Around the world in a jeep since 1984

While in Papua New Guinea, briefly met this swiss couple, Emil and Liliana Schmid who has been travelling since 1984. This amazing couple been around the world in their land cruiser for more than 25 years and still going strong.

Skin cutting initiation festival in the inland Sepik region

Initiates on the second final day of their skin cutting ceremony. Peeping through their fenced up spirit house to witness their sisters and mothers singing and dancing on the outside. Family members would encourage the initiates on throughout the whole night on the last day of the initiation. Plenty of singing and dancing, blowing on bamboo long pipes and other instruments. No sleeping for the whole night, all the villagers would sing and dance non stop on this final day before the initiates get officially released out of the spirit house.

In the inland part of the Sepik, with almost 1.5-2hours walk from the Sepik river, Yamok Village was having its annual skin cutting rituals for its boy’s initation.

Deep Skin Cutting rituals of Blackwater Sepik River

One of the highlights of my Papua New Guinea trip would be the ceremonial initiation of boys. The ritual scarification when males would have their skin cut with razors deeply and repeatedly to form a decorative scars resembling the sacred crocodile spirit as part of turning young boys into men. In most villages along the Sepik river with exception of Blackwater villages, women are excluded in this ritual scarring.

Slaughter of Pigs – the Kalaam Festival, Simbai

The Kalaam Festival, Simbai, Papua New Guinea

The local celebrated the morning with 40 pig slaughters lined up at the sing sing grounds. An amazing sight that wasn’t as brutal and gory as I expected but quite intense nonetheless.

The secret to : Save money for buying air tickets

It’s my birthday!

When you read this, I should be in some middle of some jungle out in Papua New Guinea.

Raskols of Papua New Guinea

Raskols of Papua New Guinea

by Stephen Dupont

Am deciding if I should visit Papua New Guinea this year, via Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia.  The universe is wonderful as such, as soon as I open up the possibility of visiting this country, I keep finding these lovely images.

here’s a small write up about it

In 2004 Stephen Dupont infiltrated a Raskol community to document the individuals behind the facelessness of gag warfare. His Raskol series presents formal portraits of the “Kips Kaboni” or “Red Devils”, Papua New Guinea’s longest established Raskol group. By building trust… over several visits, Dupont was able to set-up a makeshift studio in which to photograph his subjects- mostly young, unemployed adults and teenagers who orchestrate raids, car-jackings and robberies as a means of survival. Raskols focuses on Papua New Guinean youth in crisis, men that have turned to crime, violence, anarchy in a bid to protect the future of themselves and their communities.