papua New Guinea , especially its center is one of the protected corners of the Earth, where human civilization has hardly penetrated. People there live in complete dependence on nature, worship their deities and revere the spirits of their ancestors.
On the coast of the island of New Guinea now live quite civilized people who know the official - English - language. Missionaries worked with them for many years.
However, in the center of the country there is something like a reservation - nomadic tribes and who still live in the Stone Age. They know every tree by name, they bury the dead on the branches, they have no idea what money or passports are.
They are surrounded by a mountainous country overgrown with impenetrable jungle, where, due to high humidity and unimaginable heat, life is unbearable for a European.
No one there knows a word of English, and each tribe speaks its own language, of which there are about 900 in New Guinea. The tribes live very isolated from each other, communication between them is almost impossible, so their dialects have little in common, and people are each other friend simply do not understand.
Typical locality, where the Papuan tribe lives: modest huts are covered with huge leaves, in the center there is something like a clearing where the whole tribe gathers, and the jungle is around for many kilometers. The only weapons of these people are stone axes, spears, bows and arrows. But not with their help, they hope to protect themselves from evil spirits. That's why they have faith in gods and spirits.
In the Papuan tribe, the mummy of the "leader" is usually kept. This is some outstanding ancestor - the most courageous, strong and intelligent, who fell in battle with the enemy. After his death, his body was treated with a special compound to avoid decay. The body of the leader is kept by the sorcerer.
It is in every tribe. This character is highly revered among the relatives. Its function is mainly to communicate with the ancestral spirits, appeasing them and asking for advice. Sorcerers usually go to people who are weak and unfit for a constant battle for survival - in a word, old people. By witchcraft they make their living.
WHITES-DEVISED?
The first white man who came to this exotic continent was the Russian traveler Miklukho-Maclay. Having landed on the coast of New Guinea in September 1871, he, being an absolutely peaceful man, decided not to take weapons ashore, he took only gifts and a notebook, which he never parted with.
The locals met the stranger quite aggressively: they shot arrows in his direction, shouted intimidatingly, brandished their spears...
But Miklukho-Maclay did not react in any way to these attacks. On the contrary, with the most imperturbable look, he sat down on the grass, defiantly took off his shoes and lay down to take a nap.
By an effort of will, the traveler forced himself to sleep (or only pretended to). And when he woke up, he saw that the Papuans were sitting peacefully next to him and staring at the overseas guest with all their eyes. The savages reasoned thus: if a pale-faced man is not afraid of death, then he is immortal. That's what they decided on.
For several months the traveler lived in a tribe of savages. All this time, the natives worshiped him and revered him as a god. They knew that if desired, the mysterious guest could command the forces of nature. How is it?
Yes, just once Miklukho-Maclay, who was called only Tamo-rus - “Russian man”, or Karaan-tamo - “man from the moon”, showed the Papuans such a trick: he poured water into a plate with alcohol and set it on fire. gullible locals believed that a foreigner was able to set fire to the sea or stop the rain.
However, the Papuans are generally gullible. For example, they are firmly convinced that the dead go to their country and return white, bringing with them many useful items and food. This belief lives in all Papuan tribes(despite the fact that they hardly communicate with each other), even in those where they have never seen a white person.
FUNERAL RITE
The Papuans know three causes of death: from old age, from war and from witchcraft - if the death occurred for some unknown reason. If a person died a natural death, he will be honorably buried. All funeral ceremonies are aimed at appeasing the spirits that receive the soul of the deceased.
Here is a typical example of such a ritual. Close relatives of the deceased go to the stream to perform bisi as a sign of mourning - smearing yellow clay on the head and other parts of the body. The men at this time are preparing a funeral pyre in the center of the village. Not far from the fire, a place is being prepared where the deceased will rest before cremation.
