Red, White, Green, and Blue Whitewashed walls, red or brown tiled roofs, green mountain shrubbery, and the blues of the Mediterranean sky: the mountains of Andalusia in Southern Spain are known for their charming Pueblos Blancos or White Villages.
The literature we had been sent called the town of Mijas‘the most charming and picturesque Andalusian village of the Costa del Sol’. They had me convinced with their picture of tiny whitewashed houses lining a steep, narrow staircase, decorated with wrought iron and hanging pots of geraniums; the idea of a stop for churros con chocolate in one of the many coffee shops was just a bonus!
In the mountains of Andalusia, there are a number of picturesque towns collectively known at the Pueblos Blancos or White Villages. We had a day docked in the Spanish coastal city of Málaga (see: Málaga – Costa del Sol) and took the opportunity to make the short bus trip into Las Alpujarras – as the mountains on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada are called – to spend the afternoon in Mijas Pueblo. This traditional hillside village is nestled on the mountainside about 430 metres (1,476 feet) above sea level, overlooking the Costa del Sol.
The town dates back to prehistoric times, and boasts artefacts from the ancient Greeks and the Phoenicians. It came under the rule of Rome, the Visigoths, and later, the Moors – who ruled Andalucia for centuries before being conquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 487.
In the past, Mijas relied on agriculture, fishing, and some farming and mining for its livelihood, before turning to tourism in the 1950s. Today, the commercial centre of Mijas and the tourist centre of Mijas Pueblo have a symbiotic relationship as separate entities.
As is the case in many of the Pueblos Blancos, the Mijas local council enforces the regular whitewashing of all buildings to protect the tourism and heritage value. Historically, the whitewash mixture (lime, water, chloride, and white cement) was used to keep the houses cooler in summer and to repel insects.
It is a pleasant walk around the town – although with the meandering network of small streets, we kept getting lost! In many places, there are magnificent views back over the countryside and to the coast, which has earned the town the nickname: “Mirador de la Costa del Sol” or “Viewpoint of the Costa del Sol.”
Come for a walk:
“Mijas“ Say no more! The colourful town name on the promotional literature, and on the wall outside the Tourism Office, tells the visitor this is a lively place that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Andalusian Donkeys The Asno Andaluzor Andalusian Donkey is the oldest European breed of domestic donkey, native to this general area. Today, they are rare – except here in Mijas, where they have progressed from working the fields and local mines, to becoming a tourist attraction.
Paseo Burro – Donkey Taxi Mijas Pueblo donkeys are as infamous as they are famous: animal rights activists have agitated over the years to improve the situations of these sweet little animals. We were lucky to not see any overburdened by overweight riders, and were pleased to see most of them were shaded as they waited for work.
Chapel of the Virgin of the Rock Excavated into the rocks around 1548 by Mercedarian friars, the Chapel of the Virgin is a monastery and Catholic holy site.
La Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña de Mijas The chapel is tiny …
Inside La Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña … but richly decorated, and with precious relics.
Jesus and the Bell Outside, Jesus of the Sacred Heart stands over the chapel.
Buying Fresh Nuts In the chapel courtyard, local nuts are for sale.
Water-Powered Mill Outside the old flour mill, a water mill has been restored …
Antiguo Molino de Harina – Old Flour Mill … and the ancient stone walls are decorated with plants.
Mijas Street Paved and cobbled streets lined with boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants, souvenir outlets, and residences meander off in all directions.
Mijas Street The narrow streets are steep, and full of stairs and tourists, …
Mijas Stairs … but the whitewash and hanging flowers make everything bright and cheerful.
Courtyards There are shops and restaurants to discover around every corner.
Pottery in Mijas Brightly coloured ceramic pottery hangs from artisan’s walls. (iPhone6)
Wrought Iron and Plant Pots The parish church of Iglesia Inmaculada Concepciónsits atop a hill on the horizon.
Mijas Courtyard The local residents must stay very fit with all the stairs!
Callistemon Colour is everywhere.
Fountain Plaza de la Constitución
Andalusian Hills New developments stretch out across the hills – but, they must conform to the rules of colour!
Mijas Panorama From one vantage point, we can look across the 10 kilometres to the sea – and beyond.
