The village of Ugimba lies in the heart of Moni land in West Papua, deep in the jungles of New Guinea. It is the deepest of the tribal villages; only immensely dense jungle and the high marshes and limestone plateau’s of the Sudirman mountain range lie further afield. We would travel these jungle paths en route to Carstensz Pyramid, the jutting high point of the Australasian continental mass.
As we descended toward the village of Ugimba, two men – wearing only traditional kotekas (penis gourds) and tribal markings and wielding large bow and arrow sets – stepped out of the bush and onto the path, raising their weapons toward us as they did so.
Our hearts stopped, but just for a breath. A moment later several young women also stepped into our path. Equally modestly dressed in grass skirts and colorful jog bras – I guess that’s what I should call their tops – also with a variety of facial paintings and tribal markings.
The women began a series of repetitive calls that sounded very much like an old style emergency alert siren. The sound that issued from them rang amazingly loud and clear and others, further toward the village, responded in kind, setting up a sort of path of sonic bread crumbs for us to follow. We were being treated to an entirely genuine and traditional village welcome ceremony, complete with dance and song.
The welcome committee, now growing rapidly as additional warriors, women and children joined in, guided us patiently toward Ugimba. Running ahead about fifty feet, then stopping to dance as we caught up, and all the while calling out, the six of us were soon engulfed in a friendly swarm of Moni villagers.
Some villagers welcomed & greeted us in traditional dress …
… and others came to welcome us in casual dress.
We all joined in for the photo op.
What a fantastic experience after a day of trekking through the heat, humidity and wetness of the jungle! At the time, I simply knew we had a lot to look forward to on this trip. We were engaged on an excellent adventure via a route that has seen few western travelers, with a two-fold goal: first, safely reach and return from the summit of Carstensz Pyramid and second, build relationships with indigenous people which would respectfully balance our visit with their way of life. Now, in retrospect, I know we were treated to the very special and unique experience that not many see any longer … literally being welcomed into the Moni home! The July 2012 excursion represented our inaugural effort and as I now look forward to future visits, I am still full of hope for more summits and stronger relationships.
Watch my short, fun video of some of the Moni welcome ceremony.
Enjoy!
climbcarstensz 