Meeting the ferocious Mud Men in Papua New Guinea!

Photo. The Mud Men emerged from the jungle as evil looking spirits.

As the story goes, for many years ago, in the village of Asaro Mud Men, north-west of Goroka, the Mud Men were beaten in a tribal fight and chased off their land. But it didn't end with that.

The most revengeful warriors covered themselves with grey mud and huge mud masks before they attacked the enemy to take back their land. Their payback raids were disreputable to be especially brutal. The enemy escaped in wild panic. I imagine that the enemies become frightened to death when they saw these "ghosts looking people" emerged from the jungle.

Photo.Silently danced the Mud Men warriors towards us with cat soft moves.

Last summer (July 1999) we ventured into the territory of the ferocious Mudmen. They emerged unexpected out from the jungle, like evil spirits, covered with mud from top to toe. Silent they approached us in the river, and so they started to aim at us with their bows and arrows. It was pretty scary. We didn`t know how far this would go. Suddenly we heard a sound from a bowstring.

We both were screamed, and feared the worst, but fortunately the arrow was still rested on the bowstring. The Mud Men got a good laugh when they saw our fear, and they continued with the same practical jokes for a while. Later they instructed us how to shoot with arrows and bow. They showed great skill in shooting, and I am glad that we were not their targets.

Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea has much to offer for they who want untouched nature and meeting exotic tribes who live fairly isolated. Take your time, find a good guide and enjoy the excitement! Despite the Mud Men being almost outnumbered, the masks helped them to strike fear into their enemies. Fortunately we were not their enemies!

Stein Morten Lund, 6 July 2000.

Additional information and links
Read more about exotic tribes on our site.

See the video of the Mudmen on our website on the menu "VIDEOS".