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Armchair Traveler — The smoked mummies of Papua New Guinea

Mummification has not been restricted to the ancient Egyptians. Deliberate mummification was practiced in parts of South America and Asia where the climate is very dry, but in truth, mummies have been found all across the globe.

An interesting location for armchair travelers is the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. One of the world’s most culturally diverse countries, 848 languages are listed for the nation, of which 12 have no known living speakers. It is also one of the least explored nations on the planet, with many as yet discovered plants and animals thought to be in its interior.

One of the more unusual forms of mummification is practiced by the Anka people of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The Anka are a small statured group of people previously considered to be very violent, attacking more peaceful tribes. Most of them live in the high, mountainous region of south-western Morobe, a province of PNG. They smoke-cure the bodies of the dead and place them along the cliff faces overlooking their villages.

Four of the Anga languages are almost extinct, but one tribe, the Hamtai, are thriving, with a population of over 70,000. They have become quite a tourist attraction, due to their mummification practices. In the Hamtai’s territory, there are three mummy sites near Aseki. The Hamtai tribe now makes a small income from charging scientists, photographers, and tourists a small fee before allowing them to visit the mummy sites.

Preserving the faces of the ancestors
Unlike the Egyptians who mummified their kings and other important people so the body would be fit to travel to the afterlife, the Hamtai people preserve the bodies of their dead so that people can still see the faces. The ancestor’s mummies, and, in particular, their faces need to be seen to enforce the group’s traditions and their ties to the land.

When the mummification process is completed, the body is not buried but is placed very reverently in a cage made of bamboo, and placed high up on the cliff walls overlooking the villages. While this practice may seem to scare off unwanted visitors, it is actually the villager’s way of showing the highest degree of respect for the departed. The mummies are often taken down on special occasions and brought into the village or a person’s home and treated as if the mummy were alive.

Mummification practices of the Anka
When someone dies, an experienced person in the art of mummification makes an incision in the feet, knees, and elbows of the deceased so that the body fats can drain into containers. The fat is smeared onto the bodies of the living relatives to impart the strength of the dead into the living. Leftover fat is used for cooking.

We won’t go into the jabbing of bamboo spears into the body to drain out the innards, but it is a necessary part of the preservation process. The eyes, mouth, and anus are sewn shut to keep air from entering the body, and certain soft parts are cut off before the cadaver is subjected to the smoking process. After the body is smoke-cured, with the smoking process lasting weeks or even months, it is coated in clay and ochre to deter predators.

The mummy then becomes a watcher or guardian for the village. Great warriors are given special positions higher up on the cliffs to watch out for invaders. The Anga people don’t really have a notion of the afterlife, even though Catholic missionaries have been among them. As a point, in fact, in 1975, the practice of mummification was banned after Papua New Guinea gained its independence. Most tribes now practice Christian burials, except the few tribes in remote areas.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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