Many of these islands are tiny, uninhabited coral atolls.

The majority are of volcanic formation.

Geologically, Papua is a transition zone between the islands of Indonesia and the smaller ones of Oceania.

In caves like this one on the island of Kiriguina, in the Trobriand archipelago,

remains have been found of the first human inhabitants of these islands.

As a result of the last glaciation, the water level went down,

and some Polynesian peoples were able to cross to these small islands.

But then, when the ice melted and the sea level rose again, these communities were cut off.

Dating of the oldest human remains shows that these islands were inhabited over 40,000 years ago.

The different ethnic groups that live on the islands of Papua

were greatly feared by the sailors who dared to navigate the waters of these ‘accursed’ islands.

Head-hunters and cannibals, these fierce warriors of the sea remained isolated until well into the twentieth century.

Their bloodthirsty fame meant that, for a long time, their territory remained unexplored by Europeans.

Still today there are isolated areas where there are cases of cannibalism and ritual decapitations,

especially along the border with Irian-Jaya, on the island of New Guinea.

Traditional customs and rituals remain strong among the inhabitants of these islands,

though now it is unusual to find a village without a mission of one of the over 100 different churches,

which compete for converts among the Papuan natives.

But though they attend worship and prayers to these imported gods,

the Papuans continue to follow their traditional laws and age-old customs.

These young Tolais, from the island of New Britain,

have to undergo a severe initiation before being able to sail alone.

They have to “go to see the fish”, as this ceremony is called;

it is a test of their courage and capacity for suffering.

If they bear the pain without flinching, a string of shells

is placed around their necks, symbolising the passage to adulthood.

They are now ready to face the dangers of the sea, protected by the spirits of the forest.

That is why, during the initiation, they cover their bodies with green sap.

Fishing is the main activity of the Tolai.

They use hooks, nets and harpoons.

The most important journeys are those to trade with other neighbouring islands.

These crossings are subject to the traditional laws, which regulate relations among the different tribes.

The villages do not have a well-defined structure.

The stilt houses are arranged in family groups.

The meeting place is normally the open area opposite the house of the village chief.

As well as fishers, they are also gatherers and farmers.

The pace of life is slow, no one rushes, there is no stress.

The women are responsible for household chores and looking after the children,

as well as gathering fruits from the forest.

The men plant the yam fields, take care of the pigs and go fishing.

They are very hierarchical societies.

For example, in the Trobriand islands, above the village chiefs stands the figure of the Paramon Chif,

who is responsible for everything that happens on the islands.

As in much of Melanesia, the society is matrilineal

the children of the marriage belong to the woman’s clan.

–In Papua, there are over 900 different languages and more than 1,000 different ethnic groups.

Communication would be impossible if it were not for pidgin english,

a language with elements of both English and the native languages.

Yams are the most important crop in the Trobriand islands

In fact, they are a symbol of wealth, both personal and of the clan.

Every man must build a yam house for each one of his wives.

This is where the tubers are stored after the harvest.

They are constructions which can quickly be taken down then rebuilt,

and protect the yams from the humidity during the rainy season.

Between June and July the harvest rites take place.

The largest yams are put on display before being stored.

No one can begin harvesting until the crop of the Paramon Chif has been gathered in.

This is when the most important ritual celebrations on these islands are held.

Each family has to give part of their crop to the Paramon Chif.

This is a tax, which varies from year to year,

depending on the results of the harvest.

While they are storing the yams, the families ask the magic man to carry out a small ceremony,

so the yams will be under the protection of the spirits,

who will make sure they do not rot.

The yam houses are administered by the brothers-in-law of the owners,

or by someone from the woman’s clan,

further evidence of the matrilineal nature of this society.

The houses of the Paramon Chif are richly decorated with wood carvings which symbolise his power.

The importance of these carvings is such that those who make them, occupy a very high position in society.

Magic occupies a central position in the lives of these people.

No one does anything without first consulting the witch doctors,

who will prescribe, according to the case, the actions and ceremonies

that will have to be performed in order to ensure success.

Illness and misfortune have their origins in magic,

either because you have offended a spirit, or because someone else has cast a spell against you.