Bronze Statue Mijas pays tribute to the role that donkeys have had in its history: outside the Tourist Office, a statue of a donkey – designed by local artist, Lázaro Cruz Jaime and financed by the local Lions Club – takes pride of place.
Andalusian Horse As a horse-lover, I dreamed of Andalusians as a child. I was thrilled to see them in their native home, where they have been recognised as a distinct breed since the 15th century. Such magnificent animals – and much daintier than I expected.
Andalusian Horse I was pleased I had a bit of fruit in my bag to share with this beauty.
Andalusian Donkeys It’s a quiet afternoon, tourist-wise …
Man and his Donkeys … and the donkeys are taken back to their small pens for the night. International pressure has forced the council to keep a closer eye on the handling and care of these donkeys, but there is still room for improvement!
As the donkeys went home for the night, we filed back onto our bus to head back to our boat in Málaga harbour, where we would set sail for the next port on our agenda …
Golden Silk Orb-Weaver – Nephila Surrounded by mangrove jungle and clumps of native hardwoods, where the only sounds are the buzz of the tropical insects, the thrum of the heat, and the lapping of distant waves, we come across a beautiful resident of Marathon Key, Florida.
On a long, circuitous drive that my husband and I made around the United States, we managed to hit the southernmost point of Key West (see: Mile Zero and Hemingway’s Cats). As much as I would have loved to stay in that delightful, laid-back island-city, it was far too expensive! A motel room in the city of Marathon, just 80 kilometres (50 miles) north, in the middle of the Florida Keys, was about half the price, allowing us to indulge in guilt-free mahi-mahi dinners as the sun went down.
The city of Marathon takes in 13 islands, or ‘keys’ in the term coined by the Spanish, from the word ‘cayo’ meaning ‘small island’ in the language of the Taino Indians of Hispaniola. Marathon is a major sport-fishing destination, known for its beaches and reefs, and popular for deep-sea, reef or flats fishing. We are not fisherman, and didn’t have the time or inclination to scuba dive or snorkel, so a morning walk around the Crane Point Museum and Nature Center on Grassy Key seemed like an ideal option.
Crane Point is considered special because it is one of the last untouched ‘tropical hardwood hammocks’ in the Keys. A ‘hammock’ is a closed-canopy forest in Southern Florida, and predominantly made up of evergreen and semi-deciduous trees and shrubs originating in the West Indies. Hammocks are important habitats for wildlife and many West Indian plant species. They are under threat from invasive plants, feral animals, and – especially in the Keys – land development. Crane Point was saved from being developed into proposed private homes and shopping malls when it was bought in 1989 by the Florida Keys Land Trust, a not-for-profit conservation organisation.
The oldest home in the Keys – outside of Key West – is here in the woods. In 1903, George and Olivia Adderley, Bahamian immigrants, built their family home using tabby, a concrete-like material made by burning conch and other shells to make lime, and then mixing this with water, sand, ash and broken shells. This historic building has been renovated and is open to view. The Adderley’s lived a hard but simple life here, eking a living by making charcoal, and selling sponges they collected in the reefs off the Keys.
Crane Point is named for Francis and Mary Crane, keen conservationists and horticulturalists who bought the property in 1949. They built their home on neighbouring Big Rachel Key, linking the two with a causeway. They worked to preserve the hammock, enhancing it with flowering exotic trees and shrubs in keeping with the ecosystem.
Today, groomed and managed nature trails wind around the 63 acre property, sampling a thatch palm hammock, a hardwood hammock, a mangrove forest, tidal lagoons and wetland ponds, and accessing the historical George Adderley House, a rehabilitation centre for local wild birds, various museum exhibits, and views over Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Join us for a walk:
Crane Point Museum and Nature Centre Also known as the Crane Point Hammock Museum and Nature Trail, the centre comprises nature trails, bird aviaries, and historical buildings set on 63 acres of woodland and mangrove: what Florida residents call a “hardwood hammock”.
Florida Thatch Palm As soon as we step out of the entry, we are surrounded by greenery. The Florida thatch palm (Thrinax radiata) is native to many Caribbean islands, Central America, and this part of southern Florida, but grows nowhere else in the United States.
West Indian Milkberry – Chiococca Alba Glossy leaves are all around, …
Greenery … including underfoot.