Shells and sacred stones of the vus are placed here - the abode of a certain mystical power. Touching these living stones is strictly punished by the laws of the tribe. On top of the stones should lie a long braided strip, decorated with pebbles, which acts as a bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
The deceased is placed on sacred stones, smeared with pork fat and clay, sprinkled with bird feathers. Funeral songs then begin to be sung over him, recounting the outstanding services of the deceased.
And finally, the body is burned at the stake so that the human spirit does not return from the underworld.
TO THE DEAD IN BATTLE - GLORY!
If a man died in battle, his body is roasted at the stake and honorably eaten with rituals appropriate to the occasion, so that his strength and courage pass to other men.
Three days after this, the phalanges of the fingers are cut off to the wife of the deceased as a sign of mourning. This custom is connected with another ancient Papuan legend.
One man mistreated his wife. She died and ended up in the next world. But her husband yearned for her, could not live alone. He went for his wife to another world, approached the main spirit and began to beg to return his beloved to the world of the living. The spirit set a condition: the wife will return, but only if he promises to treat her with care and kindness. The man, of course, was delighted and promised everything at once.
The wife returned to him. But one day her husband forgot himself and again forced her to work hard. When he caught himself and remembered this promise, it was already too late: his wife fell apart before his eyes. Her husband only had a phalanx of her finger left. The tribe was angry and expelled him, because he took away their immortality - the opportunity to return from the other world, like his wife.
However, in reality, for some reason, the wife cuts off the phalanx of her finger as a sign of the last gift to her deceased husband. The father of the deceased performs the rite of nasuk - he cuts off the upper part of his ear with a wooden knife and then covers the bleeding wound with clay. This ceremony is quite long and painful.
After funeral rite Papuans revere and cajole the spirit of their ancestors. For if his soul is not appeased, the ancestor will not leave the village, but will live there and harm. The spirit of the ancestor is fed for some time, as if alive, and even try to give him sexual pleasure. For example, a clay figurine of a tribal god is placed on a stone with a hole, symbolizing a woman.
The underworld in the view of the Papuans is some kind of paradise, where there is a lot of food, especially meat.
DEATH WITH A SMILE ON THE LIPS
In Papua New Guinea, people believe that the head is the seat of the spiritual and physical strength person. Therefore, when fighting with enemies, the Papuans first of all seek to take possession of this part of the body.
Cannibalism for the Papuans is not at all the desire to eat tasty food, but rather magical rite, during which cannibals gain the intelligence and strength of the one they eat. Let us apply this custom not only to enemies, but also to friends, and even relatives who heroically fell in battle.
Especially "productive" in this sense is the process of eating the brain. By the way, it is with this rite that doctors associate the disease kuru, which is very common among cannibals. Kuru is another name for mad cow disease, which can be contracted by eating the unroasted brains of animals (or, in this case, humans).
This insidious disease was first recorded in 1950 in New Guinea, in a tribe where the brain of dead relatives was considered a delicacy. The disease begins with pain in the joints and head, gradually progressing, leads to loss of coordination, trembling in the arms and legs and, oddly enough, fits of uncontrollable laughter.
The disease develops long years sometimes the incubation period is 35 years. But the worst thing is that the victims of the disease die with a frozen smile on their lips.
Sergey BORODIN
Welcome to one of the most untouched corners of the earth. Papua New Guinea. This is a state of impenetrable tropical forests, home to 38 species of birds of paradise. There are not a few cars and bicycles here, not even work horses or mules. There are no restaurants, bars, shops, electricity or roads. In these places, a newborn girl can be called a shovel, and a boy - an ax.
About 2,000 tribes live in these places, including these freaks - Mud people from the Waghi valley.
To find it unusual tribe, we will go to the center of the island of New Guinea at an altitude of 1677 meters, where there is a large fertile valley of Wahgi. Here, by the way, is the fifth largest city of Papua New Guinea with a population of 46,250 people - Mount Hagen. It is also the so-called "border of civilization", because the territories of mountain tribes go further.
