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This leaf full of fish is all that was caught by a half day of emptying out a local stream in the Korowai's protein-deficient forest. They caught them by creating a dam upstream and bailing (shoveling) the water out with palm stalks. The catch seen here was placed directly onto the coals of a fire for lunch as the Korowai have no metallic objects or pottery.

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_56.tif
Copyright
©1995 George Steinmetz
Image Size
7232x4832 / 100.0MB
www.georgesteinmetz.com
Contained in galleries
Tree People
This leaf full of fish is all that was caught by a half day of emptying out a local stream in the Korowai's protein-deficient forest. They caught them by creating a dam upstream and bailing (shoveling) the water out with palm stalks. The catch seen here was placed directly onto the coals of a fire for lunch as the Korowai have no metallic objects or pottery.<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.