Having never researched PNG before, I had not been familiar with much of anything to do with the PNG culture. At some point I cannot recall, however, I had learned that PNG was one of the last cannibalistic cultures on earth. Basically this was the only thing I had ever known about PNG up until my research began for this blog (hence my interest in the area). Therefore, I decided to look into the validity of my previously held assumption.
As it turns out, cannibalism is still found to be a practice performed by a handful of indigenous tribal communities, the most well known being that of the Korowai tribe of southwestern PNG.
Before researching, in my mind's eye, I invisoned those whom were cannibals to be of a very savage and animalistic nature: mercilessly scowering the jungles of PNG for another unsuspecting human, killing and eating him, then moving on. The best way I can equate this image is to that of a zombie in a cheesy horror movie. In looking at the Korowai, this is shown to be a significant falsehood.
Cannibalism is performed in the Korowai in the event of an unexplained death of a tribesman due to illness. On their deathbed, the dying man may whisper the name of someone else in the tribe whom he is certain is the cause of his death. This signifies that the dying man has identified a khakhua - an evil sorcerer disguised in human form. A khakhua is believed to, while the victim is sleeping, eat out their guts and replace them with ash, thus leading to an fatal disease. Once the man dies, the family and friends of the deceased hunt down the owner of the whispered name. Regardless of the age, sex, or relation to the tribe, the khakhua is tied up and shot with arrows until dead, dismembered, and cooked over a fire. Aside from bone, teeth, hair, finger/toe nails, and penis, the cooked body is eaten in full by all members of the tribe, except pregnant women and children. In consuming the flesh, the spirit of the khakhua is driven away from the tribe.
The most telling aspect of this ritual for me is that for the people of Korowai, they do not consider themselves to be cannibals: They aren't eating humans, they are eating the khakhua. Unlike my previous misconceptions, these people are not bloodthirsty savages taking the human lives of their fellow man, but rather they are merely doing what is necessary to protect the health of the rest of the tribe.
In learning this, I am pushed to understand what it is that leads people of the western world to automatically equate cannibalism with the savage image I had in first researching. Most likely it is because the idea of eating human flesh is so highly stigmatized among those of civilized societies. Thus, when learning of a culture that holds such practices, I can see why our society is inclined to consider such a culture to be not only uncivilized, but also as inhumane as humanly possible.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Scarification
Scarification is used in initiation ceremonies and to distinguish tribes from one another.
In
the Sepik River region of PNG, scarification is used prevalently to symbolize a boys crossing over into manhood. Similar to the Nama cult described in the previous blog entry, those tribes in the Sepik River region incorporate an animal god into the ritual; in this case, it is the crocodile instead of the bird. They believed that traveling packs of crocodiles had first given birth to the human populations of the area. In honor of their 'ancestors', young men are scared on their backs, chest, and buttocks using a bamboo sliver. Hundreds of individual wounds are made by the adult men of the tribe, testing the young man's strength and self discipline in the process. Once healed, the scars represent the teeth marks of their crocodile ancestors, who had ingested the young man and spit out a "crocodile-man."
I haven't personally ever had scaring done on my body (at least on purpose), but I have been aware of the recent popularity scaring has gained in Western society. Similar to the tattoo culture seen in the United States, scarification has become popular among body artists who have become bored with just tattoos and are looking for something that will push the limits of bo
dy modification.
In
the Sepik River region of PNG, scarification is used prevalently to symbolize a boys crossing over into manhood. Similar to the Nama cult described in the previous blog entry, those tribes in the Sepik River region incorporate an animal god into the ritual; in this case, it is the crocodile instead of the bird. They believed that traveling packs of crocodiles had first given birth to the human populations of the area. In honor of their 'ancestors', young men are scared on their backs, chest, and buttocks using a bamboo sliver. Hundreds of individual wounds are made by the adult men of the tribe, testing the young man's strength and self discipline in the process. Once healed, the scars represent the teeth marks of their crocodile ancestors, who had ingested the young man and spit out a "crocodile-man."I haven't personally ever had scaring done on my body (at least on purpose), but I have been aware of the recent popularity scaring has gained in Western society. Similar to the tattoo culture seen in the United States, scarification has become popular among body artists who have become bored with just tattoos and are looking for something that will push the limits of bo
dy modification.
Art
The Tribal art of PNG, like most other aspects of PNG culture, is diverse and largely based around spiritual and religious beliefs.
The most popular medium of artwork is wood carving/painting. New Guineans use crude instruments, such as stone chisels and bone to carve the wood. In carving, the wood is made to depict mythical spirits and gods. Pigs, birds, crocodiles, and other animals native to PNG are commonly carved, for they are intertwined into the religious belief systems, and are paid homage to. To pay even greater respect, carvings are often times painted. The paint used is made by the artist, who searches for certain roots and leaves that, once ground up and mixed with water, produce rich and vibrant pigments. These pigments are then used to decorate the wooden carvings, fittingly incorporating colors found in their natural environment. Once finished, carvings are placed in ceremonially and religiously important areas, and are then honored and prayed to in the hopes of yielding a prosperous harvest and protecting the tribe from evil spirits.
