Background Information

The Korowai, also known as the Kolufo, are an indigenous people in southeastern Papua (in Western New Guinea). Until 1970, the Korowai did not even know that other people existed in the world besides themselves. This is due to their extremely isolated location. 

Majority of the people live in tree houses 6-12 meters high, but some are as high as 35 meters above the ground! They are actually the first clan to be tree dwellers and still practice this tradition today. The Kombai people are the other indigenous group who share this practice. The people use this to their advantage to view their surroundings more keenly and have protection from flood waters, and any animals that pose a threat. The architecture is very clever, being built with ironwood stilts, used to protect the tree houses from arson attacks. 


The men of the tribe wear a leaf tightly secured to their genital area as opposed to the traditional kateka or penis sheath. The women wear sago palm phloem, which is interestingly also the main food of the tribe.

The Korowai are a very spiritual group of people. They hold their ancestors, to whom they pay reverence, to a very 'sacred' status. As far as the Korowai are concerned, anything bad that happens is caused by the spirits. They partake in many rituals, including the sago grub festival, used to stimulate prosperity and fertility, and sacrificing pigs in time of trouble. They believe in reincarnation, meaning that they can come back to the land of the living if they are sent back by the kinsmen in the land of the dead. In the late 1970s,  a Christian missionary group moved into the village. After a hard-fought battle and much education, they were able to convert some of the Korowai people to Christianity by the 1990s. Today, about 30% of the people are under the Christian faith.

Raafay Awan

2011. The Korowai Tribe: People Who Eat human Flesh. Electronic document. 

http://raafay-awan.blogspot.com/2011/03/krorwai-tribe-people-who-eat-human.html 

 

Kaushik

2012. The Tree Houses of the Korowai Tribe of New Guinea. Electronic document. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/10/the-tree-houses-of-korowai-tribe-of-new.html

 

Papuatrekking.com

2009. Korowai & Kombai – Papua Tree people. Electronic document. 

http://www.papuatrekking.com/Korowai_Kombai.html