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Now that we've given you the picture of the turbulent beginning we experienced during our first 5 days here in Papua New Guinea, let's move on to a bit of the Sepik River village culture, in particular, the Kanganaman Village and the Crocodile Initiation. The plan of this stage of our adventure, to head inland and cruise the mighty Sepik River in a dugout canoe. Running some 700 miles, the Sepik is more than just a river; it's a living museum populated by complex peoples who not only produce some of the most spiritually charged art in the world, but who also practice one of the most grueling and bloody body modification rituals known today.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA CULTURE Papua New Guinea is rich with culture and diversity, with 1,100 cultures and 850 unique languages; the most diverse human population in the world. The Sepik River is one of the least developed areas in PNG and home to approximately 430,000 people who depend almost entirely on products from the rivers and forests for their livelihoods. This is perhaps the most linguistically and culturally diverse area in the planet with over 300 languages in an area the size of France. The area is famous for the men's spirit houses or "haus tambarans", one of the most dramatic examples of indigenous Melanesian architecture, and a very rich ceremonial wood carving and music tradition. Sepik peoples maintain their cultural integrity proudly and have influenced styles across the nation. Important water bird and crocodile populations are supported by the 1500 lakes and other wetlands associated with the basin. Many of the region's people are economically, culturally and spiritually tied to the crocodiles of the river. Along the banks of the river and its many tributaries live sparsely scattered, remote villages, scarcely contacted by the outside world, where people live a lifestyle that has changed little for thousands of years.
MYTH OF THE CROCODILE According to their verbal history, an ancestor was hunting in a canoe and saw something in the water so he dived deep into the water where he spotted a spirit house and within it lived a crocodile. The man remained with the crocodile for months learning its secrets and power. When the man returned to his village, he taught his people how to build spirit houses as well as how to cut their skin to resemble a crocodile. The Iatmul rely on the power and knowledge of the crocodile spirit ever since.
THE SPIRIT HOUSE Like spirit houses elsewhere in the Sepik, the Kanganaman haus tambaran is located at the physical center and highest point of the village. Because of its location, the Spirit House is the focus of the social and ceremonial lives of its adult male members. Only male initiates are permitted in the Spirit House, and any other entering is punishable by death. It is here in the Spirit House that men (and only men) spend part of almost every day of their lives either sitting quietly chewing betel-nut, dozing after a hard day's work, or in conversation with other men; it is also the building in which men publicly debate matters of clan and village concern and in which, formerly, they prepared for war. Moreover, it is within the spirit house that groups of men perform the rituals and rite of passage ceremonies that are believed to be of vital importance for the economic, political, and ancestral well-being of the community in which it is located. Since foreigners now visit the village and provide economic assistance to them, foreign women are allowed into the Spirit House (but village women are strictly prohibited). The carvings, paintings, and other sacred objects inside the Spirit House also reinforce male potency. The house posts and beams are carved into figures identified with spirits, mythological characters including culture heroes, and other male ancestors. Many of the paintings refer to plant and animal totems that belong to the various (male) clans of the village (e.g., Cassowary, Crocodile, Pig, Eagle etc.). Each house post figure is associated with a particular clan and is believed to be responsible for its well-being. This was especially true during times of war, when clansmen offered food and betel nuts to it. If the proper rituals were not observed, the spirit represented by the figure could bring misfortune or even death to warriors in the clan. Upon our entrance into each Spirit House, Rosanna and I brought branches of betel nuts as a gift to each spirit house clan, which was always well received.
THE CROCODILE INITIATION The marks on the young man's chest and back are confronting to western eyes, the result of hundreds of deep razor cuts and hours of excruciating pain. A boy or man is determined to be ready for initiation by his father, and each year a small group of 8-12 initiates are honored by this initiation ceremony. For our guide, Shane, he was one of the 8 new initiates that just completed their cutting and initiation ceremony in July to August 2019. He has over 700 cuts on his back, as shown in the picture in the blog album, and the design is unique for each man, designed by the father for his son. To the people of the Sepik these are the mark of a man, a future leader and someone worthy of respect.
THE CUTTING
Shane brought me to the site of the cutting, closed off by bamboo so the village cannot see. He showed me the dugout canoe turned upside down, which still had some dried blood spilled from the cutting. They are held down and their skin cut deep, about 1 centimeter deep, with a razor in the pattern of the crocodile. It is one of the village professionals that does the cutting, and the uncle holds and comforts the young initiate like a mother, but of course, no women are allowed anywhere near this process. It takes 1.5 to 2 hours of agony to carve one man's back. Then, after a few days' break, they cut the front/chest. This is the worst part. The men can't look away and the carving around the nipples is excruciating. They are out in the open, with muggy heat and mosquitos through the day and night, but Shane of course clarified, the last thing concerning you is mosquito bites !
