Two Tribes
When Amberly Valentine trekked into the jungle of Papua New Guinea with not much more than a bottle of water, a camera and a translator, she knew she was entering mystical and potentially dangerous territory. She was seeking two tribes of this island nation: the Asaro, or ‘Mudmen’, and the more reclusive Nokondi. In an exclusive for THE RAKE, this is what she saw...
This is the Asaro tribe. Amberly’s first encounter with them was more comical than expected, she says. “More join us, each one wearing a different ghastly stone face, with weapons in hand, making occasional strange clicking sounds with long bamboo claws filed to razor-sharp blades. One advances on Sigi [the translator], arrow pointed at her chest. This is the Asaro, coming to have a casual chat about our plans for the shoot over the next few days. I’m starting to realise that these guys have a penchant for the dramatic. After stalking us for a few more minutes, the Asaro take off their masks and grin like cheeky schoolboys. We are clearly the entertainment today.”
The mud had turned their skin ghostly white, and later they would learn that the invaders thought they were the spirits of the dead.
I am told that you have to be careful of the wild jungle spirits. They can easily become angry if you make a mistake.
A young boy from the Nokondi, who see themselves as half-man, half- spirit. As described by Amberly in her diary, she writes: “Since they are only half-human, they are only half in this world. Their bodies are painted in two halves, representing their two natures. They walk in such a way that leaves only one footprint, and stand on one leg, the other raised like a roosting bird. When they eat they will eat only half the food. Tiger man tells me that you know when you are in Nokondi territory because you will see only one footprint, neither left nor right, and you will see half-eaten food on the floor. This is how they mark their territory.”
After maybe 30 minutes, smoke drifts up through the trees, and the jungle quiets its usual hum. A ghostly, humanoid figure creeps through the trees, moving carefully and slowly, like a cat advancing on its prey.
How many will get to see what I just witnessed? The last of the fairytales of old, alive in the world. For now...
