckily, the lodge selects some of the best from local artisans.
Then, a relaxing night in Karawari Lodge before we head back to Australia.
From the Karawari Airstrip, we fly to Mt Hagen, and then
transfer to our flight to Port Moresby, and then transfer to the flight to
Sydney. Chad flies home from there,
while I explore a bit more of Australia and then help Martin pack to return to
the USA after his semester at Uni-Sydney.
My next stop:
Adelaide, to catch the Ghan to Alice Springs, and then to see
Uluru! (previously known as Ayers
Rock…). My first trip to the Red Center
(but thankfully… not my last!)
