The korowai people: people living on trees

Photographer and traveler Leonid Kruglov visited a gated community the korowai tribe on the island of Papua New Guinea, where they observed the construction of the tree house and talked about witchcraft and civilization.

History

The korowai people (korowai) is a Papuan people living in the centre of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya on the island of Papua New Guinea.

The first systematic attempts to establish contact with the korowai began in 1980-ies of the Dutch missionaries of the Mission of reformed churches (ZGK).

In 1983-1985 missionaries built the first village on the banks of the main rivers.

In villages located a Church, school and a number of typical houses. Almost immediately the problems began. Between out from the forest nomads, accustomed to live in isolation at a considerable distance from each other, there were constant clashes.

The area was closed for visits of foreigners because of the threat of attacks.

We first visited the territory of the tribe in 1997, received a special "Surat Jalan" — permission to visit closed areas.

My guide was an Indonesian trader, and collector of primitive art. We got to the town center of Sango and from there in a boat-dyblenko with the motor raised to the upper reaches of rivers where the tribes lived kombai and korowai.

A few days that our boat was going upstream, we visited several towns, arranged by the missionaries. The reason why people born in the woods, quite willingly came to live in these towns, I did not immediately understand.

Before that for many centuries the forest was hiding the korowai people from aggressive neighbors, the Asmat people — famous bounty hunters. The forest gave them food, and the korowai people learned to build houses in the crowns of the highest trees.

Life in the towns was much easier than survival in the marsh, full of dangers the woods. Even then, some senior people are aware that fall is thus dependent on supplies of food, clothing. We were in those places when the whole process began.

The first meeting with the korowai people was fairly short-lived — only three days. I was struck by their reactions to our clothes, flashlights, iron objects and the reflection in the mirror. It was the reaction of primitive people.

In subsequent years, having established friendly relations with the missionaries from the mountain — civilized — Papuan tribes (they were also trained to work with forest — wild — tribes of the Papuans), I had the opportunity to go back to these places and explore remote rivers forest areas.

Here still roamed the latter group "non-contact" tribes korowai. So I found a clan Woning (the picture of me sitting with the leader).

The chief of the tribe believed that it is impossible for them to live in the villages and missionaries to take any items of civilization. Wuning told me amazing things in the life of the tribe.

So, korowai has its own well-developed religious system in which the most important are the creation myths "as small as a mouse" spirit-Creator, who had divided the mythical pig of Paul and designed the entire universe. Witchcraft in the tribe is, as well as contacts with the world of the dead (world of dreams). Here you can enter the "twilight trail".

During his life Wuning involved in three cases of cannibalism. Twice ate enemies captured in a local battle (he was then a little boy), and once the sorcerer, to share in all its "quality" after the local trial.

It turned out that some witches define as carrying malicious magic, and if the damage to the family or clan proved, such a sorcerer ritual to eat. So the houses and the roofs of the houses of the korowai full of magical objects designed to ward off evil spirits and to attract hunting and other good fortune, and ritual pillar in the center of the house in General can only touch the host.

Korowai understand their ancestral forest as the center of the world. Next is "big forest" and "the big water". Therefore, the arrival of strangers with iron objects and the noise of the engine is perceived as the end of the world.

On their site they make clearings in the jungle, and there planted banana palms, they set a trap for wild pigs and cassowaries (ostrich), eat almost all kinds of insects and snakes are good at catching fish and birds. But the main creature, give them life, they think of palm sago and living in it full starch the core of the caterpillar — the larvae of the palm beetle. Palma is a deity, and the eating of larvae on the holidays for the larvae of the sago — a kind of primitive communion.

During the next expedition in 2010 I had the opportunity to observe the entire cycle of building a new tree house. The head of the forest family, They called relatives from the surrounding villages, and together they built a new house in five days.

New house located at an altitude of approximately 40 m above the ground. It's a safe height (still fear of attacks from neighbouring tribes), and from here, from the crown of the tree, it is good to observe the flight of birds of Paradise.

Then there were two days of feasting on the occasion of a new home, and They managed to get to this feast "big meat" — large forest pig. And of the pre-fallen trunk of a large sago produced numerous larvae.

They told me that there are in the village, where the people "live from each other on the head" and that there is clear audible noise from the operation of bulldozers.

The government of Indonesia is actively developing his wildest province. Just like in the movie "Avatar" — only the end of this story are still unknown.