written and photographed by Mary L. Peachin
Mar 1997, Vol. 1 No. 6
Traveling alone, ma’am? Gold miners, returning from a few days vacation in Cairns, Australia to their jobs in Papua New Guinea, were curious about a woman boarding the Air Niugini flight alone.
Two hours later, the plane landed in Port Moresby. The miners transferred to another flight back to the mine. I wandered through the airport, teeming with locals watching airplanes land, to the nearby domestic terminal to catch a connecting flight on a Fokker 28 to Hoskins, the largest city on the island of New Britain.
In the village of Hoskins, I grabbed a cab for the hour ride across the island to Walindi palm oil plantation. The Febrina liveaboard scuba diving boat anchors there at the Kimbe Bay dock on the Bismarck Sea. We motored for nine hours to Father’s reef near the island of Lolabau, an active volcano. Deep wall drop-offs were landscaped with hard and soft corals, a number of white and silver tip and whaler sharks cruised the reef along with turtles, jacks, and barracuda. In spite of the huge ocean swells, this was world class diving!
A giant stride off the back deck was easier than the challenge of reentry. The divemaster would grabbed our arm pulling us on the deck with the next incoming wave.
During the six-day trip, we enjoyed some night diving with fifty-pound dogtooth tuna, cuttlefish and octopus. At a site named Reasons, the wall was covered with black, staghorn, table, brain, and leather coral plus velvet sea whips, fans, gorgonians, and sponges.
One dive along the reef passed underwater caves located between two sand-shoots resembling dry waterfalls. At dawn there appeared to be a “rush hour” on the reef. Small colorful reef fish were swimming up, down and over the wall, coral trout lazed as they were cleaned of parasites by small fish.
Walindi plantation offered the same quality of diving in Kimbe Bay. The rough seas made for an hour of body-slamming travel in a speedboat to reach the glorious reef walls. Kimbe Bay and the Bismarck Sea has 4000 species of coral and 400 species of fish.
Max Benjamin, an ex-pat Australian, owns Walindi plantation. Arriving in New Britain in the 1960’s, Benjamin started the palm oil Plantation, followed by the resort in 1988. There are six burres or bungalows with dining (family style) in a room adjacent to the bar and pool area. Walindi is a relaxing setting where diving is the focal point.
New Britain Island is a paradox. The locals have satellite television, there is a telephone and fax at Walindi, yet the shower water is heated by the burning of coconut husks. The guard at Walindi stand watch using a burning branch for light.
The island K-Mart is not a discount store. The all-purpose store’s provisions are sparse and expensive. A box of Kellogg’s cereal sells for $6.00. The vegetable market is the gathering place where locals come to sell their crops, betel nut, yams, coconut squash, and a variety of bitter tasting greens.
Returning to Hoskins for an early morning flight to Port Moresby, a nearby village appeared to be on fire. It turned out to be breakfast time and folks were using firewood to cook in their huts. My taxi driver slowed in the village as some pigs crossed the road, pigs have the right-of-way in Papua New Guinea. The ownership of pigs substantiates one’s wealth, and is the focal point of ceremonial tradition.
Returning to Port Moresby, I met my son, Jeffrey, to join a Trans Niugini tour for two weeks. I had seen some of the best of the underwater world of Papua New Guinea, now I was going to explore the country.
Papua New Guinea Land Adventure
Papua New Guinea is the largest tropical island in the world. Four million Papuans, Melanesians, and Micronesians/Polynesians speak more than 700 distinct languages. Located north of Australia across the Torres Strait of the Coral Sea, Papua New Guinea is country of rugged mountains and thick jungles. The economy is based primarily on the production of gold, copper, coffee, cocoa, and sugar.
Our group gathered the first night in the capitol city of Port Moresby. The Highlander Hotel was protected from rampant crime by a compound secured with fences, barbed wire, and security guards. The following morning, we flew in a small plane landing on a grass strip in Timbunke village on the Sepik river. There we boarded the ” Sepik Spirit”, our houseboat for the next several days, to tour in a small flat-bottom jet boat around the Blackwater area.
