Our next stop in Papua New Guinea after Mt. Hagen was the Sepik River Basin. We flew into a grass landing strip in an 8 passenger prop plane, landing in the Sago palm filled swamps of the Sepik River. We stayed at the Karawari Lodge on a lone ridge amidst a vast expanse of dense tropical lowland Sepik Basin rainforest, which extends beyond the horizon for, what seems like, a thousand miles in every direction. We explored villages in small river boats, observing the people fishing, gathering, preparing and cooking their staple food from the Sago palm.
We visited spirit houses, and learned about initiation ceremonies where boys become men through scarification. There is a picture of one young man who had completed this brutal and incredibly painful process. One in ten initiation candidates dies in the process from the infections from dozens of cuts with razor blades in their back and chest.
Malaria is very active in this area, and I kept looking at my daily malaria pills and praying they worked, because I was bitten every day during our stay. I also had a mild dysentery attack, but it only knocked me out of a half day of activity. Did I mention that I took this trip alone, leaving my wife to be in Atlanta and claim my body if things didn’t work out?
The Sepik River Basin is a center of art, with carvings of mythical spirit figures often seen adorning the walls of museums. I purchased some of the art in PNG and, after nearly five months of scary delays, was successfully shipped to our home to join my collection.
This is survival life, not far removed from the Stone Age. There is little food, even less medical care in these remote villages. It was, for me, a startling encounter with a primitive life not seen in the western world for two millennia.
It was also another extraordinary opportunity to capture a fascinating culture with my camera.
Finally, it was also a time to contemplate how blessed I have been in my life compared to these struggling, primitive people.