The members of our tribe of Mud People from the Waghi Valley look very colorful. Their bodies are painted and smeared with clay, and frightening masks are on their heads. Enemies will definitely think 10 times before advancing further. 
Look how awesome! 
Handsome. 
There is a language problem in Papua New Guinea - more than 800 are spoken here various languages, and very often members of the same tribe do not understand what neighbors who are just a few kilometers away are saying. 
The state of Papua New Guinea is located in the western part Pacific Ocean, north of Australia and near the equator. 
The island of New Guinea and most of the country's other islands have mountainous relief where do they live hill tribes. The height of a significant part of the territory is more than 1000 m above sea level, and some peaks of New Guinea reach 4500 m, that is, the belt of eternal snow. Many of the mountain ranges are chains of volcanoes. Papua New Guinea has 18 active volcanoes. Most of of which are located in the north of the country. Strong, sometimes catastrophic earthquakes are also associated with volcanic activity. 
With plants here, as expected, it is rich - more than 20 thousand plant species grow. Dense rainforests, formed by hundreds of tree species, rise up the slopes of the mountains. 
As the world's largest and largest tropical island, New Guinea covers less than 0.5% of the land surface but maintains a high percentage of global biodiversity. Approximately 4642 species of vertebrates inhabit the island of New Guinea and its adjacent waters, which is about 8% recognized species world vertebrates. 
The fauna of the country is represented by reptiles, insects and especially numerous birds. There are many snakes in the forests and on the coast, including poisonous ones. At sea shores and in the big rivers there are crocodiles and turtles. 
And the mud people from Papua New Guinea they say it's time for us to go home. 
Papua New Guinea, especially its center, is one of the protected corners of the Earth, where human civilization has hardly penetrated.
People there live in complete dependence on nature, worship their deities and revere the spirits of their ancestors.Quite civilized people now live on the coast of the island of New Guinea, who know the official - English - language. Missionaries worked with them for many years.
However, in the center of the country there is something like a reservation - nomadic tribes who still live in the Stone Age. They know every tree by name, they bury the dead on the branches, they have no idea what money or passports are.
They are surrounded by a mountainous country overgrown with impenetrable jungle, where, due to high humidity and unimaginable heat, life is unbearable for a European.
No one there knows a word of English, and each tribe speaks its own language, of which there are about 900 in New Guinea. The tribes live very isolated from each other, communication between them is almost impossible, so their dialects have little in common, and people are each other friend simply do not understand.
A typical settlement where the Papuan tribe lives: modest huts are covered with huge leaves, in the center there is something like a clearing where the whole tribe gathers, and the jungle is around for many kilometers. The only weapons of these people are stone axes, spears, bows and arrows. But not with their help, they hope to protect themselves from evil spirits. That's why they have faith in gods and spirits.
In the Papuan tribe, the mummy of the "leader" is usually kept. This is some outstanding ancestor - the most courageous, strong and intelligent, who fell in battle with the enemy. After his death, his body was treated with a special compound to avoid decay. The body of the leader is kept by the sorcerer.
It is in every tribe. This character is highly revered among the relatives. Its function is mainly to communicate with the ancestral spirits, appeasing them and asking for advice. The sorcerers usually go to people who are weak and unsuitable for a constant battle for survival - in a word, old people. By witchcraft they make their living.
WHITES-DEVISED?
The first white man who came to this exotic continent was the Russian traveler Miklukho-Maclay. Having landed on the coast of New Guinea in September 1871, he, being an absolutely peaceful man, decided not to take weapons ashore, he took only gifts and a notebook, which he never parted with.
The locals met the stranger quite aggressively: they shot arrows in his direction, shouted intimidatingly, brandished their spears...
But Miklukho-Maclay did not react in any way to these attacks. On the contrary, with the most imperturbable look, he sat down on the grass, defiantly took off his shoes and lay down to take a nap.