Although I am not a very religious person per say, I understand how art made of the land can reflect artistic creativity in a way that brings about a feeling of spiritual significance by paying homage to the land of which it was created.
My mother is the current owner of an art gallery in my home town of Groton, Massachusetts, representing over 80 artists from the New England area. Aside from being a gallery owner, she is also an artist herself, working in mediums ranging from water color to tapestry weaving.
Her weaving, in particular, demonstrates how, when using materials gathered from the nature of the area, a piece of is connected to the land of which it was created from. Instead of going to a store and buying wool in which to weave with, she goes and collects raw wool from the sheep of a farm in a neighboring town. She then washes the wool, dyes it with "New Englandy Colors", as she puts it, and spins the wool into yarn. From the yarn, she weaves tapestries inspired by the natural landscape and wildlife of the area. For her, her pieces of art are not representative of the area because of the images depicted, rather she feels that there is a stronger unity between the piece and the land when the materials are truly from the land. I find it interesting to find a technique my mother has used in her artistic methodology found to be the same as those in a culture located half way around the world.
The most popular medium of artwork is wood carving/painting. New Guineans use crude instruments, such as stone chisels and bone to carve the wood. In carving, the wood is made to depict mythical spirits and gods. Pigs, birds, crocodiles, and other animals native to PNG are commonly carved, for they are intertwined into the religious belief systems, and are paid homage to. To pay even greater respect, carvings are often times painted. The paint used is made by the artist, who searches for certain roots and leaves that, once ground up and mixed with water, produce rich and vibrant pigments. These pigments are then used to decorate the wooden carvings, fittingly incorporating colors found in their natural environment. Once finished, carvings are placed in ceremonially and religiously important areas, and are then honored and prayed to in the hopes of yielding a prosperous harvest and protecting the tribe from evil spirits.
Although I am not a very religious person per say, I understand how art made of the land can reflect artistic creativity in a way that brings about a feeling of spiritual significance by paying homage to the land of which it was created.
My mother is the current owner of an art gallery in my home town of Groton, Massachusetts, representing over 80 artists from the New England area. Aside from being a gallery owner, she is also an artist herself, working in mediums ranging from water color to tapestry weaving.
Her weaving, in particular, demonstrates how, when using materials gathered from the nature of the area, a piece of is connected to the land of which it was created from. Instead of going to a store and buying wool in which to weave with, she goes and collects raw wool from the sheep of a farm in a neighboring town. She then washes the wool, dyes it with "New Englandy Colors", as she puts it, and spins the wool into yarn. From the yarn, she weaves tapestries inspired by the natural landscape and wildlife of the area. For her, her pieces of art are not representative of the area because of the images depicted, rather she feels that there is a stronger unity between the piece and the land when the materials are truly from the land. I find it interesting to find a technique my mother has used in her artistic methodology found to be the same as those in a culture located half way around the world.
Nama Cult Initiation
In researching the importance of the Nama flute in PNG music, I came across an article written about the Nama cult of the Central Highlands of PNG. The Nama cult is a secret, exclusively male cult in which tribal values, sentiment, and history are learned, shared, and defined in order to be passed to further generations. The cult also builds camaraderie within the male society, and again emphasizes the societal boundaries which cast men as the superior gender.
In order to become initiated, young boys are subject to four stages of initiation that occur over the course of 6-7 years.
The first stage is completed when a group of boys are around the age of 6. In this stage, the boys are taken into the jungle by the adult males, their ears are pierced with bamboo slivers, they are fed pork (which is held to be a very important food in PNG culture), and are led back to the tribe the same day.
The second stage takes place when the same group of boys have reached the age of 9 or 10. Similar to the first stage, they are led away from the tribe and given pork to eat. This time, however, their septum's are pierced, then they are led back to join the tribe, again in the same day.
The third and most grueling stage of initiation occurs when they have turned 12-13 years of age. The boys are taken to a secret location in the jungle to spend a substantial amount of time away from the tribe. The mothers of the boys are told that the boys have died as to discourage them from looking for their sons. Over the course of the initiation, the boys are subject to extreme physical and psycological rituals: training in using the kata (a narrow cane which is forced down the throat in order to battle sickness and 'contamination' by women), bloodletting from the nostrils, urethra and tongue, and regular beatings if rules are broken (such as eating certain foods, walking on paths that women walk, etc). Flutes are played during the rituals, summoning Nama, the bird-like creature discussed in my previous post, to help the boys as they begin to assume their roles as the tribe. These rituals continue until the elders believe the boys are ready to be reintroduced into the tribe as men. They are then instructed to live in the men's house and to have limited interactions with women.