When they are ill, or when they believe they are the victims of a spell because things are going badly,

they turn to the magic men to cure them or solve their problems.

The world of the dead is just as real as that of the living.

It exists at the same time, but in a parallel, hermetic sphere,

only accessible through the rituals and knowledge of magic of the witch doctors and medicine men.

As in all animist societies, nothing happens by chance.

Everything, good and bad, is the result of the intervention of beings from the other world.

On the island of Kiriwina we attend a purifying ceremony.

The participants, under the protection of the medicine man,

invoke their ancestors to fight and drive out the evil spirits which have caused a bad harvest.

When the medicine man senses that the protective spirits have arrived,

he orders the participants to move away,

to the edge of the forest, to exorcise the evil they have inside them.

Then, they receive his blessing, which will protect them form malign influences.

In the dead of night, on the island of New Britain,

the Tumbuan mask dances to the beat of the canes.

They invoke it to ask it to intervene between men and the gods.

It is a messenger spirit who brings and takes communications from the other world.

Each village has its own masks.

The initiated gather together in the forest with the carver and tell him what the mask should look like,

and how it should be decorated.

Then, they have to bless it, through a complicated liturgical process

which lasts for around three months.

During this time, only those in authority can see it.

When it is completed, one night without warning,

the mask suddenly appears in the village

for the women and the non-initiated it was created by the spirit of the forest itself.

Pigs are very important in Papua.

They are a symbol of wealth.

The more pigs a family has, the higher their social level.

There is no celebration at which pigs are not sacrificed.

Among the majority of the island peoples,

the dowry consists of a certain number of pigs.

They are also used as compensation for any possible wrong a clan may have committed against another.

The coconut is the other important element in their diet,

and one of the main economic resources.

When, at the start of the twentieth century,

it was discovered that copra oil greatly reduced the cost of steel manufacture,

these islands became extremely important places for European industry.

This is one of the reasons for the rapid colonisation of the region.

To obtain the oil, they dry the copra, or pith of the coconut in these ovens.

Then, they grind and press it.

By squeezing the pulp of the coconut, they also obtain the highly nutritious milk.

They use it as a drink, and to cook the cassava, wrapped in banana leaves.

The coconut palm is one of the most valuable trees for the inhabitants of Papua.

Virtually every part of it is used.

From the husk, they make ropes and fabrics,

and with the inner shell, which is much harder, they make all types of utensils.

After extracting the oil, the copra is used as cattle feed.

The juice of the flowers is boiled to obtain sugar.

They also eat the young shoots, which have very high energy value.

From the bark they obtain resin, and with the leaves make baskets,

hats and the roofs of their houses.

Finally, the wood is used to make furniture and oars, and in construction.

Another extremely useful plant in these latitudes is the banana tree.

Apart from the fruit, which is present at most meals,

the leaves are used to wrap foods to be cooked or fermented.

Dried in the sun, they make skirts and costumes with them.

They also serve as tablecloths and even as umbrellas.

The canoe builders are very important in these communities

They have the same social status as the carvers of yam houses.

A man may not have a house,

but if he does not have a boat he virtually does not exist for the community.

Even the old men, though they can no longer sail, keep their canoes,

riddled with woodworm, at the side of their houses.

Their souls will travel in them when they die.

They are a symbol of life, which mystically unites them with the sea

and maintains them in contact with the world of the living.

When they die, their canoes are abandoned far from the shore,

so the currents will carry them out to sea,

to the mermaids who will accompany their spirit

on its final voyage to the realm of the gods.

They believe their boats bear the traces of all the acts and deeds of this life.

They are the summary of everything they have been and everything they have done.

When the canoes reach their final destination,

the gods can read them and decide the fate of their souls.

In the Trobriand islands, hundreds of defiant warriors await the arrival of their enemies.

They have emerged from the forest at the first light of day,

after performing the ceremony to invoke the god of war.

These cruel headhunters have become sportsmen in a strange game,

Trobriand cricket, which is an important social event.

It was the British missionaries who taught them this game,

in an attempt to channel the innate aggressiveness of these people into sport.

The cricket teams are made up of 11 players,

but here they are all from the same tribe or village.

Sometimes, each side can have a hundred or a hundred and fifty men,

and the match can last for days.