The skin is then beaten, forcing the blood out; then natural oil is rubbed on, and white clay and mud from a secluded part of the swamp (crazy but they believe it is pure and natural, not a bacterial infection in the making) are jammed into the wounds to make them protrude and keloid. Next, a a couple days later, a different red type of clay is rubbed all over the body. For the first week or two while the wounds are open, the only salves are stinging hibiscus oil, clay to keep mosquitoes at bay, and betel nut to take away some of the pain. For 2 months, the men stay hidden in the Spirit House while their bodies heal and the power and spirit of the crocodile is seeped into the wounds; food is left outside for them by women who hear their screams and think the crocodile is doing its work. Traditionally, this was the start of them becoming men. Their next duty would be to go murder someone and bring their head back to the village. Nowadays, they skip that part. This process is known as scarification and involves scratching, etching or cutting designs, pictures or words into the skin as a permanent body modification. Scarification is tormenting because men have to bear excruciating pain and lose large amounts of blood. But that is part of the purpose - to signify their transition from boyhood to manhood. As I spoke to Shane about his initiation, it is something that he is very proud of, and he is now a member of the Pig Clan. A couple of the photos in my album, showing the cutting and the covered bodies in clay were pulled from another site on the internet, as the initiation ceremony was performed in July. This was what Rosanna and I were there for, to visit the Sepik River, and witness their culture and traditions. I was able to speak for hours with Shane, Luke (an elder), and Kevin, to learn more about their way of life. And we also spoke about our way of life and family, for them to learn about us. We visited each of the spirit houses to see their carvings and meet the local men. I swam in the Sepik River with the young men, laughing and enjoying the cool water which provided brief relief from the muggy heat, only to get mud all over me while trying to climb back out of the river.
DEATH ADDER SNAKE It was also fortunate that the guys were with me while walking to the river for the swim, as we had an encounter with a venomous snake. I was walking in the front, looking down a bit and not looking out forward much, and suddenly I said to the guys "hey, there's a snake, I wondered if you had many snakes here". It was about 6 feet in front of me, and the guys quickly said to get back, that's a very dangerous snake. I thought they said "deadheader", but after researching it, they were referring to the "Death Adder" snake of Papua New Guinea, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. I asked Shane, how many times have you seen a death adder, and in all the years there, he's only personally seen it twice, so it's apparently not a frequent visitor in the village. In 2008, one of the Kanganaman villagers was hiking in the surrounding jungles, and was bitten by the death adder, and due to his distance from the village he was not able to be treated quickly. Immediately upon his return, they applied the "magic stone" which they believe withdraws the venom from his leg. And then I asked, how did he do ? Shane responded, "he died". Apparently not too much "magic" in that "magic stone" ! According to another article, death follows usually about 4 hours after the bite.
CROCODILE HUNT I asked the guys to take me on a night hunt for crocodiles, and was hoping to experience a successful catch of a medium size croc, throw it on my shoulders and bring it back to the village, maybe with some celebratory grunting. Unfortunately, it's not the best time of year, as the river needs to be a bit drier. We went out around 9 PM in pitch darkness with 2 spears, the dugout canoes, a few SP Beers, and flashlights. As we motor along, we're scanning the shoreline with the lights looking for the reflection of red eyes from the crocodiles. After about 40 minutes, we found our first one caught him, a juvenile about 18 inches. We caught and released 3 in total, none big enough to kill and bring back to cook crocodile soup. I have video with the little guy, touching the crocodile body, and asking about its teeth with the croc opening his mouth. The juvenile's teeth are tiny, and so I asked about them -- now the pronunciation is a little different, so it sounded like he confirmed "yes, they are very soft", so when I moved my finger toward the mouth he quickly pulled him back and said "NO!", and we started cracking up. He was saying "they are very sharp", stupid American ! Oh well, didn't get to put one on my back as I hoped, but got a little taste of the crocodile hunt. We've arrived back in Port Moresby and are leaving in a few hours for the flight to Goroka. Goroka is in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the site of the annual Goroka Show, a huge cultural show involving about 100 tribes exhibiting their dress, songs, and dance. We'll also visit the Moko Moko tribe that I spent time with 3 years ago.
We celebrated our 26 year anniversary last night with an evening of fine dining in Port Moresby.
Onward to Goroka !!
- comments
Bob (Dad) Wow that is a brutal process to enter Manhood - I think I would stay a boy. Keep up the blog and enjoy Goroka.