Leading our first Redfern expedition across Papua,
the Indonesian administered half of the island of New Guinea,
was an extraordinary experience. Our expedition took place in November
of 2013, during the dry season -- which isn't all that dry
just less wet!
Some of the participants were of science backgrounds and interested in exploring
the unspoiled forests and wildlife
of this vast and diverse island. Others joined simply for a voyage of self-discovery,
and our travels certainly challenged our expectations.
Spending weeks on the hoof with a group of people from around the world is always a
jump into the unknown,
but especially so in Papua.
People want to visit New Guinea because of its reputation for being wild and
largely unexplored.
We created an itinerary which took in various different areas
with the hope of seeing some interesting things -- plants mainly --
but also people and animals.
The majority of people enter Papua via Jayapura, the administrative capital,
which can be reached most easily on flights from Jakarta or Bali
with or without stops in between. Thereafter...
most travel in Papua involves smaller aeroplanes - usually turboprops -
since roads are few, often localised, and usually in poor condition
outside of cities. As a result,
getting around can be very expensive. Air services between the busiest
Papuan cities often involves jet planes, but the majority of air strips are basic and
untarmacked;
the aeroplanes that fly these routes are small, tough affairs generally in good
condition,
because the ones that aren't tend to fall out of the sky.
Smaller planes are advantageous as they fly at relatively low altitudes,
giving great, detailed views of the landscape, still largely swathed in
rainforest.
In many places, aeroplanes are still rare and infrequent enough that entire villages
of locals will come running to greet you on arrival.
In our experience, they were curious, cautious,
but always friendly and willing to smile if you first took the initiative to show
that you weren't a psychotic marauding pirate.
Within and very close to urban areas,
the roads are in pretty good condition; they've been bulldozed,
so they are very flat, and most city roads are covered with tarmac or concrete.
Once you venture further afield, the roads become rutted, muddy
and very slippery owing to the frequent rains, especially in areas where
deforestation has occurred.
Our first destination was a cultural visit the Baliem valley,
a high tableland at 1600 metres elevation famous for its tribes.
The three largest tribes inhabiting the Baliem Valley
are the Dani, the Lani and the Yali, each with their own distinct language and culture,
though when dressed in western clothing, as here,
you can't tell one from the other. They are all of Melanesian
origin, with curly hair and -- as the word "Melanesian" suggests --
dark skin. A highlight was our visit to a Dani village.
Papuan traditional dress is rather idiosyncratic,
and in the tribes of this region, can leave little to the imagination;
for example, male members sport a "holim"
-- also called a koteka, or penis gourd -- and little else...
...whereas the women are bare breasted,
but often wear simple natural fibre skirts, called "dorongi".
In this day and age, the wearing of traditional dress is strongly stratified
across generations.
Most young people wear western t-shirts and shorts,
and only the oldest continue to dress as they have always done.
Travel far enough from the cities, and yes,
traditional dress may become a little more common, but it is certainly on the out.
We took a field plane to a remote village where westerners had only been seen
twice previously in living memory,
but not one person wore traditional clothing. When I asked why,
a helpful local quietly explained that Indonesia,
who they regard as an illegal occupying force, deemed such dress
"uncivilised, and only fit for tourism". The Dani people mainly live a subsistence
life,
cultivating sweet potatoes and taro, and raising pigs,
which originally arrived via Southeast Asia. Pigs are extremely important
for the people
and have a enormous cultural and ritual significance. Our arrival at the village
was tactically interrupted by a troupe of male villagers,
who enacted war games outside the village compound in full battle dress,
their bodies adorned with ceremonial ornaments, including pigs' teeth
as well as feathers from birds of paradise, cassowary
and chicken, which are variously used to indicate status,
as well as to give their wearers a fearsome appearance. We entered the village
compound
to find the women in procession, readying themselves for 'ebe akho',
the pig feast.
The ceremony culminated in the slaughter of a young pig by bloodletting
- this involves firing an arrow at close range into its heart,
withdrawing it, and then simply allowing the animal to bleed to death.
A fire saw was then used to start a fire,
the back and forward motion of a rattan cord against a wooden stick
generating enough heat, via friction, to ignite some dry tinder below.
The resulting
fire was nurtured and fanned in a fire pit till white hot, and then used to heat cooking
stones.
Once hot,
these were placed, along with raw meat, sweet potatoes and bracken leaves,
into a neatly circular mound in alternating layers
surrounded by bundles of grass. Finally,
water was added to produce clouds of steam, the mound sealed with additional
grass and the whole tied with cord.
The meat and vegetables were left to cook therein
over the course of approximately one hour. Thereafter,
the food was distributed to the assembled villagers and guests.
The people of the village look like tribes out of history,
but of course the majority only look like that because they are wearing
ceremonial dress
as part of an event. It's authentic
in the sense that it reflects aspects of their culture that were the norm until
relatively recently,
but it's not something they do every day, except perhaps in the most remote places.
Given that these villages lie in close proximity to a city with ample resources,
observing certain customs simply isn't crucial to their way of life any longer.
Even so, the local people have a very strong,
proud sense of identity, and continue to celebrate their rich history
through ritual and song. On the nature side,
our hikes took us into mountainous regions seldom visited by outsiders,
including one that has only been visited by one other expedition.
Ever. Among the highlights were the Nepenthes pitcher plants,
particularly Nepenthes paniculata, which was rediscovered just a month
before our visit
after decades of being lost to science.
Less rare, but no less remarkable is Nepenthes ampullaria,
with cute, tubby pitchers that emerge from tall climbing vines.
Orchids, too, were a spectacular component of the local flora,
and included the stunning miniature, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii,
as well as Bulbophyllum, Cryptostylis and Mediocalcar,
amongst which were even some new species.
In the lowlands, an interesting place from the botanical perspective
was the coast around the endearingly named town of Fak Fak,
where limestone outcrops erupt from the sea and are dotted with pitcher plants,
orchids, and petroglyphs
over a thousand years old.
The rewards of visiting Papua are great in terms of both the interesting
cultures and remarkable biodiversity,
but it's also a very frustrating region to get around in.
One must be prepared to spend a lot of money to travel short distances
in reasonable time,
and to wait, and wait... and wait
for flights to leave. Visiting in a group certainly makes it more accessible,
affordable and ultimately memorable.
"I was gonna say, did you bring enough for all of us to share, that little drink you got there?"
Looks like John the Baptist, doesn't he?
All images © Alastair Robinson 2014