iCross-Cultural Citizens Project- Our Indigenous World: The Korowai - Group #4

Mission

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project is a cultural anthropology course-based project meant to raise critical consciousness about the rich cultural diversity in our indigenous world. Being totally aware of the limitations of being outsiders, we are a group of multidisciplinary undergraduate students who believe in cross-cultural sensitivity and participatory agency aimed at disseminating information about indigenous realities are accurately as possible.

 

Vision

 The iCross- Cultural Citizen Project's vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. Fro that outsider student's perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for a real mutual collaboration to take place.

Values

• We Value the maximization of benefits to indigenous peoples and other vulnerable populations in the world. 
• We value the respect for persons all over the world.
• We value the equal treatment of people, and we are against the exploitation of vulnerable groups around the world.
• We value collaborative cross-culture learning and critical thinking.

 



 Background Information
He Korowai people were discovered in 1974 by an anthropologist named Peter Van Arsdale.
Towards the late 70’s Dutch missionaries started to live amongst the Korowai in order to convert them. While extremely difficult they were able to convert a few Korowai tribesmen. The Korowai (during the expedition) were noted for their cannibalism. They live in tree houses which have become a popular tourist destination.

The increased amount of tourism has led to the decrease in cannibalistic practices due to the desire for revenue. Many of the Korowai are extremely fearful (and scornful) of Westerners. These members will threaten to kill outsiders and refer to white men as laleo (ghost demon).  Michael Rockefeller (son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller) went missing around the same area the Korowai live during an anthropological expedition. He was searching for artifacts for another tribe when he disappeared. His body was never found and it is believed that he may have been captured and eaten by the Korowai. Kuru (a prion disease) is prevalent amongst the Korowai and many Pacific island tribes.

Wikipedia

     2013 Korowai People. Electronic Document. Date Accessed: 4 Sept 2013.

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korowai_people

Geographic Location
The Korowai live in the South Eastern part of the western half of New Guinea. They have been in isolation until the 1970’s. Their tribes are located near major rivers. Their land is heavily forested and extremely mountainous as well allowing them to not only live in isolation but also have an ample amount of space and resources to live.

Wikipedia

     2013 Korowai People. Electronic Document. Date Accessed: 4 Sept 2013.

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korowai_people

BBC
     2012 The Korowai Tribe. 7 min. YouTube video. 4 Sept 2013.
 

    



 

 

 

 

Changes

       Reports have been written, claiming The Korowai’s practice cannibalism to present day. They are presumed to be one of the few cannibalistic tribes. After anthropologist and magazine reporters like Paul Raffaele visited the tribes there were no clear answers given to the accusations. Supposedly as the years passed, there have been no contrary on cannibalism. Instead of learning their traditions and practices alone, younger generations are completing primary school and secondary education, education opening them up to the world and not so restricted.

      Korowai tribes was unaware of outsiders for a very long time. As outsiders start to come in, they become extremely outraged but over a time period some begin to adapt. They are believed to fear those with pale skins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

……Not so CHANGED. Their choice of weapons are still bows and arrows as they line up to go into the forest. The same with the living conditions, as it is still these tree houses that can be up to 80 feet above the ground.

 "Korowai." Korowai. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.hiddencultures.com/trips/korowai.html.>

"Korowai & Kombai Tribe – Papua Tree People Tribes." Korowai & Kombai Tribe – Papua Tree People Tribes. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.papuatrekking.com/Korowai_Kombai.html>.
 

 

 

Population, Language and Subsistence

Population, Language and Subsistence

The population is estimated to be roughly 4,000 people in this tribe. They have been notably known for their extravagant treehouses in which they subside in gatherings of maybe 12 or so people to each. The Korowai have also been known to be the last tribal/indigenous group to partake in cannibalism. The language is just called "the Language of Korowai". To survive you need shelter, food and water. For shelter they live in treehouses as high up as 35m in the trees in the jungle to avoid disaster from the floods and the many insects that inhabit the wet area. They also claim that it is a defense mechanism against enemies. 'The higher the house, the greater the prestige" (Raffaele 2013).  For food they hunt nearby animals and eat plants that have either grown wild in the area or that they have planted. Most indigenous tribes settle near areas of water since they obviously need that to survive so this tribe has a river called the Becking River and that is where most of the tribesmen get their water from.

Raffaele, Paul. "Sleeping with Cannibals." Smithsonian. Accessed October 29, 2013. Raffaele.

Media and the Korowai

The Korowai tree house is a popular tourist attraction

 

Media

a.       In terms of media there are two main sources which are tourism and pop culture

                                                              i.      Tourism

1.      The tree houses of the Korowai are an impressive site because they were all made by hand. The tree houses serve to be a popular tourists site

2.      The tree houses are by no means permanent facilities. They usually last about 5 years

3.      The Korowai live in the trees because it helps them to avoid mosquito swarms (biological needs) and to avoid the evil spirits that roam the ground (sociological).

                                                            ii.      Pop culture

1.      The Korowai are known to be one of the few remaining tribes that actually practice cannibalism.

a.       To the Korowai, cannibalism serves as a form of justice. The tribesmen that are dying of sickness are believed to have been cursed by a witch in the tribe. Once the victim of the spell whispers the name of the supposed witch, his family is bound by law to kill the witch and eat him so as to kill the evil spirit

b.      In a news report, 60 Minutes traveled to Papa New Guinea to observe the korowai. Because they were interpreting the Korowai culture strictly in terms of Western thought, they portrayed the tribe as almost animalistic and horrific people. Many anthropologists to this day contest this report saying it has ill effects on the tribe.

