Korowai woman processing pulverized sago palm trunk into the starchy food that is the staple for almost every meal in this part of Irian Jaya. The sago palm is first felled with a stone axe, and then the trunk is hacked open and pried apart with hardwood poles. It is then chopped with wooden adzes and the pulverized pith is processed in this sluice made from the upper part of the felled palm. When water is poured in at the top, the starch is washed from the pulp and trickles through a bark-cloth strainer. With two days of work a single sago palm can provide enough starch to support a family for several weeks.
This picture was taken as part of an expedition for GEO Magazine and National Geographic Magazine to document the way of life of the Korowai tribe. Most of the Korowai in these photos had never had prior contact with anyone outside of their language group, and have no material goods from the outside world. They live in tree houses built above the forest floor to protect themselves from outsiders. The Korowai believe that contact with outsiders will bring an end to their culture. Cannibalism has been part of their traditional system of criminal justice to avenge the death of their clansmen, but the practice is dying out and is outlawed by the Indonesian government. The Korowai believe that most natural deaths are caused by sorcery, and must be avenged by the death (and consumption) of the person responsible.
- Filename
- STNMTZ_19950601_43A.tif
- Copyright
- © 1995 George Steinmetz
- Image Size
- 7246x4824 / 100.0MB
- www.georgesteinmetz.com
- Contained in galleries
- Tree People