The fourth and final stage occurs when the boys are 16 or 17. For this stage, the boys are forced to remain inside the men's house for a period of one month, in which they are held to a strict diet of bananas, pork and sweet potatoes. Over the course of the month, the boys are trained to become yehube - warriors. After the month has ended, the boys emerge from the house, are donned with new clothing to symbolize their new status in the tribe as adult men. This group of men are said to be "age mates", the strongest relationship these men may ever have in their lives.
Looking at my own culture, the closest initiation practice I could relate this to would be in the United States Army. In order to create a hardened warrior, the Army subjects groups of young men to physical and psychological challenges. Being segregated from their community and participating in these challenges together, these groups develop a strong camaraderie with one another, and emerge from training as hardened soldiers/warriors.
It is interesting to compare these two separate initiation practices, for they appear to be achieving a similar end in opposite points in life. The Nama cult takes young boys and brings them through adolescence to become men and leaders. The Army, on the other hand, focus' on taking men and breaking them of their sense of individuality as men, in essence creating boys whom are able to be molded into an elite soldier. I know that this is pushing the envelop a bit, however I can't help but recognizing these similarities and differences between the two practices.
In order to become initiated, young boys are subject to four stages of initiation that occur over the course of 6-7 years.
The first stage is completed when a group of boys are around the age of 6. In this stage, the boys are taken into the jungle by the adult males, their ears are pierced with bamboo slivers, they are fed pork (which is held to be a very important food in PNG culture), and are led back to the tribe the same day.
The second stage takes place when the same group of boys have reached the age of 9 or 10. Similar to the first stage, they are led away from the tribe and given pork to eat. This time, however, their septum's are pierced, then they are led back to join the tribe, again in the same day.
The third and most grueling stage of initiation occurs when they have turned 12-13 years of age. The boys are taken to a secret location in the jungle to spend a substantial amount of time away from the tribe. The mothers of the boys are told that the boys have died as to discourage them from looking for their sons. Over the course of the initiation, the boys are subject to extreme physical and psycological rituals: training in using the kata (a narrow cane which is forced down the throat in order to battle sickness and 'contamination' by women), bloodletting from the nostrils, urethra and tongue, and regular beatings if rules are broken (such as eating certain foods, walking on paths that women walk, etc). Flutes are played during the rituals, summoning Nama, the bird-like creature discussed in my previous post, to help the boys as they begin to assume their roles as the tribe. These rituals continue until the elders believe the boys are ready to be reintroduced into the tribe as men. They are then instructed to live in the men's house and to have limited interactions with women.
The fourth and final stage occurs when the boys are 16 or 17. For this stage, the boys are forced to remain inside the men's house for a period of one month, in which they are held to a strict diet of bananas, pork and sweet potatoes. Over the course of the month, the boys are trained to become yehube - warriors. After the month has ended, the boys emerge from the house, are donned with new clothing to symbolize their new status in the tribe as adult men. This group of men are said to be "age mates", the strongest relationship these men may ever have in their lives.
Looking at my own culture, the closest initiation practice I could relate this to would be in the United States Army. In order to create a hardened warrior, the Army subjects groups of young men to physical and psychological challenges. Being segregated from their community and participating in these challenges together, these groups develop a strong camaraderie with one another, and emerge from training as hardened soldiers/warriors.
It is interesting to compare these two separate initiation practices, for they appear to be achieving a similar end in opposite points in life. The Nama cult takes young boys and brings them through adolescence to become men and leaders. The Army, on the other hand, focus' on taking men and breaking them of their sense of individuality as men, in essence creating boys whom are able to be molded into an elite soldier. I know that this is pushing the envelop a bit, however I can't help but recognizing these similarities and differences between the two practices.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Music/Instruments
Many different types of instruments are used in traditional PNG music, including shell whistles, ornate drums, bamboo flutes, and so on. In each culture some instruments are likely to be nothing more than objects for personal amusement or even toys for children, while others may be endowed with symbolic value and religious significance.
The Tangu tribe of the
A similar attachment to a musical instrument can be seen in the ceremonial practices of the Gimi tribe of the Labogai region. Instead of a drum though, the instrument of choice is the flute, or the nama. Exclusivly played by adult men, the nama plays a pivitol role in the initiation of young boys. In playing the nama, a bird-like spirit (also named nama) is called upon to assist in the initiation process. The ceremony is so exclusive, in fact, that women and uninitiated children are forced to look away.
Instruments and music appear to be a very powerful apparatus’ in PNG culture. They have the capability of conveying powerful messages, strong feelings of emotion in rituals, and even bring a boy into manhood.
Growing up as an individual who listend to a lot of music, I can see how submissive one can become to the power of music. It is not difficult for me to think back to a time in which I felt my emotional state completely change due to a single song or chord progression. Music has a way of taking control of people. When the power of music is then interwoven with a highly spiritual belief system, such as found in most PNG societies, it is no wonder why such an experience would seem deeply religious and moving.
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