By an effort of will, the traveler forced himself to sleep (or only pretended to). And when he woke up, he saw that the Papuans were sitting peacefully next to him and staring at the overseas guest with all their eyes. The savages reasoned thus: if a pale-faced man is not afraid of death, then he is immortal. That's what they decided on.
For several months the traveler lived in a tribe of savages. All this time, the natives worshiped him and revered him as a god. They knew that if desired, the mysterious guest could command the forces of nature. How is it?
Yes, just once Miklukho-Maclay, who was called only Tamo-rus - “Russian man”, or Karaan-tamo - “man from the moon”, showed the Papuans such a trick: he poured water into a plate with alcohol and set it on fire. Trusting locals believed that a foreigner was able to set fire to the sea or stop the rain.
However, the Papuans are generally gullible. For example, they are firmly convinced that the dead go to their country and return white, bringing with them many useful items and food. This belief lives in all Papuan tribes (despite the fact that they hardly communicate with each other), even in those where they have never seen a white man.
FUNERAL RITE
The Papuans know three causes of death: from old age, from war and from witchcraft - if the death occurred for some unknown reason. If a person died a natural death, he will be honorably buried. All funeral ceremonies are aimed at appeasing the spirits that receive the soul of the deceased.
Here is a typical example of such a ritual. Close relatives of the deceased go to the stream to perform bisi as a sign of mourning - smearing yellow clay on the head and other parts of the body. The men at this time are preparing a funeral pyre in the center of the village. Not far from the fire, a place is being prepared where the deceased will rest before cremation.
Shells and sacred stones of vus are placed here - the abode of some mystical power. Touching these living stones is strictly punished by the laws of the tribe. On top of the stones should lie a long braided strip, decorated with pebbles, which acts as a bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
The deceased is placed on sacred stones, smeared with pork fat and clay, sprinkled with bird feathers. Funeral songs then begin to be sung over him, recounting the outstanding services of the deceased.
And finally, the body is burned at the stake so that the human spirit does not return from the underworld.
TO THE DEAD IN BATTLE - GLORY!
If a man died in battle, his body is roasted at the stake and honorably eaten with rituals appropriate to the occasion, so that his strength and courage pass to other men.
Three days after this, the phalanges of the fingers are cut off to the wife of the deceased as a sign of mourning. This custom is connected with another ancient Papuan legend.
One man mistreated his wife. She died and ended up in the next world. But her husband yearned for her, could not live alone. He went for his wife to another world, approached the main spirit and began to beg to return his beloved to the world of the living. The spirit set a condition: the wife will return, but only if he promises to treat her with care and kindness. The man, of course, was delighted and promised everything at once.
The wife returned to him. But one day her husband forgot himself and again forced her to work hard. When he caught himself and remembered this promise, it was already too late: his wife fell apart before his eyes. Her husband only had a phalanx of her finger left. The tribe got angry and expelled him, because he took away their immortality - the opportunity to return from the other world, like his wife.
However, in reality, for some reason, the wife cuts off the phalanx of her finger as a sign of the last gift to her deceased husband. The father of the deceased performs the rite of nasuk - he cuts off the upper part of his ear with a wooden knife and then covers the bleeding wound with clay. This ceremony is quite long and painful.
After the funeral ceremony, the Papuans honor and appease the spirit of their ancestor. For if his soul is not appeased, the ancestor will not leave the village, but will live there and harm. The spirit of the ancestor is fed for some time, as if alive, and even try to give him sexual pleasure. For example, a clay figurine of a tribal god is placed on a stone with a hole, symbolizing a woman.
The underworld in the view of the Papuans is some kind of paradise, where there is a lot of food, especially meat.
DEATH WITH A SMILE ON THE LIPS
In Papua New Guinea, people believe that the head is the seat of a person's spiritual and physical strength. Therefore, when fighting with enemies, the Papuans first of all seek to take possession of this part of the body.