Pathway into the Woods The 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) of trails around Crane Point lead through a variety of habitats.
The George Adderley House We come across the Adderley’s home in a small clearing. The renovations have left some of the interior stones bare to make the construction methods more transparent.
Storm Shutters In the absence of glass, rough wooden shutters are the only protection from the elements. You can see how the tabby-mixture is plastered over the stones used to build the house.
Inside the George Adderley House The interior is – unsurprisingly – very simple and very dark.
“A True Pioneer” The Adderley’s were true pioneers – as the sign explains – making charcoal and collecting sponge to trade for the things they couldn’t produce themselves.
Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius Charitonius) Alighting on a native-Florida firebush (Hamelia patens), a little zebra longwing butterfly – the official state butterfly – flits in the garden.
Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus Dominicensis) on a Wire High overhead, a gray kingbird watches for insects. Widespread in the Caribbean, these birds are regular visitors to the mangrove swamps of south Florida.
Rosy Rat Snake (Elaphe Guttata Rosacea)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) Injured birds are cared for in the Wild Bird Center. It was interesting looking at the brown pelicans – so different from the Australian pelicans on our waters at home.
Caged Western Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus) It is always sad seeing injured raptors in cages.
Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineatus) Of course, the advantage is that birds in the rehabilitation centre pose for pictures, …
Swallow-Tailed Kite (Elanoides Forficatus) Overhead … while the raptors flying free are too fast and too far for me to get crisp shots!
Off the Coast of Marathon In a couple of places, we get views back to the city. I love the reminder of how close we are to ‘civilisation’ – and how close this land was to being lost! An egret wades in the waters of Florida Bay.
Butterfly in the Mangroves As we follow the path around the point, we come across a mangrove skipper (Phocides pigmalion), …
Boat off the Keys … and another opening in the mangroves giving us views over the water: this time, towards the Gulf of Mexico.
Jamaica Caper (Capparis Cynophallophora)
‘Mangrove’ ‘Mangrove’ refers to the salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that live in the tropical coastal intertidal zones. They are critical to reducing erosion and providing safe habitat to fish and other small creatures.
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis Cardinalis) The beautiful song of a male cardinal sees us off when we’ve completed our loop.
It’s a small gem of a spot, and was well worth the stop.
We had a dinner-date in northwest Florida, so, we left Craine Point behind and set off north towards Key Largo.
Boy and his Bactrian Camel Believed to have been domesticated sometime before 2500 BC in Northeast Afghanistan or Southwestern Turkestan, Bactrian camels are the traditional pack animals of Inner Asia.
The annual Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ölgii Province, Mongolia is a recognition of the Kazakh practice of hunting with eagles and an attempt to foster these skills into the future.
But it is more than that: it is a celebration of the rich cultural traditions of the between 100- and 200-thousand ethnic Kazakhs who live here in Western Mongolia.
These semi-nomadic Kazakhs are known for their affinity with nature and their deep connection to their animals. For centuries, they have trained Himalayan golden eagles to hunt with them, forming a deep bond with the magnificent birds. To cover the sparsely populated expanses of landscape known for its rugged terrain and extremes of temperature, they rely on hardy Kazakh ponies and/or wooly Bactrian camels, with most Kazakhs learning to ride at a very tender age. The herds of livestock they drive to distant plateaus in search of feed are both their livelihoods and the measure of their wealth.
These Western Mongolians are fiercely independent: most of those who live here are the descendants of people who left Kazakhstan in the 1930s to escape Russian rule. Their Turkic ancestors arose as a unique tribal identity between 1456 and 1465 in the steppes of Eurasia, and they have been known as nomadic ‘steppemen’, wandering outside the direct authority of the prevailing rulers, since before that time. They are as hardy as the weather, and the animals travelling with them are as wild as the landscape: the horses are agile but unruly, and the hunting eagles are returned to the wild after ten years or so, and are never fully tame. These animals may be family – but they are not pets.
We (myself and other travellers, Mongolian guides G and Segi of Shaman Toursand photographers Jeffrey Chapman and Winslow Lockhart from Within the Frame) had been staying with a family of eagle hunters for three days, and had had the honour and privilege of following them while they worked with their birds. The eagle-hunting season starts with the first frosts, when animals on the ground thicken their coats and change their fur colour. Training the birds requires staged exercises and lots of patience and repetition, and we had watched as the family got their raptors back into hunting form (see: Nurguli, Kazakh Eagle Huntress; How to Train your Eagle; and Eagle Hunters in the Wild).
