Continuing on from PNG Post 1
We were shown to our hut – a glorious structure on stilts, built with local timber, palm fronds and woven palm stalks. The timber was so fresh that I could smell it. I asked when they’d finished building it. “Yesterday. We built it for you and Cool Earth to stay in”. When the men told us it had taken just a week to build, James and I looked at each other with a guilty smile – we have been building our own home for 8 months and it is far from complete. It just goes to show what you can achieve when a whole village comes together.
The hut was cool and breezy and the screen walls kept the insects away, while still keeping us connected to the lush greenery and ocean sounds outside.
James and I settled in with curious little eyes watching us through the transparent walls. Whenever I looked up the kids giggled, but never lost their courage to keep observing their visitors. We finished a hot cup of tea and upon stepping outside to have a look around the village we were escorted by a shy young boy, Antony. As we walked, we picked up more and more followers until we had a substantial entourage. It was like this wherever we went during our stay – even for the pre-dawn shoots on the beach. There was always someone awake to walk with us, and before long they were spotting interesting subjects for me to photograph and even posing for me in trees or wherever else they suspected I’d like.
Under the house in the middle of the village, where people congregated each day to talk, cook, chew betel nut and laugh, there was a pig tied up. It lay there in a still silence and I had a good idea of it’s fate. It would come to pass that two pigs were slaughtered in our honour – one in each of the villages we stayed. Both were grand feasts and I felt so privileged of the effort our village hosts went to.
A vegetarian of 18 years, I turned off my senses and switched into autopilot to photograph one of the slaughters. But everything turned red once the men opened the stomach and began separating the organs. I had to walk away and hand the camera to James. He was enthralled and excited by the spectacle and got all the photos of a pigs insides that we could ever need.
We were served an impressive spread of food three times a day, which after ten days, left me heading home a few kilos heavier. Each meal included a heavy scoop of delicious coconut rice, accompanied by a combination of yam, pumpkin leaves (which I was enthusiastic to try out home with our mass of pumpkin vines, until I saw how arduous preparation is), seafood, chicken, tropical fruit, sweet potato, cassava, sago and more.
Like most of the ingredients, the coconut and sago was sourced within the villages, and processed by hand as you can see in the photos below.
Some people in the village had makeshift water collection systems made from short pieces of roof guttering sat on top of barrels, but these weren’t enough to provide water for drinking, cooking and cleaning, especially considering the recent drought. One day James and I accompanied some women to their water source. We followed the ladies (and our entourage) through the jungle and up a hill for about 15 minutes. It was rough, steep country and I was impressed that they would make this trek at least once a day with 20L water containers and sometimes a baby on the shoulders too.
Like anywhere on earth, living in isolated coastal villages, water is such an important part of life for the villagers of Gadaisu and Wabumari. Water is how people transport themselves and their belongings over long distances. Water is where they fish and collect seafood. Rising water is also posing a risk to their homes and villages. The photo below shows homes sitting amongst uprooted trees, which will have to be moved due to rising water levels.
On our final day in Gadaisu, the temperatures had risen and the humidity was almost unbearable. James and I had crossed off all the shots on our brief and were strolling along the water’s edge to see what else we could find to shoot. In the distance I saw a beautiful silhouette on the beach, and as you may have noticed on my website, I love a silhouette. I captured a shot on my 300mm lens, and watched the scene as the silhouetted boy returned to water to surf a beach break with his friends on planks of wood.
As we got close enough to see the wide grins of the boy I noticed that half of them were nude. I looked around for an adult to check if it was alright for me to go closer, but there was none around. Having worked with indigenous peoples all over the world, I’m accustomed to nude kids and even adults, but it’s important to check that people feel comfortable around me, especially with my camera.
The boys beckoned for me to continue and we walked into the water to get shots of them as they cheered each other onto waves. Just like most kids, they loved the attention. It looked like so much fun. A few ladies came to watch, laughing with the me and the boys, as they made calls to the ocean.
I was dripping with sweat and it looked like too much fun to miss out on. I took off my sarong and walked into the water. The boys were thrilled and one of them handed me his plank of wood to surf. I asked them to call me onto a good wave and they yelled with delight as I rode wave after tiny wave with them.
He is a quick little video showing the fun I had photographing and surfing with the boys.
To be continued…