Cannibalism for the Papuans is not at all the desire to eat deliciously, but rather a magical rite, during which cannibals receive the mind and strength of the one they eat. Let us apply this custom not only to enemies, but also to friends, and even relatives who heroically fell in battle.
Especially "productive" in this sense is the process of eating the brain. By the way, it is with this rite that doctors associate the disease kuru, which is very common among cannibals. Kuru is another name for mad cow disease, which can be contracted by eating the unroasted brains of animals (or, in this case, humans).
This insidious disease was first recorded in 1950 in New Guinea, in a tribe where the brain of dead relatives was considered a delicacy. The disease begins with pain in the joints and head, gradually progressing, leads to loss of coordination, trembling in the arms and legs and, oddly enough, fits of uncontrollable laughter.
The disease develops for many years, sometimes the incubation period is 35 years. But the worst thing is that the victims of the disease die with a frozen smile on their lips.
Sergey BORODIN
Papua New Guinea, especially its center - one of the protected corners of the Earth, where human civilization has hardly penetrated. People there live in complete dependence on nature, worship their deities and revere the spirits of their ancestors.
Quite civilized people now live on the coast of the island of New Guinea, who know the official - English - language. Missionaries worked with them for many years.
However, in the center of the country there is something like a reservation - nomadic tribes and who still live in the Stone Age. They know every tree by name, they bury the dead on the branches, they have no idea what money or passports are.
They are surrounded by a mountainous country overgrown with impenetrable jungle, where, due to high humidity and unimaginable heat, life is unbearable for a European.
No one there knows a word of English, and each tribe speaks its own language, of which there are about 900 in New Guinea. The tribes live very isolated from each other, communication between them is almost impossible, so their dialects have little in common, and people are each other friend simply do not understand.
A typical settlement where the Papuan tribe lives: modest huts are covered with huge leaves, in the center there is something like a clearing where the whole tribe gathers, and the jungle is around for many kilometers. The only weapons of these people are stone axes, spears, bows and arrows. But not with their help, they hope to protect themselves from evil spirits. That's why they have faith in gods and spirits.
In the Papuan tribe, the mummy of the "leader" is usually kept. This is some outstanding ancestor - the most courageous, strong and intelligent, who fell in battle with the enemy. After his death, his body was treated with a special compound to avoid decay. The body of the leader is kept by the sorcerer.
It is in every tribe. This character is highly revered among the relatives. Its function is mainly to communicate with the ancestral spirits, appeasing them and asking for advice. The sorcerers usually go to people who are weak and unsuitable for a constant battle for survival - in a word, old people. By witchcraft they make their living.
The first white man who came to this exotic continent was the Russian traveler Miklukho-Maclay. Having landed on the coast of New Guinea in September 1871, he, being an absolutely peaceful man, decided not to take weapons ashore, he took only gifts and a notebook, which he never parted with.
The locals met the stranger quite aggressively: they shot arrows in his direction, shouted intimidatingly, brandished their spears...
But Miklukho-Maclay did not react in any way to these attacks. On the contrary, with the most imperturbable look, he sat down on the grass, defiantly took off his shoes and lay down to take a nap.
By an effort of will, the traveler forced himself to sleep (or only pretended to). And when he woke up, he saw that the Papuans were sitting peacefully next to him and staring at the overseas guest with all their eyes. The savages reasoned thus: if a pale-faced man is not afraid of death, then he is immortal. That's what they decided on.
For several months the traveler lived in a tribe of savages. All this time, the natives worshiped him and revered him as a god. They knew that if desired, the mysterious guest could command the forces of nature. How is it?
Yes, just once Miklukho-Maclay, who was called only Tamo-rus - “Russian man”, or Karaan-tamo - “man from the moon”, showed the Papuans such a trick: he poured water into a plate with alcohol and set it on fire. Trusting locals believed that a foreigner was able to set fire to the sea or stop the rain.
However, the Papuans are generally gullible. For example, they are firmly convinced that the dead go to their country and return white, bringing with them many useful items and food. This belief lives in all Papuan tribes (despite the fact that they hardly communicate with each other), even in those where they have never seen a white man.
