Life on a High Tree - Korowai Tribe

The Korowai, also called the Kolufo, are a people of southeastern Papua (i.e., the southeastern part of the western part of New Guinea). They number about 3,000. Until 1970, they were unaware of the existence of any people besides themselves.

Korowai treehouse

photo source

The majority of the Korowai clans live in tree houses on their isolated territory. Since 1980 some have moved into the recently opened villages of Yaniruma at the Becking River banks (Kombai-Korowai area), Mu, and Mbasman (Korowai-Citak area). In 1987, a village was opened in Manggél, in Yafufla (1988), Mabül at the banks of the Eilanden River (1989), and Khaiflambolüp (1998). The village absenteeism rate is still high, because of the relatively long distance between the settlements and the food resources.

The view from the Korowai treehouse

Clan territories include one to five clustered tree houses with, having an average heighth of 26 to 39 feet (8 to 12 meteres). Exceptionally tall (as high as 148 feet [45 metres] are some houses in upriver territories.

Korowai settlement

The Korowai are hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists who practice shifting cultivation. They have excellent hunting and fishing skills for gaining necessary protein. Information about Korowai trade patterns is scant. The Korowai have a few gender-specific activities, such as the preparation of sago and the performance of religious ceremonies in which only the male adults are involved.

Korowai woman processing pulverized sago palm trunk into the starchy staple for almost every meal.

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