This video shows a Korowai man named Oni building a shield from the root of a mangrove tree. This video will start with him vocalizing. Although the moments he sings are short, it will give an idea of what Korowai vocalizations sound like. Click here for more information on the video.
The second video will also start with Korowai vocalizations. Despite coming from a reputable news source, the rest of the video is unfortunately not completely factual. However, it is nevertheless a rich source of Korowai culture.
Liam Easley · May 28, 2020
The Korowai may be known for their cannibalistic past, but their openness to outsiders has allowed them to make their footprint in the academic world, giving them a name beyond "cannibals."
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As a tribe that lives as if it were the Stone Age, the Korowai is one of many regional examples of how our ancestors may have lived during the Stone Age, before history began.
The Korowai shield, illustration by Liam Easley, 2020. These shields represent what the Korowai notice in nature.
Song and Dance
There are few Korowai songs, and even fewer that have recordings that can be found online. However, what can be said is that Korowai typically vocalize instead of sing written songs, and they do so as they work. The videos at the bottom of the page are of Korowai men vocalizing. The Korowai do not use instruments, and if they do, there is no readily available record of it.
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As for dancing, the Korowai have specified dances for their sago grub festivals. First, there is the khasam, a type of "running dance" that members of the tribe perform as they enter and exit the main feast bivouac. The dance is accompanied by vocalizations and rattling bows and arrows.
Second, the külomo dance has only ever been observed as groups heading to the festival. It is very jumpy and has been described by de Vries and van Enk as "froglike."
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The Korowai verb oldintai refers to an action of clearing a path while dancing. This is also common at the sago grub festival.
Korowai culture is very regular as far as other tribes in history exist. They have stories of the universe, they have a familial system and they are one with the environment in which they dwell.
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A very important part of Korowai culture are ancestors, both living and dead. Korowai ancestors are called mbolombolop, and they are of the highest authority in the tribe. All tradition originated from mbolombolop, including folktales, taboo and forbidden topics and the origin story of the universe. They even invent the rules and guidelines to be followed by the rest of the tribe.
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The mbolombolop maintain their jurisdiction because it is said that deviation from their rule will result in the apocalypse, or the day the world turns upside-down. This is similar to the Korowai legend of the mountain god that will bring the end of the universe should the Korowai give in to outsider influence. As outsider influence can bring a deviation from rules, it is possible these two aspects of their culture contain parallels.
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Mbolombolop also receive the honor or having pigs sacrificed to them in sacred places, or wotop. These sacred places hold high value among the Korowai, and they believe that because mbolombolop often exist there, it gives them the authority to change and direct the tribe.
There is a wotop in the territory of every clan, and they are so powerful and revered that, according to Lourens de Vries and Gerrit J. van Enk, "When hairs or nails or other things with 'power'... are placed close to wotop, the fate of the person whose hair or nails have been taken is put into the hands of the ancestors, often causing the death of that person."
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Another major aspect of Korowai culture is the sago palm. From the various parts of the tree, the tribe makes sago flour, skirts, packages to cook food in and various other everyday items. Sago bark is used to build houses. The stems of the leaves are used to tightly bind the walls of their treehouses, and the marrow near the top of the mature or very young palm is considered a delicacy when eaten raw.
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The sago bark is cooked or grilled before being eaten. According to de Vries and van Enk, "sago, even in the smallest amount, is always shared... with those who are around the fireplace; not sharing or skipping someone is a deed of enmity."
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From the rotting trunks of dead sago palms, the Korowai find sago grubs. These grubs are the main food item of their sago grub festivals. Korowai sago grub festivals are very important cultural gatherings, and it all begins with a saündal.
The saündal is an invitation to the sago grub festival, and it is literally a piece of the rib of a sago leaf with small sticks impaled in its side. The last stick is always the longest. The user who received the saündal takes out one stick every day until the longest one remains. This signifies the day the festival begins.
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Preparations for the sago grub festival take almost three months, and it all starts with the construction of the sheltered bivouac where the festival will take place. It must be large enough to fit several hundred people. Several smaller sheltered bivouacs are built for other tribe members to mingle and feast in. Shelves are also constructed to store firewood, grubs and sago.
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Within this bivouac the sacred pole is erected, and it is much taller than the structure itself. The sacred fence is placed around it. The fence also surrounds the sacred fire that continuously burns and is guarded by milon, who has certain duties when guarding the fire. Until the day of the festival, he is not allowed to have sex, and he must always walk in his own footprints when watching the fire.
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The collection of sago grubs is very methodical as well. After cutting down a sago palm, the trunk and its pieces are left to decay. The heap of rotting sago attracts the sago beetle to lay its eggs. This all takes place just before the main bivouac is built, and the sago grubs manifest within the rot as the preparations are made. By the time the tribe is ready, so will the grubs be. One group goes to fetch the grubs while another retrieves sugar cane, sweet potato, bananas and native vegetables.
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The purpose for the sago grub festival is unknown, however some sources say the Korowai use it to represent fertility and reproduction.
This motif can be seen in the milon. In this context it is the name of the fire guard, but it comes from the name of a sago subspecies. When sago grubs mature in the trunks of milon sago palms, they tend to be "very fat and greasy," and according to the Ginol Silamtena myth, anointing one's genitals with the grease of the milon sago grub is key for the most satisfying intercourse.
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The name dul-e-khil, which roughly translates to "penis vitality," is given to the special pry bar that is used to open the rotting sago trunk before retrieving the grubs. Additionally, on the third day of the feast, the men sing the Gom song, a vocalization all about fertility and procreation. They also break down the sacred fence, a tribal symbol of fertility.
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Click here to view the next article in this study.
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References:
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Fordham, B. [60 Minutes Australia]. (2018, December 17. Last ever cannibal tribe | 60 Minutes Australia [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRXwwZWEYkU&t=0s
Gros, M. (2015). The Korowai Tribe. Maptia.
https://maptia.com/martingros/stories/the-korowai
Martin, J. & Belford, T. [HolmesMuseumAnthro]. (2009, April 28). Korowai Shield New Guinea [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w_MecFRyus
Van Enk, G. J., & de Vries, L. (1997). The Korowai of Irian Jaya. Oxford University Press.