So, when the actual Golden Eagle Festival started, I was as interested in the other animals – especially the camels and horses – as I was in the huge birds.
Domestic Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) – not to be confused with the distantly related, critically endangered wild Bactrian camels (Camelus ferus) still living in small pockets in the region – have been important for steppe nomads since being domesticated sometime before 2500 BC. They can carry weights of 170-250kg (370-55-lb) across long distances, making them particularly useful for nomads who transport their portable homes over a landscape that even modern 4 wheel-drives struggle with. The long outer hair is woven into ropes; the soft under hair is spun into wool for knitting or felted into fabric; and their milk is a rich source of food. At the end of their productive lives, they provide meat and leather.
Similarly, the dainty-looking but hardy and tireless Kazakh ponies are beloved companions, a means of transport, and a source of milk, hair and meat. Standing only 142-144 centimetres (14.0 – 14.0 1⁄2 hands; 56 – 56 1⁄2 in), their heritage stretches back to the 5th century B.C.
Come meet some of the hardy people and animals of the Mongolian steppes:
Nothing for Miles … One of the least-densely populated nations in the world, Mongolia has plenty of space. As we approach the Golden Eagle Festival grounds, we can see the gers lined up in the distance.
Kazakh Hunter and his Golden Eagle The búrkitshy or berkutchi – as eagle hunters are called in the Kazakh language – and their búrkit, or golden eagles, are the stars of the festival.
Mongolians and their Bactrian Camels With their woolly coats and fatty humps, these domesticated Bactrian camels are tolerant of cold, drought, and high altitudes, making them perfect for the Mongolian steppes.
Portrait of a Bactrian Camel Not only are they much more comfortable to ride than their single-humped cousins (Which I know from experience! see: On the Road to Erdene-Zuu), they seem ‘friendlier’ with their long, soft hair.
Fair Grounds It is day one of the two-day festival, and the stands and tents are being set up across the plateau.
In Motion Eagle hunters in their beautifully embroidered outfits and fur-trimmed hats ride in with their magnificent birds perched on their arms with the aid of a forked support-stick.
Camel Handler in a Fox-Fur Hat Semi-nomadic eagle hunters often own extra horses and camels to help them transport camps.
Riding through the Gers The eagle hunters keep coming, riding in from their temporary camps high in the surrounding Altai Mountains; …
Here’s Looking at You! … some stop on their way into the fairgrounds to have their pictures taken. The big bird is hooded to keep her calm, but she turns her head towards me when she hears my voice.
Aymoldyr and the Falcon The golden eagles might be the most common birds used by Kazakh eagle hunters, but they are not the only ones: while the eagles are trained to take down foxes and hares, falcons and merlins can be used to hunt smaller birds and animals. Meet: 6yo Aymoldyr and her Saker Falcon (Falco Cherrug). Every eagle-hunting family has a distinctive style of elaborately embroidered hunting costume.
Flag Carriers The first official events of the two-day festival are the opening parade, where all the participating eagle hunters ride in (including a small contingent who have come across the border from Kazakhstan) and the presentation, where a jury evaluates the appearance and the traditional clothing and equipment of the eagle, the hunter, and the horse.
River Crossing On Day Two, the blue skies stretch over a flat, autumnal landscape as we ride in our four-wheel drive Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) vehicles from from our campsite to the fairgrounds.
Markets at the Eagle Festival We arrive at the festival grounds early: the vendors have their blankets out, but as yet, few goods are on display.
Eagle Hunter on the Plateau The flag on the top of the hill marks the point from which eagles are released when their handlers whistle for them from below. The eagle hunt is the highlight of the festival. The eagles chase a dummy ‘fox’ which is pulled by the eagle hunters.
Golden Eagle in the Blue Skies Before long, magnificent big birds are taking turns, circling in the cloudless skies overhead.
Eagle Hunter on a White Horse Their handlers zig-zag the field below on their feisty Kazakh horses, pulling a fox skin on a string for their eagles to ‘capture’.
Eagle Hunter and his Eagle The teams are scored on how fast the eagles capture the foxes, and how efficiently the handlers reclaim their birds.
