The Arafura Sea

Monday, December 12, 2012

The Arafura Sea

 We have left the Asmat coast of New Guinea and are heading east.  We will actually enter Australian waters as we pass through the Torres Strait on the way to the country of Papua New Guinea.  Many thousands of years ago there was a land bridge here between New Guinea and Australia, and the strait is extremely shallow with many islands and reefs.  We will pick up an Australian pilot to guide us through the strait. 

Activities today included a lecture on the cassowary and similar birds, both extant and extinct; a public review and critique of submitted photographs by the three National Geographic photographers on the trip with us; and a lecture with phenomenal photos about underseas photography.

A word about New Guinea.  The topography is remarkable, with a spine of east-west mountains stretching more than 1000 miles across the island.  The highest peak is 16,023 feet.  The tree line is around 13,100 feet, and the tallest mountains contain something called equatorial glaciers!

I’ve had a number of questions about the Asmat, and have a great summary document written by Tom Ritchie, a longtime National Geographic expedition leader which I’ll post at the end of this note.  One question I answered incompletely previously was the use of money by the Asmat.  It turns out that the major use of cash, which is held communally, is to buy building supplies for their homes and villages.  Also, I should have made it clear that the two villages we saw had prepared for days for our visit; this is not their everyday life.  What we saw was recreations of important episodes in their lives, from going to war with neighboring tribes to important rituals of everyday life such as initiation ceremonies.  One of the staff spent the night before our arrival with the second village we saw, and she said that they were up early in the morning to adorn themselves with body art and artifacts and to prepare the canoes for our arrival.  In both villages we were the beneficiaries of planned celebrations.

In lectures we were told another interesting concept, which is that the occasional visits by expeditions such as the one we’re on have been important to the villages in keeping the ancient rituals alive.  They perceive our visits (accurately, I think) as expressing interest in their culture which reinforces the value of their culture to themselves.  I hope that’s true.

Upcoming snorkeling opportunities have been cancelled due to crocodile sightings in the waters.  Good to know.

Here’s the Ritchie paper on the Asmat.



Comments

  1. Ralph P. LockeDecember 12, 2022 at 2:41 AM

    Thanks, Victor, for this further information. Truly, the range and imagination of human societies is immensely diverse. This is a good reminder to me that I shouldn't assume I know the meaning of some foreign ritual or cultural artifact, just by what my ignorant eyes and ears seem to be telling me. There is a whole history alluded to in Tom Ritchie's article: how the Asmat figured out ways of surviving in a very limited terrain, how the Dutch colonized the area and tried to control it, how the people today at once maintain their life practices and interact with the visitors who come.... I feel somehow humbled.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bruce and Leslie TravelDecember 12, 2022 at 8:19 AM

    Was there any evidence of Indonesian government at the villages?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victor PoleshuckDecember 12, 2022 at 1:02 PM

      No, although we were told government representatives do show up now and then, and medical personnel show up on a regular basis (about every two weeks). That's for the relatively accessible villages such as the ones we saw. The ones deep in the interior may not get any visitors from the government at all.

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