PHOTOS » International » Papua New Guinea » 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

PNG clan and tribal socialogy is as complicated and developed as any society. Very much paternalistic, honour and family are paramount. Upper left shows a son whose dying words from his father (slain in a clan-war) were "To exhume his bones after one year and build a shrine" Lower right shows a widow who has been grieving over her husband also killed in a clan war some time previous. Skirmishes between clans are often over issues of honour, property and land. For a Huli man to marry, he must pay a "bride-price" to the wife's mother. This normally consists of 500 Kina and anywhere from 10 to 30 live pigs... Offering too little a bride-price could initiate a clan war, so the negotiations have to be skillfully conducted!

		A measure of a man's worth is the number of pigs he owns and the number of wives he has. A largely agrarian culture, the men do all the initial land clearing and living-unit construction, then the women tend to the crops, children and animals. Husbands and wives live apart and never even go into each other's houses. Conjugal visits are made in fields away from either spouse's quarters. Papua New Guinea is not just another dive trip... it is a life experience that will give you memories and stories to tell your friends forever!

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