2. Faces of Melanesia

Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands

People of Fergusson Island, yam house, hot springs, kitten on a beam
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Group of children, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
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Group of children, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG

  • Women sheltering under a tree from the rain, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Woman and baby son, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Children in a small village, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Boy with puppy, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Family walking along a beach path, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Boy with carved board, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Portrait of a mother and baby, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Group of children, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • School girls on the way to school with banana leaf umbrellas, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> The girl in the pink top is carrying her lunch, wrapped in a banana leaf, on her head. <br /> <br /> The D'Entrecasteaux Islands are a group of volcanic islands, still active, off the north eastern tip of Popua New Guinea. The people live by subsistence agriculture in small traditional villages. They have a tradition of sorcery and witchcraft, still practiced today, and headhunting and cannibalism, no longer practiced. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands are a critical link in the Kula Ring, a fascinating tradition where participants travel hundreds of miles by canoe in order to exchange Kula valuables, which consist of red shell-disc necklaces that are traded with islands to the north (circling the ring in clockwise direction) and white shell armbands that are traded in the southern direction (circling counterclockwise). All Kula valuables are traded solely for the purposes of enhancing one's social status and prestige. You can read more about this fascinating tradition, first documented by the anthropologist Bronislow Malinowski, here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kula_ring</a>.<br /> <br /> Yet again I had the challenge juggling my camera and my umbrella in the rain, with long distances to walk. Somewhere along the walk to the volcanic hotsprings (where the villagers bring their food to cook), I got a small, barely noticable, 1/2 inch long scratch on the top of my foot from a tiny thorn, which got infected and didn't heal properly for around 3 weeks, until after I got back home. This is not uncommon in the tropics where cuts and scratches heal badly. Almost everyone had problems with this; indeed, a fellow traveller narrowly missed having to be medically evacuated from an infected leg.<br /> <br /> More photos can be seen here <a href="http://goo.gl/GjVun">http://goo.gl/GjVun</a> today, and more will be posted in subsequent days, including the fascinating sorcerers and flying witches of Dobu Island.
  • Boys in the rain, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Woman carrying tray of food on her head, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Wrestler with two little girls, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG<br /> <br /> S. is a retired pro wrestler and the children gravitated to him wherever we went. These two little girls grabbed hold of his fingers and didn't let go once the entire walk to the hot springs. Another photo taken in the rain, which is actually better for getting good colour than bright sun.<br /> <br /> See other pics from Fergusson Island here: <a href="http://goo.gl/0u7pH">http://goo.gl/0u7pH</a>
  • Girl with banana leaf umbrella, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG
  • Pro wrestler with island children, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Woman with tray of vegetables on her head, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG
  • Woman and her children under a yam house, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG
  • Traditional yam house, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG<br /> <br /> The people live by subsistence farming and fishing, and the yam plays a very important role in their diets. The yams are revered by all, and are considered to be a sign of wealth and power. The yams are proudly displayed after harvesting and then kept in yam houses such as the one seen here. The yam houses are owned by men, and no women are allowed inside.
  • Young man at hot springs, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Island, PNG
  • Large blue pool at hot springs, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
  • Blue hot pool at hot springs, Fergusson Is, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, PNG
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