In native villages, we had an opportunity to purchase artifacts, watch women grind sago palm into pancakes (a staple of their diet). We visited a palm-floor hut covered with a thatched roof. The family slept on straw mats covered with mosquito nets. They built fires next to their mats for both warmth and cooking. Many huts burn down or are destroyed by termites in 3-4 years.
Seventh-day Adventist missionaries had converted the villagers of Angriman and Mindimbit. School children welcomed us into the classroom in the village of Mumeri. The children proudly sat at their hand-carved desks and benches, singing us a welcome song, and placing a crown of woven palm with flowers on our heads. The artifacts made by children are primarily penis gourds. In the past these gourds, called horim, were the sole item of clothing worn by the men.
In some villages, natives would performed a “sing-sing” for us. Dressed in ceremonial costume, the men and women danced to the music of handmade flutes.
The Karawari region of the Sepik River is typified by rainforest vegetation, a change from the wild cane bordering the middle Sepik. Delayed by boat mechanical problems, we only had time to visit the village of Kundamin. When we arrived the women were cooking sago palm. The gluey starch is hard to stir and tasteless in flavor. Leaf vegetables and the protein larvae of the Capricorn beetle, better known as grubs, provide some variety to the diet. The grub worm grows in the decaying sago palm and is considered a tasty treat.
Karawari Lodge has the appearance of a haus Tambaran (spirit house). A large gable mask hangs at the entrance, which overlooks the beautiful rainforest valley. Birds are abundant, along with geckos and colorful insects. The rooms at the lodge were thatched-roof huts, beds were covered with mosquito netting.
After crawling out of our mosquito netting before daybreak, we learned by radio message that our chartered plane to Mount Hagen had been grounded by fog. Two hours later we climbed 10-foot embankment from the Sepik river to reach a 2400-foot grass runway where we boarded the airplane.
Women sold bilums displayed on the barbed wire fence of the Mount Hagen airport. Once woven from palm bark, many bilums are now made from colorful Hong Kong yarn. They are knotted on top of women’s head and used to carry children and other burden.
Before leaving Hagen for the coastal city of Madang, we visited the public market. While viewing the variety of fruits, vegetable and different wares, we spotted a man selling ceremonial headbands made from scarab beetles woven with orchid leaves.
Madang is known as the garden spot of Papua New Guinea. We spent two nights at the Malolo Plantation, which overlooks the Bismarck Sea. Day trips included the fishing villages of Marut and Lusik. We hiked a beach surrounded by betel nut palms, breadfruit, boxwood, pandanus, and other exotic nut and flower trees. The hands and feet of Didol, the “big man” or village chief, had been ravaged by leprosy.
Departing Madang, we flew to Tari in the Southern Highlands. The colorful Huli tribes inhabit this region. The men wear colorful headdresses of cuscus (possum)fur with bird of paradise feathers or headpieces made from their own hair. A hornbill beak necklace is worn on their backs. The Huli continue to have battles and remain one of the most primitive of the tribes of Papua New Guinea.
Huli battles or “paybacks” are somewhat civilized. The warring clans may determine a day to fight and a time to stop for lunch. Women and children are seldom killed. They do not seem to care when tourists watch them fight. Several times we saw warriors guarding clan borders. Some warriors held bow and arrow while others carried homemade guns. Some wore plastic helmets while others wore leaf headdress.
We stayed at the luxurious Ambua Lodge. Along the dirt road, 45- minutes from the airport, we observed other Huli traditions. Pigs were staked along the road during a bride-price negotiation. The ceremony can take several hours or days depending on the value of the bride, her age and the wealth of her family. Wealth is measured by the number of pigs owned by the family. The pig is so revered in Papua, its image is on the $10 dollar kina.
Another day, we passed a man preparing to take a painted skull of his father into his hut. Papua New Guinea is a misogynous society. Deceased women are buried when they die, while men rest above the ground for five years. When the skin has dried and dropped from the bones, the skull is painted, and placed in the hut of the son.
We had been told that two weeks prior to our arrival, a warrior named Andrew had been killed. Payback or another battle was expected in the next several days. The Ambua Lodge is located between two warring Huli clans, the Jawali who lived in the valley, and the Huwale Pu who lived in the highlands.
