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  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 14

    Lake Sentani

    May 29, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Lake Sentani is a large relatively shallow lake near Jayapura (see other posts). Most of these pictures were taken from a boat cruising a bit of the lake.
    The 1st 3 pictures are various views of the lake. The 2nd and 3rd pictures show more stilt houses much like the ones captured in the Jayapura post. The 4th picture is of a community house on one of the 21 islands in the lake.
    Assei Island is the island we visited. The people here are known for bark painting. Several examples of their work are shown in the 5th picture. The 6th and 7th pictures are of the church at the top of the hill on Assei Island. This church was built in 1950 (a very good year) to replace the older church that had been bombed during world war 2 by the Japanese. The 8th picture is the view from the hill by the church.
    The 9th picture is of a boy paddling a traditional canoe.
    The last picture is a view over another part of Lake Sentani. This was taken from the top of "Teletubbies" Hill (see the More from Jayapura post).    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 14

    More from Jayapura

    May 29, 2023 in Indonesia

    This post is of a few sites in the region around Jayapura.
    The 1st 4 pictures are taken in the Museum located at the University in Jayapura. The collection consists of 2 parts. The 1st 3 pictures are in the central gallery that houses the Michael Rockefeller collection from his visits to the Asmat tribe. The collection was repatriated from NY.
    The 1st picture centers on the most important piece there. That is a 9 meter tall statue carved from a mangrove tree. The upper part is actually the mangrove roots. Note the upturned projection. This is a male fertility symbol. The 2nd picture shows war costumes, shields and more.
    The 3rd and 4th pictures are in the other gallery. Thus is a collection of local artifacts. The 3rd picture shows a cabinet with miscellaneous artifacts. The 4th picture shows models of 2 ancient local ships. The upper is a trading vessel. The lower is a warship. This is a small museum with a lot to see.
    The 5th and 6th pictures are in the large local market in the town of Sentani.
    The last picture is taken from the top of 'Teletubbies" Hill. I'm told it has this name because the area looks like where the Teletubbies live. I've heard of Teletubbies but haven't seen the show. So if any of you have seen the show (and are willing to admit it), you may wish to confirm or contest this.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 13

    Hulesi Village

    May 28, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Hulesi is a village of the Hubla tribe located along the Baliem River. This is the main river through the valley with all others tributary to it. The village is located away from roads, requiring a hike of over an hour to reach it.
    The 1st picture is at the beginning of the path to the village. The next picture is of the river and a bit of the scenery in this part of the valley. The 3rd picture is a suspension footbridge over the river, leading initially to fields marked with fieldstone walls reminiscent of the northeast US that you can see in the 4th picture.
    Eventually the village comes into view. The 5th picture is a central area with their church to the left. The 6th picture is inside the church. This is the only local church I was able to visit. I'm told that the village built it themselves. The 7th picture looks at some more of the village. ISTM that the people of this tribe are good at building stone walls as they are everywhere.
    The 8th picture is of an area called Longsor. This is an unstable area on the side of the river valley that is subject to flash floods and landslides. It seems that the gorge in the background is the culprit.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 12

    Mummy of Jiwika

    May 27, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    The mummy is the preserved remains of Win motok Mabel, the founder and 1st chief of this region. I'm told that it's more than 370 years old. Mummification is not routinely done in this culture. In fact, there are only 4 such mummies in West Papua. The only people mummified are important people in the tribes history, heros in war etc. They are preserved as reminders of their role model lives.
    The method of mummification used here is different, too. It seems they coated the body with pig oil and then smoked the body dry for at least 200 days. This accounts for the black color.
    The young man holding the mummy is a descendant of the mummified chief.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 12

    The Pig for the Feast

    May 27, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    This is the killing of the pig for the feast honoring their visitors (us). Be forewarned again: this video includes the killing.
    While it may seem more cruel to sacrifice the animal this way rather than cutting its throat, the local culture requires that the animal be killed through the heart. Thus, the chief shoots the arrow into the pigs heart.Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 12

    Traditions of War

    May 27, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    A simulated battle was enacted for us after the chief challenged us as we approached. This video is a sample of the demonstration.
    The pole with the steps wrapped around it is the pedestal that the chef was standing on when we arrived.Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 12

    Jiwika Village

    May 27, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Jiwika is a Dani village where we enjoyed a day-long introduction to their local culture. The entire village was traditionally dressed. The welcome was rich and deep. In fact, this will take several posts.
    As we approached the village, we encountered the village chief atop a lookout column or pedestal where he challenged us. Then there was a simulated battle (see another post).
    After the battle, we walked to the village being continuously welcomed until we reached the village gate in the 2nd picture. Following this challenge and welcome we entered the village where we experienced 2 welcome dances, one by the warriors and the 2nd by the entire village.
    A feast followed. However, we didn't just eat. We saw the entire process, from live pig to meal. 1st they caught and killed the pig for the feast (see another post, but be forewarned that the pig being killed is shown). The pig was butchered (picture 3). The next 5 pictures are preparing using the cooking process. The 5th picture is the fire where stones are heated. A cooking pit lined with grass is prepared and the hot stones are carried from the fire using long wooden tongs (picture 6). The process builds up in layers with taro, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob in the layer above the rocks. Then more vegetation, especially potato leaves, and hot rocks are added, and the pig is placed on that. Finally, more hit rocks and vegetation are added, and the grass lining is folded up and tied in place. The 8th picture is the finished operation. The 9th picture shows the village women removing the taro, potatoes and corn. I confess to being so interested in eating that I forgot to get a picture of the meal.
    In the last picture, the people showed us many traditional crafts which were also for sale.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelEast Timor/ West Papua
    Day 11

    Pyramid

    May 26, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Our word pyramid has nothing to do with this village. That is simply the village name in the local language.
    Other posts have shown villages of the Dani tribe. Pyramid is located where the Dani tribal lands adjoin the land of the Lani tribe.
    It happens that the traditional buildings here are typical of the Lani rather than the Dani.
    The 1st 3 pictures are views of the village. The 4th picture looks between buildings at some of the vegetation, both agricultural and forest.
    The 5th picture is a mission school in the town that I'm told actually functions like a boarding school. The school was founded by a church mission, but eventually the government took over.
    The last picture is the view that the people of Pyramid enjoy.    Read more

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