The Eagle has Landed Team after team of horseback hunters take their turns calling their bird of prey in for the hunt.
Aisholpan and her Eagle Thanks to the 2016 documentary The Eagle Huntress about her life, Aisholpan is probably the best-known eagle hunter at the festival. She had just returned from a promotional tour in the USA. I saw her briefly earlier in the day, and she rewarded me with a huge, self-possessed smile. In her sumptuous white fox furs, she’s as regal as any of the men as she watches her eagle come in for the ‘kill’.
Golden Eagles’ Wingspan Golden eagle are very large raptors, with hunting females weighing up to 6.35 kg (14.0 lb). Their wingspan can reach 2.34 metres (7 ft 8 in), almost dwarfing their handlers and the Kazakh horses.
Golden Eagle in the Sky Another eagle s0ars in the sky, with her jesses trailing behind.
Eagle and the Hunter And, another comes in for the ‘fox’. The audience watches and takes pictures.
Watchers at the Festival Most of the audience are Kazakh locals who are happy to share their regional festival with the visitors.
Alone on the Steppe There is an overwhelming sense of space around the festival venue, …
Local Audience … even though there is a decent crowd – local and tourist – around the rope barrier that marks the grounds.
Camels on the Plain There aren’t many camels racing, so I’m lucky to catch two of them in action; these camels can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph), although the riders seem to be working as hard as the beasts!
Racing Camels The ‘race track’ for the camels and their riders is cordoned off with a rope; my longest lens does its best to bring the action closer as the giant beasts lumber across the plain.
Camel Running The Bactrians’ thick wooly coats, and long hairy manes and beards have already thickened for winter. When the weather warms in spring, the shaggy winter coat is shed extremely rapidly, in clumps.
With the camel races finished, it was time to go back to the birds.
For even if they are not the only ones at the festival, they are the stars!
Getting into Character In a dark, crowded space behind the curtains of a rickety makeshift stage in Bangkok, a performer applies his stylised Chinese Opera makeup.
What a treat!
The last time I was in Bangkok: a troupe of Chinese-Thai performers was preparing for a traditional Chinese Opera play.
It was the middle of October, and in Yaowarat – Bangkok’s Chinatown – the annual Nine Emperor Gods Festival was in full swing. This Taoist celebration is more commonly known as the Tesagan Gin Jay(เทศกาลกินเจ), or Vegetarian Festival. During the nine-day celebration, people in Thailand, particularly those who have Chinese heritage, practice jay. Although usually translated as “vegetarian”, the diet is more like a vegan one, and practicing jay is about cleansing your body to attain purity: people wear only white, avoid strong smelling foods like garlic and onions, and “refrain from drinking alcohol, gambling, and all the other physical and psychological immoralities.”Chinese temples and shrines are decorated in red and yellow lanterns and streamers, and people flock to light candles and offer incense. There are parades featuring dancers in ancient Chinese costumes, Chinese dragons, drums, cymbals and fireworks.
And, there is a nightly Chinese opera – performed as thanks to the Gods.
This performance tradition dates back to the seventh-century Tang Dynasty, with stories based on Chinese folk tales and sung/told in Teochew, a Han Chinese dialect. The elaborate process of applying the stylised makeup, donning the intricate wigs and hairpieces, and getting into costume and character, can take hours – as can the actual production.
When we arrived in the covered courtyard – much like a carpark or an airplane hangar – outside the Chao Zhou Shi Kong Shrine, the light of the day was fading, but the heat – laced with burning incense – still hung in the air. The rickety, makeshift wooden stage was set up with its back to the Chao Pray River and plastic chairs were set out in neat rows. Behind them, giant devotional candles burned on raised platforms surrounded by oil burners and sand trays full of josh sticks. The ebb and flow of people was constant.
On the stage, in the cloistered heat of the crowded area behind the curtains, performers started their preparations. Seated on the stools or crates, they carefully applied their face paint and hair pieces in the dim corners or under the glare of free-hanging bare bulbs. Curious tourists – like myself – wandered through the area with cameras, trying to find some light while staying out of the way.
The show itself was mercifully brief. I had no idea what was going on, and could not tell the noble men from the villains. Drums and cymbals competed with shrill voices in a cacophony of noise. But it was colourful!
