Photos: Check Out A Village In Papua New Guinea Where Dead Relatives Are Smoked

From the cliffs of a village in Papua New
Guinea's Morobe highlands, charred corpses
leer at passers-by. Their flesh is stained red,
and they seem to be imprisoned within cages of
bamboo, as if to keep them from leaping down
and devouring any explorer who strays too
close.
But this macabre practise is not (only) a way to
scare away strangers. For the Anga people in
these remote parts of the country, it is the
highest honour they can bestow on their dead.
Dead men, women and children are effectively
smoke cured, in much the same way as a
kipper.
First, experienced embalmers make cuts in the
feet, knees and elbows of the cadavers, to allow
body fat to drain away, before jabbing bamboo
poles into their guts and collecting the
drippings. These are smeared onto the skin and
hair of surviving relatives in a ritual believed to
transfer the strength of the dead into the living.
Any leftovers are used as cooking oil, for the
same reason.
They then sew shut the eyes, mouth and anus
of the body they're working on, to reduce the air
intake in an attempt to prevent flesh from
rotting.
The soles of the feet, palms of the hands and
tongue are sliced off and presented to the
surviving spouse and then what's left of the
body is smoke cured over a fire pit, before
being coated in clay and ochre to deter
scavengers. The cliffs of the Morobe highlands
are littered with these corpses, some dating
back 200 years of more. They are sometimes
brought down for special events and
celebrations, and returned soon after.
The soles of the feet, palms of the hands and
tongue are sliced off and presented to the
surviving spouse and then what's left of the
body is smoke cured over a fire pit, before
being coated in clay and ochre to deter
scavengers. The cliffs of the Morobe highlands
are littered with these corpses, some dating
back 200 years of more. They are sometimes
brought down for special events and
celebrations, and returned soon after. These
watchers are believed to be the guardians of the
village. The most-respected warriors are placed
on special lookout points on the cliffs, watching
out for invaders.
The practise is frowned upon by the Catholic
church and has been banned since 1975, when
PNG gained its independence.
But in remote parts, where even today few
missionaries dare to tread, a few tribes still
prefer to mummify their dead - perhaps to keep
the priests away.