Jounal

The Sepik River region in northeastern Papua New Guinea is the territory of the Crocodile Men, one of the most unique ethnic groups in this peculiar country, who maintain many of their traditions in their purest form. One of these customs, which gives the ethnic group its name, is the practice of applying scarifications to their bodies to imitate the texture of crocodile skin.

According to their beliefs, their ancestors were crocodiles, some of which emerged from the water and entered the land, eventually becoming humans. Now, the men of these tribes perform an initiation rite to acquire the strength of crocodiles through a painful, somewhat traumatic and bloody procedure, in which they abandon their mother's blood, which is replaced by human blood. To do this, they make dozens of cuts in the skin of their chests and backs, resulting in countless raised scars and that "crocodile skin" appearance.

The process is preceded by a six-week stay in the spirit house—a structure forbidden to women of the tribe—where the candidates learn a series of skills. After the scarification ceremony, they return to the spirit house where their wounds are treated for several more weeks, before finally emerging as Crocodile Men.

This is undoubtedly the most representative feature of these people who inhabit the banks of the eastern Sepik basin, but travelers who venture into this remote region can also enjoy simply living with these welcoming people, who will surprise us with their traditional dances, music, and crafts, an equally representative feature of this region. In any of the villages, we will find numerous wooden carvings depicting crocodiles and many other animals, masks, idols, totems, etc., and of course their impressive constructions: the spirit houses.

Possibly the best way to experience part of the Sepik (a winding river with a length of over 1.100 km) is aboard a traditional dugout canoe, built from a hollowed-out log, which can accommodate six or seven people. It's not a comfortable trip, as we'll be exposed to the elements and rely on the only amenities we can carry in our small boat or what the locals in each of their villages offer us, but the experience can be truly authentic and incomparable.

Papua New Guinea is a fascinating country, where its more than 700 very different tribes are an inexhaustible source of experiences for travelers willing to explore one of the planet's last unspoiled wildernesses.

At Última Frontera we have many years of experience in organizing expeditions to the interior of the country, something that has earned us the recognition of the authorities of Papua New Guinea, awarding us in 2010 the Wantok certificate , which accredits us as specialists in this destination, the only agency in Spain that has this certification, and one of the few in the world.