2.      In the 1960’s-70’s, many scientist went to the region of Papa New Guinea to research a disease called Kuru. This disease was found to prevelant amongst the Fore people of Papa New Guinea who also practice cannibalism (in particular eating the brain). These people then began showing symptoms of a rare but fatal disease known as Kuru.

a.       Kuru is a form of spongiform encephalopathy which deteriorates the brain. As the disease progresses, the brain gradually develops holes and white spots along the surface of the brain (almost identical to a sponge).

b.      Symptoms of this disease are uncontrollable shaking, confusion, lethargy, and insomnia.

                                                                                                                                      i.      There is still confusion as to how exactly Kuru occurs, however, it is believed to occur from a brain prion (a protein) that is misshapen. This protein has the ability to influence other proteins to misshapen and essentially change their function to degenerate the brain.

c.       While it is not confirmed that the Korowai suffer from this disease, it is believed that they may suffer from it and are susceptible to it do to their practice of cannibalism.

d.      In terms of pop culture, there is an obsession with zombies and the origins behind a “zombie outbreak”. This has led to many writers to believe that a disease (identical to kuru) would be cause of a zombie outbreak.

                                                                                                                                      i.      As such many games such as “Dead Island” base their outbreak as starting from a tribe that practiced cannibalism. The disease then spread out into the city and mutated thus turning those affected into “zombies”.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      While highly fictional, many can see the effect of pop culture on the portrayal of the Korowai. Rather than reporting the truth, producers manipulate traditions and cultures in order to make money.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      By doing this they hurt the tribes reputation and cast a negative stigma on those who live in the tribe. 

Tribesman affected by Kuru

Effect of Kuru on the brain

The Smithsonian

2006 Sleeping with cannibals. Electronic document

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/cannibals.html 10/24/2013

The National institute of neurological disorders and stroke
2013 Kuru Information Page. Electronicc Document
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm 10/25/2013

Technology In the Korowai

   Technology

a.       The Korowai people still use the same technologies their ancestors did many centuries ago. The Korowai people tend to stay among themselves thus restricting the flow of technology into the tribe. As tourism has increased, however, many tribesmen have begun to change the culture to revolve around tourism thus introducing new technology.

                                                              i.      The Korowai primarily use stone based objects such as stone axes, stone tipped arrows and so on.

                                                            ii.      Bones from animals have also been used by the Korowai as tools such as bow and arrows.

                                                          iii.      Most of the Korowai live in tree houses and thus they make them by hand. These tree houses are a popular attraction for the tourists. 

Ashley Arnold

2013 Culture of the Korowai. Electronic document

http://prezi.com/sils7vq-uqrn/culture-of-the-korowai/ 10/27/2013

Anneta Black

2013 Korowai Treehouses. Electronic Document

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/korowai-tree-houses 10/27/2013

Globalization

In 1978 many expeditions to West Papua, missionaries from the Reformed church impacted young Korowai people to move to settlements created by them. These young generations went on to attend schools and graduate. Villages of Korowai people began to spread along the Becking and Eilanden River after 1987. Indonesian Government built many of these villages since 1985 for the Korowai people, but they tend to not stay long. Very little has opened up and accepted the help of the outpatient clinics. They explored beyond and turned to near village’s tokos (small shops) to buy goods instead of growing it all in the past. Foreign companies incorporate Korowai people for their Forestry projects and hire them to provide help to tourist from translating to transportation.

Papua Heritage Foundation, "Life up in a Korowai tree house." Accessed November 2, 2013. <http://www.papuaerfgoed.org/en/Life_up_in_a_Korowai_tree_house>

Multinational Incursion and War

The Korowai people mainly have warfare because of witch craft and sorcery-related conflicts. They were the victims of headhunting raids by The Citak tribe. The last attack on them was in 1966. Though there is no existence of a serious war, they have been forever enemies with the Kombai tribe. Their tree houses are the only refuge from headhunting tribes like The Asmat.  

Papua Heritage Foundation, "Life up in a Korowai tree house." Accessed November 2, 2013. <http://www.papuaerfgoed.org/en/Life_up_in_a_Korowai_tree_house>

Gender Issues in the Korowai

Being a patriarchal society, the lineage of an individual is traced through the father’s side of the family. There is a separation between men and women giving each gender a role to live their life by. Men are the dominant figures, making executive decisions, hunting for food, and practicing the special knowledge passed down by ancestors. In contrast from a young age women are taught to care for the household, gather food, and take care of the children. Women marry as soon as their first menstruation and are seen as adults from that point forward.  Young males leave to live with elder men when they are 15, to learn lessons about heath, the cosmos, and the spirit world. After these lessons are provided by the elder’s young men must pay a dowry before marrying leading to an age difference between spouses.

Papua Heritage Foundation. “Life up in a Korowai tree house.” info@papuaheritage.org. Accessed November 4, 2013 

 

 

Family, Kinship and Marriage in the Korowai

Family, Kinship and Marriage

 

The Korowai household finds itself located 20 meters off the ground in their famous tree house dwellings. Practicing patriarchal polygamy, a single tree house may consist of up to 15 individuals. These families consist of one dominant male with one or more wives and all unmarried children. The children are taught by the females about morals, until boys reach adolescents (age 15). By which time they move in with men to become part of the hunt and learn the special knowledge of the ancestors. Girls on the other hand learn the roles of women at the earliest possible age and are married after their first menstruation, to a man of around 20 years old. 

Papua Heritage Foundation. “Life up in a Korowai tree house.” info@papuaheritage.org. Accessed November 4, 2013