Korowai and Kombai of Papua

Korowai And Kombai are the tribal people who live in the house that stand above the trees in Irian Jaya (Papua). They had very rare interaction with foreigners and they do not know the language they use only the tribal language only.

Kombai and Korowai tribe lived in Indonesia and certainly they are also residents of Indonesia. However it is very rare to find literature on them in the Indonesian language. Indeed many foreign researchers who visit them and learn their unique tribal life.

Korowai is one of the tribes in Papua who were not wear koteka. The men of these tribes were forced to put his penis into scrotum and at their ends with a kind of leaftight bandage. While the women only wearing a short skirt made ​​of Sago leaves. Sago is their main meal.

While men of Tribe Kombai use 'koteka' of a dried out gourd. Their weapons are arrows whose eyes are made of bone.

Sago is the main ritual banquet Koroway tribes to renew their world and their relationship with the gods / spirits in their communities.

They live very humble in his world. Either they do not know who their president. Whatdo presidential-candidate with a mountain of promises in their campaigns today? Who is Michael Jackson? Maybe they do not even need to know. Like time stopped here.

They set up house on top of the trees measures approximately 5 x 10 meters at an altitude of 50-80 meters above the ground. Each house is usually inhabited by 4-5families. Having a house in this height makes them feel safe from the threat of enemies, wild beasts, puddle swamp in the rainy season, and evil spirits.

Koroway are nomadic, they always moving from one place to another for close to food and hunt animals that nature provided. Both Koroway hunters and gathererswho moved will build a tree house once every 2 or 3 years.

Back in 1995, George Steinmetz, an award-winning photographer documented thetribal people who live in trees in Irian Jaya. This is a stunning beautiful picture of Kombai and Korowai tribe who lived in the house that stands above the tree house had been carved from the forest around.

This is the house that is above the tree. Korowai of West Papua

This is the view of a tributary of the River enters Korowai Eilanden River

Lumbareh was making arrows in his tree house looking for food in the forest.

Korowai Tree house in the evening

Sowayen down from a tree after taking ant nest to catch the fish of West Papua, Indonesia.

Korowai woman are processing sago powder to be used asstaple food and is often done in Papua since there is no rice

A leaf full of fish that caught by the tribal people of Papua and takes half a day hunting in the river to get this fish.

Photo by George Steinmetz, 1995.