the Korowai, a cannibal tribe that has almost no contact with the outside world

Discovered in 1974, the Korowai tribe remains today a real mystery for the contemporary world. Living at the top of the trees in Indonesia, this primitive people still perpetuates hunting and gathering and still very recently engaged in cannibalism.

Few or almost never in contact with the modern world, the Korowai tribe remains as mysterious as it is fascinating.

Houses high perched

Living in the province of Papua in the far west of Indonesia, this "forest people" who have taken up residence in the trees to escape predators, insects and mosquitoes, are true builders of the extreme.

The latter can indeed erect wooden huts at ten, twelve or sometimes forty meters high at the treetops and also build spectacular ladders to enable them to earn their homes. These spacious houses generally make it possible to coexist a family of at least 12 people, even if Korowai men and women have a habit of living separately.

A cannibal people

The latter have long been nicknamed "the cannibal tribe". Until recently, the Korowai had resorted to this practice when a member of the tribe was accused of murder. The family of the victim was then allowed to kill him, then to eat the flesh of the culprit.

This people also tended to eat someone who had died "mysteriously" (as a result of illness), thinking that she had been the victim of a "khakhua", a wizard from Hell. But since then, conversions to Christianity and more frequent contact with foreigners have gradually persuaded the Korowai to abandon these rites.

Increasingly familiar with the Western world, some Korowai have also launched tourist excursions in the region since the beginning of the 1990s, providing them with new income.
source:
jeuxactu.com