At the crack of dawn, I awoke to the cry of a warrior in the valley. Was he calling his pigs or was this a battle cry? We continued our touring; visiting the village of Wapia where we observed a “sing-sing.” In Boronapa village, the Huli demonstrated the making of fire by rubbing 2 pieces of cane with a cord. After an impressive bow and arrow shooting demonstration, we visited the women’s side of the village to see the huts of pigs.
Many times pigs share the women’s hut. Men and women do not sleep together, they have sex in the garden for the purpose of reproduction. The role of a women is to tend gardens, raise children, and carry burden in their bilums. Men do the hunting and cooking. Men believe that women are capable of casting spells and they sometimes carry evil spirits. They are especially afraid of seeing women during menstrual cycles, so during this period, women stay in a separate hut.
One afternoon, we had the opportunity to go bird watching. Papua New Guinea is known for its spectacular birds of paradise. We saw the King of Saxony, Crested bird of paradise, several Princess Stephanie astrapia, a ribbon-tail astrapia with its long white tailfeathers, a sicklebill, and a king parrot. The 24-inch tail feather of the King of Saxony is often worn in the Huli headdress. Observing these rare, magnificent birds makes the country a birdwatcher’s dream. Visitors are forbidden to purchase any bird of paradise, there is a hefty fine levied by immigration. There are also wonderful varieties of insects and beetles. Insects thriving in the jungle include the large rhinoceros beetle with its unique beak.
On our final day in Tari, we visited the bachelor village of Kaka. Huli boys enter the village at sixteen to learn the traditions of their tribe.
During an eighteen-month stay, they grow their hair to use for their own “wigman” headdress. The human hair wig is then adorned with daisies and bird of paradise feathers. While they are learning Huli rituals and traditions, the young men cannot leave the compound or look at a woman. Their role is to maintain the grounds and tend the gardens. They are presented a carved diploma at graduation, which they will displayed with pride next to the door of their hut.
The opportunity to meet with Pajia, a witchdoctor, was an experience shared by only a few visitors. Pajia hid from missionaries for 20 years to avoid conversion from his religious practices. When we saw him, he had not received foreign visitors for three years. With the help of an interpreter, Pajia showed us how he made knives from bamboo. He demonstrated his use of axes, bows and arrows. He took us to his magic garden where he showed us his medicinal powers. Rubbing Jeffrey’s hands with a nettle leaf, he created a painful burning sensation. He then rubbed Jeffrey’s hand with a ginger leaf. The pain subsided in about 10 minutes.
The nettle leaf is used prior to the scarification initiation ritual to prepare the men for the pain they will endure during the ceremony. A compound mixture of clay, burnt lime and tigaso tree oil is put into self induced wounds to create permanent scars that look like tattooing.
Pajia also took us to his graveyard. His demeanor showed great respect, his eyes were cast downward as he showed us the skull of his father. We walked through the graveyard to his “magic place,” the burial site of his witch doctor ancestors. Located in a sexually symbolic, “Georgia O’Keefe-ish” rock outcropping, were the painted skulls of his male ancestors dating back nine generations. Pajia’s magic stones were also resting in this outcropping.
The remoteness of the region has resulted in fewer missionary conversions. The Huli tribe is frequently seen wearing traditional dress. There faces are painted, and they wear bird of paradise feathers or fern headdresses, lap-lap skirts and some pierce their noses with bones. Sometimes they giggle when they see you and may want to touch your hands.
The culmination of our visit was two days at the Mt. Hagen sing-sing. Approximately 50 tribes danced and sang in ceremonial costumes. 150 tourists joined the 30,000 to 40,000 natives to watch the festivities held in the soccer field. The prize money for the best dress and dancing was a shared $50,000 kina. The natives watched the dancing and singing behind a barbed wire fenced surrounding the field, while tourists sat in a concrete grandstand. The more recognizable of the tribes were the Huli, Mudmen of Asaro, and the Morabe.
Twelve of us had shared a two-week adventure of a lifetime. We said farewell to Papua New Guinea in pidgin, “lookim yu behind.”