The inside of a Kombai tree house. The Kombai are a language group living next to the Korowai. Their material culture and way of life are extremely similar to that of the Korowai. Men and women keep to different parts of the house defined by their cooking hearths made on recessed clay-lined platforms that can be cut away in case a fire gets out of control. The rafters are decorated with shells and bones of clan feasts.
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_40.tif
- Copyright
- © 1995 George Steinmetz
- Image Size
- 5388x3696 / 57.0MB
- www.georgesteinmetz.com
- Contained in galleries
- Tree People
