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In the midst of cutting down a sago palm, a stone axe gets re-wrapped in rattan. The Korowai don’t know where the axe stones come from, but ethnologists assume they were quarried in the highlands and then traded down through generations of exchange relationships.

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_20.tif
Copyright
© 1995 George Steinmetz
Image Size
4838x7224 / 100.0MB
www.georgesteinmetz.com
Contained in galleries
Tree People
In the midst of cutting down a sago palm, a stone axe gets re-wrapped in rattan. The Korowai don’t know where the axe stones come from, but ethnologists assume they were quarried in the highlands and then traded down through generations of exchange relationships.<br /> <br /> 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.

All images ©George Steinmetz. Please contact us for usage.