I’ll spare you the sounds. Come and enjoy the visuals!
Lighting Incense In the covered courtyard, Chinese-Thai faithful come to light candles or incense.
Grandma and Granddaughter Traditions are passed down through the generations. Sino-Thais are the largest minority group in Thailand.
Mother and Baby Performers welcomed us behind the scenes. Some people say the Chinese opera tradition is dying out, but many children are brought up in the environment, and I’m sure some of these will carry it forward.
Grandpa and the Gong The backstage is cramped and crowded. An old man sits next to the gong that will be played during the Chinese opera performance.
Base Layer The makeup starts with a good base layer.
Colour Toning The colours of the base layer are carefully blended to create the shape the actor is aiming for.
Makeup in the Mirror The eyes – the most expressive feature on an actor’s face – get special attention; …
Eyeliner in the Mirror … they have to express emotion from the stage.
Painting Eyeline Dramatic eyebrows wing upwards, as do the outlined eyes.
The Naked Face The actors are at different stages of preparation.
Backstage
The Makeup Tray Preparation requires a lot of coloured greasepaint. (iPhone6)
Applying Lipstick The makeup process takes time and concentration.
Lipstick in the Mirror
Man in the Mirror Love of the Chinese opera crosses the generations. This young man with traditional and modern tattoos is one of the the featured actors.
Applying Lipstick in the Mirror
Cross-Legged Preparations It is hot, and it is dark, but the actors sit still and calm as they continue to build up the layers of character.
Fixing Hair Pieces Once the makeup is finished, it is time to add on the hair.
Fixing her Hair
Multiple Faces
Fixing the Headpiece The next step is securing the elaborate headdress.
Sequinned Headdress Some one the intricate head wear looks heavy – or awkward, at the very least!
Eyes in the Mirrors
Portrait of a Chinese Opera Actor
Waiting in the Wings
Performers on Stage The stage is as elaborately decorated as the performers’ costumes. The noise of drums and cymbals continues.
Lighting Candles Meanwhile, behind the audience, the faithful are still lighting candles and saying prayers.
Its was a fascinating experience – but I was glad to get back out into the relative quiet of the darkening street.
Huli Warrior Standing tall and proud in his carefully-applied yellow and red warpaint, and wearing his magnificent headdress made of woven hair adorned with precious parrot and bird of paradise feathers, a Huli Wigman is a formidable sight.
They are as colourful and distinctive as the birds of paradise that live high in the jungle tree-tops.
Today, the iconic Huli Wig Men of Hela Province in the Southern Highlands are immediately recognisable from advertising campaigns promoting travel and sing sings (festivals of culture, music and dance) in Papua New Guinea. Less than 100 years ago, however, they were completely unknown to the outside world.
Numbering between 250,000-800,000 people (sources vary wildly!), the Huli are one of the largest of Papua New Guinea’s more than 7000 different cultural groups. Their oral history traces back over thousands of years to one central ancestor named Hela. He had four sons and a daughter to whom he designated lands, and from whom the Hela nation of tribes – including the Huli – arose.
In the 1930s, Australian explorers and gold prospectors, Mick Leahy and Michael Dwyer, walked across what was then New Guinea, finding – to their surprise – cultivated lands and complex societies of ‘murdering bastards’. It had been assumed by Europeans that the interior of the island was unpopulated and was ‘simply a continuation of precipitous mountains and miasmic jungles’. Of course, the prior claim of the Huli to their own lands was not recognised, and their first contact with outsiders was in November 1934, when the Fox brothers – who had just parted company from Mick and Dan Leahy – killed at least fifty. Although the Huli are legendary for their fearsome warring natures – fighting with other clans over land, pigs, and women – their deadly bows and arrows were no match for European weaponry.
Feuds and clan warfare remain a fact of life today. With conflict over oil and gas production in the region, the failure of royalties to be disbursed as expected, frustrations and cross-cultural misunderstandings, and the easy access to high-powered guns (many trafficked across the border from West Papua), the old ‘rules’ of warfare have broken down, making the region more unpredictable and dangerous than ever.
I stayed well away from known hot-spots!
