Incredible homes of the treehouse tribe

29.05.2020 02:06

It's thought that until 1970, the mysterious Korowai tribe of south eastern Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, were unaware of the existence of any other people on earth.

Living as remotely as they do - perched 140 feet up into the canopy of the least explored jungles in the world - it's quite plausible.

The tribe are known for their distinctive treehouses that tower over the jungle on spindly stilts, originally designed to avoid attacks from rival clans intent on capturing people for slavery or even cannibalism.

The Korowai adhere to age old tradition, sharing myths, folktales, sayings and charms to this day, and believe that their dead ancestors can return to land of the living at any time.

Some clans are said to fear Westerners, having never seen them, and outsiders are called ' ghost demons'.

The first documented contact with the Western world was when a group of scientists met with members of one clan in March, 1974.

In May 2006, tour-guide and reporter Paul Raffaele led an Australian TV crew to meet the tribe.

The crew claimed that they were approached by a man who told them his six-year old nephew had been accused of being a witch doctor and was in danger of being cannibalised.

In an article for Smithsonian, Raffaele said: 'Korowai are among the very few tribes believed to eat human flesh.

'Most Korowai still live with little knowledge of the world beyond their homelands and frequently feud with one another. Some are said to kill and eat male witches they call "khakhua".'

Anthropologists suspect that cannibalism is no longer practised by the Korowai clans.

(dailymail.co.uk)

ANN.Az