[BALIEM VALLEY, WEST PAPUA]
I first heard of Baliem Valley from a retired British soldier who had researched the last living cannibal. Following up his theory John uncovered the man deep in West Papua’s rainforest region before leading a BBC documentary team back into the remote area. It sparked my curiosity. That was in the early 2000s.
Each year the ‘Grand Valley’ plays host to a congregation of tribes who celebrate stories that shaped their brutal past. When I visited mostly indigenous people came together from all corners of the elongated valley to observe the stories being passed from one generation to the next. However, I was dismayed by the foreigners touting anyone willing to pose for a photograph. This behaviour made me slump down in the thick, sharp buffalo grass disappointed that the festival wasn’t allowed to unfold naturally.
As I sat there detached from the main event, ‘warriors’ walked by, some stopped, sat down in front of me and lit up a smoke. Silence.
We share no common language. So, I dived into my camera bag to present an orange or apple, my lunch, to break between us.
Surprisingly, this opened the opportunity to photograph without intrusion as many of them offered to be photographed whilst my solution, by chance, ensured I enjoyed several one-on-one encounters with the different tribes people. As my ‘gesture of thanks’, I passed them a polaroid to keep.
Then, after finishing a practice run of their festival performance, these guys (who I spent a brief time with in silence too) came charging at me. I instinctively took cover behind my lens. In quick time they made several mock charges for my benefit and presto that’s all I needed.
Lucky for me I got to photograph many tribes over the two days but the true beauty of the festival was the many brief engagements that were shared.
ABOUT THE BALIEM VALLEY TRIBES
Whilst question marks remain whether the indigenous tribes from Balliem Valley practiced cannibalism it its undeniable we greet the disappearance of these warriors and tribal cultures in West Papua’s Grand Valley. Sadly, documentary efforts and our photographic collections will remain to celebrate proud lost geo-cultures.
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Works from the The Grand Valley project will be on exhibit. Get your sneaky peek at #CULTUREVATION.
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