ACCORDING to legend, tribesmen from the Asaro river valley in the remote eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) first began covering their bodies in white clay and donning grotesque, swollen-headed masks to make their enemies think they were spirits. On a brisk June afternoon in Goroka, the capital of Eastern Highlands province, a dozen Asaro Mud Men, as they are colloquially known, moved slowly and deliberately through a crowd of hundreds gathered on a dusty field, bows drawn and spears in hand. Elsewhere members of another local tribe danced in a circle in leaf skirts and ornate feathered headdresses. A band played up-tempo reggae while buses and lorries festooned with fern fronds and draped with campaign posters for Gabriel Igaso, the would-be parliamentarian whose rally this was, drove slowly through the crowd, packed with cheering supporters. Much of the town turned out for the afternoon’s entertainment.
Rallies like this have taken place across PNG since April 20th, when...Continue reading
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