I was in Paiya Village with photographer Karl Grobl from Jim Cline Photo Toursand a small group of photography enthusiasts. Our hosts had arranged for three Asaro Mudmen (see: Asaro Mudmen), three Chimbu Skeleton Men (Watch this space!) and three Huli Wigmen to come and show us how they prepare themselves for war – or for a sing sing, as is more often the case these days. To be honest, I would not have been as brave about making pictures of these unsmiling and uncommunicative warriors if I had not trusted my hosts! Even without a shared language, I had fun with the Mudmen and Skeleton men; I very seldom achieved even a glimpse of eye contact with the Huli.
Fashioning their skirts, tails and armbands, applying their carefully designed face-paint, and feathering their elaborate headdresses is a long, painstaking process – and it is a wonder the Huli have the energy left over for war or for their peculiar up-and-down jumping Mali dance after hours of preening in the heat and humidity of the jungle. The growing and crafting of the wigs – for the elaborate Hulu headdresses are indeed made of human hair – is a whole other process (which I’ll talk about some other time -watch this space!) that takes many months and a bit of sorcery to create.
Join me in the jungle as they help each other prepare.
Paiya Housing Roads (and the old colonial government) made no inroads here in the Highlands until the mid-1900s, but recent controversial natural gas projects have necessitated the development of highways and infrastructure. Even so, most thatched houses with their packed-mud floors are without electricity or running water.
Orb in its Web The jungle is full of life. High overhead, parrots and birds of paradise can be heard – not that we saw any. What we did see were the huge golden orb spiders (Nephila pilipes) and their resiliant webs.
Putting on his Wig One of the Huli warriors tests out his wig-and-feather headdress.
Ceremonial Winged Wig Most wigmen have more than one headdress; ceremonial wigs sweep up like the wings of a bird.
Paradise and Parrot Feathers Looking at all the feathers that go into sing sing costumes, it is a wonder that there are any bird of paradise or any parrots left!
Hornbill Beak and Boar Tusks Huli men wear hornbill beaks, which symbolise strength and courage in battle, on their backs.
Face Painting The multi-layered face-painting process starts with white clay known as momo and vermilion ochre or goloba, which signifies a warrior.
Chewing a New Paint Brush Paint brushes are made by chewing one end of a soft twig from the surrounding jungle.
Huli Wigman Face Painting Small hand mirrors – or sometimes just broken bits of mirrors – are essential tools. Betal (areca nut) chew and tobacco smoke are everywhere.
Painting the Yellow Ambua, the bright yellow clay, is sacred – although for tourists and expediency, store-bought acrylic paints might be substituted.
Red Eyeliner It has been suggested that the vibrant colours of the face paint not only instil fear in the Huli’s opponents, but also help the Huli men overcome their own fear and prepare themselves for battle (see: Tribal Body Art of PNG).
Fixing the Feathers The final step in preparation is affixing the long feathers that are carefully wrapped up when not in use.
Ceremonial Wig Tattooed, painted and feathered, the Huli Wigman stands tall in his ceremonial costume.
Three Wigmen It is high noon by the time all three men are ready.
Wigmen in the Jungle We gather them together and admire their makeup and traditional woven aprons.
Local Kids Local children watch in fascination …
Kundu Drum … as the men demonstrate their drum rhythms …
Fighting Stance … and attack posture.
In the Jungle These men are completely at home in the jungles where their ancestors have lived for thousands of years; …
Portrait: Huli Man in the Jungle … most of us would be exhausted by the undergrowth and enervated by the heat in no time.
Portrait: Huli Wigman This is my favourite portrait of the day: the club is pointed over my head and I finally have the trace of a smile.
Sometimes you have to work harder than others to bridge cultural gaps – but the effort is always worth it!
Wonderful post Ursula, you always do such an amazing and thorough job telling the story and providing background, factual info and of course you support it all with wonderful images! Bravo!ReplyCancel
[…] private session with three Asaro Mudmen (see: Asaro Mudmen), three Huli Wigmen (see: Huli Wigmen), and three Chimbu Skeleton Men. We watched and photographed as they applied their traditional […]ReplyCancel
[…] are one of the largest ethnic groups – and certainly one of the most distinctive (see: Meet the Huli Wig Men). Unknown to Europeans until 1934, they are believed to have lived in their region for many […]ReplyCancel
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- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
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Until next time,
