Oceania

[Visited: August 2023]

We are driving down a dirt road in the Western Highlands when we spot a man on the roadside with a bright yellow face and a remarkable headdress. Less than fifty metres later, we get out at what seems to be a random spot. Kids run towards us, and some women follow. I run around with the boys (no girls around) for fun. The man with the yellow face catches up, and we are invited to enter through an opening in the trees at the roadside by other men. We soon arrive at a small space under the trees. Here, we see men painting their faces in the same bright yellow we have seen just before. Some paint their own faces, a small mirror in one hand and a brush in the other, we also see men painting each other's faces. We have arrived at the Huli Wigmen, a tribe in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
We walk around to get the best views: cameras click and click. The men are obviously used to the poking eyes of curious strangers. They pose for us, smile, and then go on with their job. They must know that they are among the most photogenic people on earth, with their bright colours and extravagant decorations. On a few sticks i the ground, we see all kinds of artefacts hanging: decorations for the upper arm made of grass, bracelets and necklaces with hornbills and boar teeth. One of them sits on the ground, lights what looks like a bamboo tube but in reality is a big cigarette, and starts to smoke. His eyes are bright and light, and pierce right through us. He turns out to be a kind of shaman, and is the only one not to have yellow, but red and dark green paint on his face.
The men are sweet and patient, and all seem good-humoured. When they are finally ready, they dance for us, and we join in. There is an upbeat energy, we laugh, we shout, and we almost end up feeling like wigmen. To get a better feel, I decide to get painted myself, and the men give me some attributes. The headdress turns out to be heavier than I thought, and it barely fits my head which apparently is bigger than those around me. We have lunch after I get most of the paint off my face, and then see mourning widows covered in ash nearby. The next day, we see a lonely wigman near a waterfall east of Tari (the local town). He takes all the time to pose in front of the waterfall, so we now also see them in a natural setting. There is no doubt about it: these must be among the most photogenic tribes in the world.

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Huli Wigmen (Papua New Guinea)

Huli Wigmen > Papua New Guinea > Oceania

[Visited: August 2023]

Around the World in 80 Clicks