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As I've stated before, it was with a kind of sad feeling that I traveled through this area, for reasons aforementioned.But I'll never forget how, when we arrived at one of the villages, they'd been awaiting us and had prepared a tribal "welcome" in the form of a very exuberant dance.I felt privileged to see them in action.So friendly and humble, the Sepik people.
This is an unusual item to include, but it was fascinating so I have to include it here:At one of the Sepik villages - the same one where we saw the kids making clay pellets - the kids had somehow shot these pellets into some flowerbeds.The consequences of such a transgression was to be (loosely) tied to a pole with an evil spirit mask looming over them, threateningly....Some of the kids were crying - frightened by the mask no doubt (and I suppose that was the idea) - but what I found interesting is that some of the other children (who were not being punished) kind of hung around, observing their friends huddled together around this pole.I'm not sure if the other children were being empathetic or, knowing human behavior, they were probably not unlike people who are horrified to see an accident by the side of the road, yet can't seem to turn away from it.People are people no matter where...
Similar to the Karawari River area, the Sepik villagers depend on the sago palm as a regular staple in their diets. A special treat is to dig up fat, juicy grubs and eat them on the spot - or better yet, roll them in the sago pulp and cook them up.I recall entering one such village where the smell of grubs cooking in a mass of sago palm, had a kind of smell that reminded me of over-ripened camembert or something.Stinky stuff!I gave this one a pass, but most of the other people in our small group tried it.
The children here in the Middle Sepik region (vs. the Karawari area) seemed to be better nourished. I think there was a fair amount of trade going on between the villages and so items could more easily be transported among themselves. Their economy was better, they had better tools, and they probably had more opportunities for hunting (and catching) fish.The children were friendly and curious and seemed pretty typical....here we see some kids making small clay balls which I later observed them pelting each other with. There weren't any schools of which to speak, but the children of a given village often gathered in a central area where an elder would impart "knowledge". Some villages even had a VCR....imagine my surprise to hear the movie "La Bamba" playing in one of the huts....we were shocked! I peeked inside and a lot of the kids were gathered around a television set, watching the...
The Sepik people hold the crocodile in high regard, and the croc is the prevailing symbol throughout the Sepik region (more on this in my Yentchan pages).The canoes are even carved to resemble this ferocious animal.
The Sepik people hold the crocodile in high regard, and the croc is the prevailing symbol throughout the Sepik region (more on this in my Yentchan pages).The canoes are even carved to resemble this ferocious animal.
Don't be surprised to find a branch of bananas or a huge bag of sweet potatoes occupying the seat next to you in the plane - or maybe at your feet in the aisle.When you're taking small cargo planes to and from the different areas, it seems to be a free-for-all!
The sago palm grows prolifically in the Sepik region, and the natives depend on it as a staple in their monotonous and somewhat nutritionally void diets.Sago is basically a starchy compound. The women distill the pulp by washing it over and over with water as it slides down a make-shift chute. As the water washes over the pulp of the plant, the women begin to pound it. Once the pulp reaches a mushy consistency, the water is squeezed out and the remaining pulp is kneaded into a doughy mass and rolled into balls of various sizes and shapes.The resulting mass of sago palm is then cooked by either heating it over hot stones, or boiling it in water together with taro leaves or some other type of vegetation. The leaves are usually stuffed inside the mass.
...Monin - Good morningApinun - Good afternoonGut nait - Good nightTenk yu- Thank youEm hamas? - How much is that?Mi laik baim - I would like to buyToilet We? - Where is the toilet?Halpim mi plis - Help me pleaseNogat - NoMi no laikim - I do not like itYumi go we? - Where are we going?Kai Kai - FoodKa - CarMani - MoneyMan - Man or maleMeri - Woman or femalePikinini - Baby or very young childManki - Older children and teenagersYangpela - Young man or woman Lapun - Old man or womanBalus - AircraftPles Balus - AirportKago - LuggageWantok - Countryman or friendBilas - Decoration or uniformWara - WaterYu stap gut? - How are you?Mi stap gut - I am fineInap mi kisim poto? - May I take a photo? Soim mi - Show meKlostu - Near or close byLongwe tumas - A very long way or too farWanem nem bilong yu? - What is your name? Ples bilong yu we? - Where are you from?Mi no klia gut - I do not understandMi...
Since there are over 800 dialects spoken within Papua New Guinea, there is a tacit use of pidgin english amongst them, which makes it even a bit easier for foreigners to communicate. For example, the sign on the door begins with "TAMBU" which is one of the first words you'll learn when in PNG...it means something like "PROHIBITED" or "FORBIDDEN" ("achtung!)...Underneath it, it continues with "No kenkam insait"....."No can come inside".How easy is that?!? More on pidgin English in the next tip...
Airways Hotel Port Moresby
1 Review and 109 Opinions 4 star: swimming pool and restaurant with great view over airport and surrounding hills. Lively bar...
Coastwatchers Hotel Madang
7 Opinions
Kimbe Bay Hotel Kimbe
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