FUNERAL RITE
The Papuans know three causes of death: from old age, from war and from witchcraft - if the death occurred for some unknown reason. If a person died a natural death, he will be honorably buried. All funeral ceremonies are aimed at appeasing the spirits that receive the soul of the deceased.
Here is a typical example of such a ritual. Close relatives of the deceased go to the stream to perform bisi as a sign of mourning - smearing yellow clay on the head and other parts of the body. The men at this time are preparing a funeral pyre in the center of the village. Not far from the fire, a place is being prepared where the deceased will rest before cremation.
Shells and sacred stones of vus are placed here - the abode of some mystical power. Touching these living stones is strictly punished by the laws of the tribe. On top of the stones should lie a long braided strip, decorated with pebbles, which acts as a bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
The deceased is placed on sacred stones, smeared with pork fat and clay, sprinkled with bird feathers. Funeral songs then begin to be sung over him, recounting the outstanding services of the deceased.
And finally, the body is burned at the stake so that the human spirit does not return from the underworld.
TO THE DEAD IN BATTLE - GLORY!
If a man died in battle, his body is roasted at the stake and honorably eaten with rituals appropriate to the occasion, so that his strength and courage pass to other men.
Three days after this, the phalanges of the fingers are cut off to the wife of the deceased as a sign of mourning. This custom is connected with another ancient Papuan legend.
One man mistreated his wife. She died and ended up in the next world. But her husband yearned for her, could not live alone. He went for his wife to another world, approached the main spirit and began to beg to return his beloved to the world of the living. The spirit set a condition: the wife will return, but only if he promises to treat her with care and kindness. The man, of course, was delighted and promised everything at once.
The wife returned to him. But one day her husband forgot himself and again forced her to work hard. When he caught himself and remembered this promise, it was already too late: his wife fell apart before his eyes. Her husband only had a phalanx of her finger left. The tribe got angry and expelled him, because he took away their immortality - the opportunity to return from the other world, like his wife.
However, in reality, for some reason, the wife cuts off the phalanx of her finger as a sign of the last gift to her deceased husband. The father of the deceased performs the rite of nasuk - he cuts off the upper part of his ear with a wooden knife and then covers the bleeding wound with clay. This ceremony is quite long and painful.
After the funeral ceremony, the Papuans honor and appease the spirit of their ancestor. For if his soul is not appeased, the ancestor will not leave the village, but will live there and harm. The spirit of the ancestor is fed for some time, as if alive, and even try to give him sexual pleasure. For example, a clay figurine of a tribal god is placed on a stone with a hole, symbolizing a woman.
The underworld in the view of the Papuans is some kind of paradise, where there is a lot of food, especially meat.
DEATH WITH A SMILE ON THE LIPS
In Papua New Guinea, people believe that the head is the seat of a person's spiritual and physical strength. Therefore, when fighting with enemies, the Papuans first of all seek to take possession of this part of the body.
Cannibalism for the Papuans is not at all the desire to eat deliciously, but rather a magical rite, during which cannibals receive the mind and strength of the one they eat. Let us apply this custom not only to enemies, but also to friends, and even relatives who heroically fell in battle.
Especially "productive" in this sense is the process of eating the brain. By the way, it is with this rite that doctors associate the disease kuru, which is very common among cannibals. Kuru is another name for mad cow disease, which can be contracted by eating the unroasted brains of animals (or, in this case, humans).
This insidious disease was first recorded in 1950 in New Guinea, in a tribe where the brain of dead relatives was considered a delicacy. The disease begins with pain in the joints and head, gradually progressing, leads to loss of coordination, trembling in the arms and legs and, oddly enough, fits of uncontrollable laughter.
The disease develops for many years, sometimes the incubation period is 35 years. But the worst thing is that the victims of the disease die with a frozen smile on their lips.
