Agats, West Papua, Indonesia

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Oceania 2025
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Today we had our first encounter with Indonesia, and what a day it was! In fact, it had to be one of the most momentous days of my life — and I never knew it until it happened. We visited the tiny village of Uwus which is in the province of South Papua. It, along with several others in the region is home to the Asmat people, an indigenous tribe that has lived on the island of New Guinea for thousands of years. The total population of the Asmats is around 2000 people scattered in little villages on a system of rivers that flow into the Arafura Sea. Until recently, they have been largely isolated from the outside world and we were extremely lucky to be able to visit their village. Getting there wasn’t easy — we had to travel 11 nautical miles one way up the Uwus River to get to their village. This might be a good time to mention that they have a history of headhunting and cannibalizing their enemies. Do you remember Michael Rockefeller? Yup, it was in this area that he was presumably killed and eaten. There are some complex religious beliefs that are behind this practice. Anyway, we were told that they had given up this practice some time ago, and now they focus on woodcarving. As our armada of Zodiacs came close to the village, all of the village men (and some others from nearby villages) met us in their dugout canoes, dressed and painted in full warrior regalia. In fact they surrounded us, shouting, chanting, and beating their paddles on their boats. It was a bit like the scene from “Apocalypse Now.” The women and kids were ashore and welcomed us as we beached on the muddy (really muddy) shores. Then the men returned. Another woman and I were selected to be the representative guests of honor. We were dressed in traditional grass skirts, a breast plate, and a ceremonial dagger and holder. They tried to put a headdress on me, but my noggin was too large. Anyway, there was lots of dancing going on (my Meta Raybans) picked up the action). Then we were put in canoes which were lifted by the men and were carried into the river where we were paddled away. I wasn’t sure if they were thinking about a brief return to their old traditions, but we were safely returned. From there we went to the Men’s House where the warriors were selling their carvings. I ended up picking up a few. Meanwhile, Deb wandered the village, made some friends, held a baby, etc. It’s almost like she was running for office! Anyway, this was an incredible experience that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. Now the only question is whether I will be able to get my traditional clothing home.

Expedition Leader, Dom, explaining how the Zodiacs are going to make their way to the Asmat village.
11 nautical miles one way, and a rainstorm is on the way — this should be interesting.
So far, so good. I love it when a plan comes together.
In the distance we heard a lot of chanting. As we rounded the bend, we came upon hundreds of ASMAT warriors.
In fact, you could say we were surrounded.
The warriors were chanting and beating their paddles against the sides of their canoes — in unison. It was pretty freaky.
Meanwhile, the women and children lined the shore and were doing their own chant.
Ultimately our Zodiacs were herded to the shore where we were greeted by the women.
Ultimately, the Zodiacs were moved to the opposite shore and the warriors came ashore.
It was extremely muddy and difficult to get around. There was a wall of palm fronds that stood between us and the “Men’s House”
A woman in our group (Ronni) and I were chose to be the symbolic guests of honor of the village. We were dressed in full native outfits.
This ceremonial pouch was getting ready to be put over my head. I should mention that I was filming this using my RayBan Meta glasses so you are seeing this from my POV.
Then the warriors started chanting and drumming loudly. We didn’t know what was going to happen next.
What happened was that we were each put in a dugout canoe and carried to the river.
And there we are as we were paddled off to different parts of the village. BTW, you’ll note I wasn’t wearing my headdress — my head was too big!
I ultimately was put ashore and had to make my way back to the Men’s House.
This mom and baby weren’t too sure about the new gringo chief in town.
I finally made it back to the Men’s House where the warriors were displaying their carved wood pieces. I bought these two from this gentleman.
This is the only picture I have of me in my outfit. Note that my skirt didn’t fit so well either.
Deb and I had gotten separated; she was out walking around the village and had no idea what had happened with me.

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted in Cruising, Indonesia, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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