Fighting for Survival
The Dani of West Papua
The Dani of West Papua gives an account of the changes affecting the Dani people. For thousands of years they lived in the Central Highlands of West Papua as warrior farmers, in what remained a stone age culture. They practiced ritualised warfare and held an animistic view of the world. The Dani's valley is covered with a patchwork of tiny gardens, sometimes bulit on slopes so steep that the women tend their crops suspended from vine ropes. Over the last thirty years or so, the combined influences of government, development, missionaries and a rapidly expanding tourist industry have lhad a considerable impact on traditional Dani culture and customs as has the Indonesian governments transmigration policy which has seen millions of Javanese relocated to West Papua with no regard for traditional land ownership.
Dani
Sengo. West Papua.
Dani
Wamena Markets, Baliem Valley. West Papua.
Trobriands
The beginnings of the road which now connects the Baliem Valley, a once remote and geographically isolated environment, with the major towns and cites of West Papua.
Dani
A Dani man in the Baliem Valley wears a discarded Indonesian military uniform.
The Trobrian Islanders of Papua New Guinea
The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea shows the impact of outside influences on the cultural life of Trobriand Islanders, the impact of missionaries who encourage the people to abandon their magic , spiritual beliefs and entire cosmology. The power of village chiefs is challenged by the arrival of a monetary economy and money and commercial goods are increasingly important measures of status.
However, Trobriand Islanders have retained contol of their land and, to a large degree, continue to be self governing. As islanders they have managed to avoid large scale development and resource exploitation. These factors, alongside the strength of their cultural identity, have seen the Trobriand Islanders manage to maintain important aspects of traditional cultural practice in the face of external pressures.
Trobriands
Exchange of grass skirts, banana-leaf bundles and fabric at Chief Nalubatau's funeral ceremony in the Trobriand Islands.
" You cannot hold onto your wealth too long or you become mean. You have to keep circulating one way or the other. Wealth is shown by how much you can give away.' Marcia, one of Chief Nalubatau's nieces.
Trobriands
Decorated Cassowary bone for applying lime to betel nut, used by great chief Uwelasi.
Trobriands
At funeral ceremonies in the Trobriand Islands one of the main items of exchange is women's traditional money called doba. Doba are made out of dried banana leaves, which are imprinted with a design and sometimes coloured with paints
Trobriands
One of Chief Nalubatau's widows at his grave stone. The canoe prow represents the fact that he was a great Kula master. Kula is one of the most important cultural practices in the Trobriand Islands and involves the exchange of precious mwali and bagi ( arm bands and necklaces). The exchange network stretches over a distance of hundreds of kilometres and involves a large circle of islands. Chief Nalubutau travelled on many succesful sea voyages. The canoe prow also symbolises the fact that his spirit is travelling across the water to Tuma, the traditional place of the dead.
The Ngaanyatjarra of the Gibson Desert.
The Ngaanyatjarra people have lived in the Warburton region for many thousands of years, maintaining a strong connection, both spiritual and physical, to the land and to each other. However, when missionaries arrived in the Warburton region in 1933 to teach Christianity and other European values, the way of life for the Ngaanyatjarra changed forever.
The Ngaanyatjarra people regained control of their traditional lands in 1973. Today organisations such as the Ngaanyatjarra Council and the Warburton Arts Project work to manage local interests, and to preserve cultural readiness.
Hmong
Kalkakutjarra is one of the sites for a rock art project taking place at Warburton. It too is filled with stories from the Tjukurrpa, the waterholes were created by ancestral beings and the rainbow cave which is close by, was created during a storm at the time of creation.
Ngaanyatjarra
Tjinuka Holland hunting for goanna.
Ngaanyatarra
Tjinuka Holland hunting for goanna.
Ngaanyatjarra
Stewart Davies showing a rock art site. He is one of the finest and most dedicated painters deeply versed in Custom and has great knowledge of the creation songs and stories of his land. Traditionally layer upon layer of imagery was applied to rock art sites over the years. Adults used these paintings to teach the children, explaining what the symbols meant. Images might refer to anything from the dreaming tracks of sacred creation heroes to last week's hunting trip where food was in abundance.
The Anangu of Uluru and Kata Tjuta
The Anangu of Uluru and Kata Tjuta was written with the co-operation of the Anangu people of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory. For thousands of years the Anangu lived in harmony with the land, eating bush tucker and practising land management techniques such as patch burning. The arrival of Europeans changed this. They did not recognise the indigenous peoples as rightful owners and took their land. In this book Anangu speak of their traditions and how they have regained ownership of their land and now work with non-Aboriginal people to manage the land so that Anangu may continue many of their important traditions and so that tourists might visit the park and their country without cultural insensitivity.
The Hmong of Vietnam
The Hmong of Vietnam is about the Hmong people who live in the remote mountainous north of Vietnam. They originally came from China, settling in the north of Vietnam in the early 1800's after fleeing Chinese oppression. This book tells of the Hmong way of life - their farming techniques, their food and clothes, their religion, and their festivals. It also tells of how the Hmong survived wars and government policies that have attempted to break down their culture - to make them Vietnamese. Through all this though it seems tourism is bringing about the greatest changes. With new roads and hotels being built, making their villages accessible to the world, the lives of the Hmong are being dramatically impacted.
Sapa markets
Hmong
The Bac Ha markets are full of Dao, Giay and Hmong villagers selling mountains of fruit, vegetables and fabric. A young girl plays the jews harp, a small bamboo mouth instrument. Vietnamese vendors sell hunks of meat, the heads and hooves of pigs sit pink and pale on hard wooden boards. A dog is trapped in a cage. Chickens are tied by their feet and held blinking upside down on the end of a scale. Women fry balls of dough in steaming woks and peel large yellow pineapples.
Hmong
Breaking up the ground with mattocks to prepare the slope for planting, near Cat Cat village, Sapa.
Hmong
Hmong
Hmong
I keep these buffalo horns. I throw these six, they are cut in half and if four fall right way up and two the other way it is unlucky. People come to me and I throw them in answer to their questions - whether they should plant rice or corn or vegetables? When to make harvest? When to have a wedding? They must ask when can I get married with her or him?
Trau A Trung , Shaman at Chu Lien Village. Northern Vietnam.
Hmong
There are certain illnesses that are not considered the work of spirits. Women in the Hmong community who have great knowledge of healing roots and herbs help to heal these illnesses.
Hmong
Dried poppy heads . The dark lines are scrape marks from which the opium resin has been tapped.
Traditionally grown in large quantities by the Hmong, opium ws used both as a medicinal drug and a trade item for centuries. The Vietnamese government have now banned the use of opium and carried out extensive eradication programs to ensure it is no longer grown. This has meant the drug is no longer available as a medicinal tool unless it is purchased at greatly inflated prices.
Hmong
Though a few addicts remain in the village environment, most have either given up the habit or become outcasts. High on the hill in the centre of Sapa, tucked away amongst the cliffs, is a small community of opium addicts, forced to leave their villages. Here they manage to survive living under rocks, in small shelters made of plastic, paper and pieces of cardboard.
